THE HELL YOU SAY, PYRAMIDS IN PERU? NO WAY – PERU 2004 PART III

This next memory came to me while I was replaying our trip, to Northern Peru, in my mind. Previously, I have stated that I am no longer trying to reign in my memories, rather I am now trying to unleash, the “poet” in me and let poetry and fact, mix and mingle and see what results. So, for today’s piece I am going to speak of two separate places on two separate days, but both very similar in content. I am kind of hoping this will give you a chance to see how my mind works. My writing is evolving into a dump of old and twisted memories. Mix in a little of the, inherent, H…d family, insanity and you are surely in for a wild ride. Couple that with a mind that fades in and out of focus, and whatever results from this chaos; I write.

Let me set the scene. I believe it was late morning of our second day in Chiclayo. We had rented a van and driver to take us around and see the sights. A few of us were pumped (Uncle J, myself, possibly Bubbaloo, Lupe perhaps, Ange moderately curious, Drew and Thew not at all). Having just finished our visit with the Lord of Sipan, we piled back into the our van and made a short journey northeast. We promised to stop for lunch on the way. It was a warm sunny winter day in northern Peru. Everyone was still in good spirits, and our leader was in charge. After a drive of less than an hour, our destination lay before us.

We, or rather Bubbaloo, had decided we were going to see some pyramids. Me being a skeptic, basically, crapped all over this idea. “After all”, I snorted, “we are not in bleeding Egypt!” “What in hell do Peruvians know about pyramids?” Well those of you that know ol’ Bubbaloo, know just about how long she put up with my crap, before giving me “the look”, and scaring me into silence. So away we went, Pyramids here we come!

Our journey took us a bit north of Chiclayo and then east towards the Andes. It was not a long ride, and we arrived in time for lunch. Our first stop was at a small town named Tucume. It was from here that the Valley of the Pyramids spread out before us. This area contained about 26 pyramids and covered a substantial area. It stretched south to Sipan, where the Lord of Sipan was discovered in Huaca Rajada (another pyramid). And continued further south past Trujillo, where the grandest of them all resided. Those being the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon (which will be the second part of this memory).

The town of Tucume was a typical Peruvian farming town. Of course it had its token Catholic Church which far outshone everything else in town. It is very funny, but I remember stopping in Tucume, specifically to get Drew, a reload of film for his camera. He was quite content clacking away with his new camera. However, I suspect he had little interest in photography as an art form. More, I believe he viewed it as a gun, and calmly walked around, shooting everything in sight. Geezus, those must have been some kind of pictures. I mean he could easily go thru a role of film, if he even encountered, so much as a dog turd. A bird flying by, would get a rapid fire cadence from his camera shutter. Uncle J just rolled his eyes and reloaded the camera.

We spent a bit of time around Tucume, walking the town plaza, looking at the statue of a famous Peruvian and taking endless photos, of each other, filming each other. Having had enough of town, we headed off to see the pyramids. “Yeah, right”, you say. Well I was of the same mind. The first one we pulled up too, looked like one huge clay or mud mountain. It was only when I looked very closely that I could see, that this mud mountain was made of millions and millions of clay bricks, stacked in horizontal levels 15 feet thick. All of this on an otherwise, relatively, flat piece of desert. I had to take another look to make sure I had seen, what I thought I saw. Unbelievable, would be an apt description. I was stunned.

The pyramids that we encountered this day, were not little piles of dirt, nor were they, there, due to an accident of nature. They were hundreds of feet long and more than one hundred feet high. They had been built there over centuries, by the Sican culture starting in about 1000AD and lasting until about 1500AD. Over time the Sican or Lambayeque peoples, were conquered by the Chimu (remember Chan Chan) and then later by the Inca’s armies. They were absorbed into the Incan empire and faded into the mixture after the arrival of the cursed Spanish. Oh, if only the Inca had marshalled his forces and threw those pirates and criminals, back into the ocean. What wondrous sites we would see today!

