Colonial Courtyard
Arequipa’s Museo Santury is housed in a large old colonial building just off the Plaza de Armas, in the city centre. On a hot sunny day (as many are in this part of the country), some time in the shade, away from the chaos of the street outside, was a welcome relief.
The building retains its classic colonial style, with the central paved courtyard, with rooms and functional areas feeding off it. Whilst the building has been extensively renovated inside to house the museo, they’ve done a great job in keeping the building’s original character.
The museo’s most famous inhabitant is Juanita, a 13 year old child sacrificed in the crater of a volcano to quell the Gods who inhabited the mountain.
Her death is estimated to have occurred shortly before the Spanish conquest of Peru began, but her mummified body was not discovered until the volcano erupted in the 1990’s, and the ice encasing her body melted. Up to a dozen other corpses of children have been discovered in similar situations in the area, heavily populated by active volcanoes.
Arequipa, Peru
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Karin Taylor
o what a story lies within these walls Ben,
and such a sad tale – horrific to think this was
how they did things…sacrificing young children..
i shudder to think….. great image by the way :)
Ben Ryan replied
Well, the children went willingly, and were selected for their roles at birth and prepared for it. It wasn’t a case of “we need to sacrifice a life to save ourselves”, more along the lines of, “we’re sending our most treasured possessions to accompany the Gods”.
In many ways these children were treated as the most holy, most elite members of their society. For them, their sacrifice was ascending to a higher plane of existence.
I take the approach that the Inca were pretty switched on about a lot of things (engineering and astronomy being the most obvious), so who’s to say they weren’t right about other things as well…
Karin Taylor
oo i see…i guess.. but i think of my own children, and still find the philosophy hard ….
they were pretty switched on…but when i think of my Ben or Sarah entering the volcano…
i just can’t bear the thought….u have kids?
Ben Ryan replied
No I don’t, nor do I believe there are Gods anywhere, let alone in a volcano. 500 years ago they didn’t have science developed to the level we did, but then again, their society was also less destructive of the environment.
Karin Taylor
yes… so true…all in context it’s more than understandable
Alessandro Pinto
Lovely composition, colors and love this kind of architecture.. I remember visiting this place but wasn´t able to see Juanita ! When in Arequipa I feel nearly home.. my girlfriend is from there, I have a good circle of friends and the weather is just perfect ! W AREQUIPA !
Ben Ryan replied
Yeah I really loved Arequipa – beautiful city and surrounds, and I can understand why it reminded you of home, it’s probably the most ‘European’ city I visited in Peru.