karajia

Halfway up a cliff and overlooking the precipice of the Karajía ravine in the province of Luya, are these enigmatic pre-Hispanic figures, more than 2 meters high, the work of the Chachapoyas, 5 centuries old, but only discovered in 1985.

Sarcophagi are much more than anthropomorphic forms that can be distinguished from a distance. They represent a symbol of this pre-Inca civilization’s beliefs about life and death, as they housed the mummified bodies of important people who, according to Chachapoyas tradition, lived on even after their deaths.

These men and women believed that the mummified subject should have eternal, undisturbed rest, and that they would cease to exist forever if their body was destroyed. That’s why these amazing tombs were created and placed in such a difficult resting place.

In total, there are 6 Purunmachus that are in better condition (“ancient man” in Quechua), the local name given to these remains, whose image is printed on the collection of the new one-sol coins.