We walked around this site and explored two or three pyramids that were available for access by the public. To me it was enchanting. I had visions of hundreds of labourers, unloading bricks and moving them onto a pyramid. My mind questioned the logistics of collecting millions (or billions) of bricks. The engineering required to design and build each one of these huge mounds. Geezus! What a monumental task. It made me want to just sit down and let my thoughts fly. For me, just sitting in a place like this, truly gave me peace. Ange and Uncle J climbed anything that was available. Lupe shepherded the small boys, and Ol’ Bubbaloo just listened patiently to my endless rambling.

The remarkable thing is that even when I start to write about this, or other historical sites in Peru, or look at our photos, to help my memory, I still feel very nostalgic. I believe, more and more, that if I had ever appeared on this earth in an earlier time, then surely I was there as a Peruvian. Another memory, from that day, sticks with me, and goes something like this. Coincidently, as I was standing and pondering a pyramid, with my jaw sagging, and drool trickling down my cheek, around the corner of a caretakers hut, I spy Uncle Jack riding a borrowed burro and loaded with coca leaves. He had heard of our previous visit, with our friends The Kiwi and C, where “C” got soroche’. Uncle J was taking no chance, and was headed to the van with his stash.

On the tops of many of the pyramids, you can see tin roofs. These have been placed there over the years to keep rainfall from further eroding the tops of the pyramids. Additionally they provide shade and shelter for the archaeologists who are endlessly excavating these mounds. I also remember, reading in the museum, that as new rulers came to power, they would add layers to the pyramid, in honour of themselves. “Hold it”, you might scream out, “where in hell did all the clay bricks come from?” What, I read in the museum, was that each local resident, farmer, layman or politico, including priest as well as warriors, were required to come up with an allotment of mud bricks each year. Something like a tax. “Bullshit”, you probably snort, “how in hell would you ever keep track of them?”

We spent some time snooping around in a museum constructed at the entrance to the pyramids. It was very interesting. Unbelievably, many of the items recovered from the excavations of the pyramids, were so unspoiled, that they appeared to be in new condition. There were perfect examples of pottery, full of local foodstuffs (many of which are still used in Peruvian cooking today). Also a depiction of what might happen if you failed to make your “brick’ quota. Hehe! I’m not quite sure of that but, it did get me a mean look from Bubbaloo. It seemed the same, then, much as it does now, that I could just not keep my mouth shut. If it were better to say nothing, I always blurted out something, that eventually, had me apologizing!

At this point in my memory, I am going to leap forward one day, to a place south of Tucume, and a bit southeast of Trujillo. The reason I am doing this is because, what we visited there, was very much in line with what we seen in Tucume. These two sites were a couple of hours apart by car, and separated by two cities Chiclayo and Trujillo. And even though they were hundreds of years apart in time, the pyramids, at both places, shared very similar characteristics, both in style and methods of construction. The place, I am now going to lump together with our trip to see pyramids, was called the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon. I suppose, that if you were having a hard time visualizing pyramids at Tucume then these should sort that out.

At the time we visited the two temples, the Temple of the Sun was closed to visitors. It was under excavation by archeologists from a University in Lima. We were told that if we wanted to volunteer to help with the exploration, that we could get in touch with the Catholic University, in Lima. I could have easily given up my work, to come here and sift around in the ruins with a teaspoon. Problem was, that my leader was not quite ready to wallow in the dirt alongside me. She still had spending to do. Uncle J was thinking the same, but too timid, to broach the subject with Lupe, he already knew the answer. Anyway, up we went to the top of this magnificent pile of bricks, too see what we could see.

We paid our entrance fee, hired a guide and then trekked to the top of the Temple of the Moon, or Huaca de la Luna, as they would say in Peruvian. From the top you could see, across the desert to the Pacific Ocean, the city of Trujillo, the Andes to the east and to Chan Chan (the subject of our first visit to this area). Of course it was unreal. I have run out of superlatives to describe these sites. Most probably, I used most of them up, the first time I set eyes on Machu Picchu, 25 years previously. I might add, at this point, that massive restoration and protection of these sites was underway by the Peruvian government, as well as, archeological and historical groups from all over the world.

