Living among gods – The Capacocha children : A hermeneutic analysis of the Chakana philosophy

Sammanfattning: This thesis aims to study the Capacocha, which is an Inca ritual where children were offered to their gods in the sacred places called Huacas (places of origin) and offered artefacts together with the children links to the Inca's sacred symbol, the Chakana, which in turn it is the life philosophy of the Inca culture. This thesis uses this philosophy to understand the phenomenon and the elements that define Huacas and the Capacocha ritual. Furthermore, a hermeneutic approach with phenomenology and phenomenology of landscape theory is applied to understand the symbolism and meaning from the Inca's cultural perspective. For this thesis, three specific case studies are analysed: the children from Llullaillaco, Chuscha and Cerro El Plomo, all situated at high altitudes (5200 - 6739 m) in the Andes. These selected places by the Incas were Huacas. The analysis is built on a comprehensive study of the cultural value and the symbolic meaning of the Capacocha ritual in relation to the Huacas and the Incas' perspective (Chakana) since previous studies concerning the Capacocha ritual, and Huacas did not consider the Chakana philosophy in their interpretations. The aim is to narrow the gap in understanding the Inca worldview to contribute with academic knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon that defines Huacas and the Capacocha ritual from the Incas' perspective. The study shows that the Incas had a holistic perspective where everything is entangled through time and space, and this demonstrates that the children were not just offered to the Inca gods. Instead, the children lived among the gods because they became gods through the Capacocha ritual, a transformation process.