These two temples were a product of the Moche peoples (remember the Lord of Sipan). Apparently construction may have started around the same time as the Lord of Sipan lived. It appeared as though both temples were added onto over the next few hundred years. Because there are no written records available, it is undetermined the exact chronology of the building. They may have been built in different stages, possibly decades apart, and perhaps dependent on the fervour of the ruler at the time. Nonetheless, any gaps that appeared in the history, I filled in, with my imagination. Ol’ Bubbaloo found it easier just to nod her head and ignore me, while I extolled the beauty and mystic surrounding the wonders we visited.

Once inside, an incredible display of architecture and art were presented to us. The pyramid was entered from the top level. The levels from earlier times were found below. As I stated previously, each new ruler, added to the temple, in his own honour. What we found below was indeed magnificent. The walls inside of the Temple were “plastered” with clay panels. Each one of which had designs etched into them and then painted with the natural colors of the day. Fascinating, jumps to mind. I’m not sure about the others, but I could have stayed right their, digging away in the sand, to see what else I might find. The particular colors available, at the time, were white, yellow, red and black. They were made from vegetables, berries and snails. The colors are brilliant even 1500 years later.

We came across many panels bearing a depiction of a Moche’ diety named Ayapec (or more rightly Ai Apaec) the decapitator. He was not a particularly friendly looking fellow. His vision was depicted in much the same manner, on each panel. He was always shown grimacing or glaring out at you, from the wall. What I do also, remember, from our tour inside this Temple, was that they were built by the Moche culture (remember the Lord of Sipan). These were probably built 500 (or more) years prior to those at Tucume, that we had visited earlier in this article. Additionally, I remember that the color white was used by each new ruler, to paint over the old ruler’s art and give himself a new blank slate to work on. Incredible!

If my memory is correct, I believe that the Temple of the Moon, had 7 levels down from the top. Each one representing the work of a new ruler. Each ruler added a new layer to the pyramid, once they assumed power. Much of this site was religious and I believe used for ceremonies and festivities. Across the way was the Temple of the Sun (Huaca del Sol), which was even bigger and more impressive. I remember promising myself to return one day, after it was open, and explore its’ wondrous sights. To this day, I have not yet returned, however, I will do so in a heartbeat, if any of my readers show any interest in accompanying me there.

I will leave this memory now. I could easily write a few more pages, but for the sake of my loyal readers, I am done. One last thing I learned from this tour. Ancient Peruvians, can and did build some big ass pyramids! My earlier doubts were dispelled as well as any lingering doubts of what Peruvians could and did construct. I should have known from my many trips around Peru, to “not doubt” anything that I was told, about anything! From the pyramids at Tucume, we finally took a break and headed west a short distance, to give the kids some beach time. I will not say much about the beach, but will add a few pictures instead of words.

Now, as promised, the beach at Pimental, or Playa Pimental. This fishing community, was famous for its’ cabellitos or Totora reed boats. These single man fishing boats have been in existence for at least 3000 years. “And how would I know that”, you might ask? Well, these boats are shown on some, recovered, pottery pieces from that period, which depicted these very same watercraft. They have been built from the same tortora reeds, from the same local swamp, for a long time. Coincidently, high in the Andes on Lake Titicaca we also saw the same boats, made from the same type reeds. They have been in existence there for well over 2000 years. Long, long before the Inca and his “sis” arrived from out of the lake, to settle Peru.

I remember the children running on the beach in the sand. I remember the girls shopping in a few stalls on the malecon, that remained from the summer. And I also remember going to the only restaurant open at that time of the season, for a very late lunch/snack. Everyone was famished. Uncle J and I were thirsty. The service was poor, the selection was limited (everything “sold out” until next season) and the girls’ moods soured quickly. I also remember Uncle J never getting his order. If I remember he “picked” from the boys’ plates. We left without ever seeing his food and only after a big Peruvian argument about the bill. Funny how these kind of trivial things, are mostly what, stick in my mind, twenty years later.

The END, for now!