Cusco - Cuzco or Qosqo? Has the name changed again? Back in Inka days it seems that the name was closer to 'Qosqo' than the two more recent spellings. As there was no written Inka language it has been the passing down of the spoken word in the local Quechua language that is important. In 1991 experts in Cusco decided that the true name for their city should be written as Qosqo. They even produced a thesis and from that day onwards names all over the city reverted to their original Inka roots.

If you have followed earlier books and maps of the city you could be confused by the recent changes to the original Quechua names.   Qosqo, a book available only in Peru has background to the name.  Small signs in glazed tiles now mark the streets. One example is the fine Inka way known as Loreto since Spanish times. The name came from the dedication of a small chapel beside the Jesuit church - that is on the right of the picture. The street is now named Intik'ijllu - meaning  'the narrow way of the sun'.  To the left of the picture stands the fine, original Inka wall of the enclosure that surrounded the aclla huasi or wasi, perhaps best known as the 'House of the Chosen Virgins' - euphemistically, the 'Maidens of the Sun'. Acllas were the most perfectly formed of the young women from around the empire and were specially selected for a place in the accla wasi in Qosqo. They were devoted to working for the reigning Inka and should they ever stray from the chaste path, they and the male offender were severely punished.

Ancient Qosqo was not so much a city as a spiritual centre. The name is often translated as 'navel'  but that is not perfect as the word has no simple meaning.  Perhaps the nearest connection is something akin to 'solar plexus', a central point,  and in Qosqo that was the Great Square, or Aucaypata and the nearby Sun Temple, the Qorikancha, set in a gilded enclosure . Until recently the Great Square was known as the Plaza de Armas - today it is marked Haucaypata. Once it was surrounded by palaces of the Inka rulers, state buildings and the kiswar kancha, a temple to the creator god.  The Spaniards reduced the temple to rubble and built the present cathedral on the same spot.  The foundation stone was laid in 1560 but due to delays and an earthquake in 1650, the building was not completed until 1654.

It is one of the great Spanish cathedrals of the Americas and the interior houses many fine paintings by 18th century artists of the 'Cusco School'.  One painting of  The Last Supper by Marcos Zapata clearly reveals the extraordinary mixture of Spanish and Native American beliefs that abounds even in present day Andean culture.  Zapata came from a nearby village and he saw nothing unusual in painting a roasted guinea pig on the central dish. The guinea pig (Cavia sp) or cui is native to the highlands around Qosqo and is kept running freely in homes as a ready delicacy for the table.

Such is the richness of Qosqo's history that this page will be expanded with a variety of topics so look out for FEATURES as they are published.  One special Feature story will cover the ancient spiritual beliefs connected with the Sun Temple in the Qorikancha. These were described in Tony Morrison's TV film and book of the late 1970's, 'Pathways to the Gods'

The book Pathways to the Gods is out-of- print in hardcover but may be found in libraries or second hand on line by the number 0-06-013057-4 (USA) and 0-85955-053-2 (United Kingdom). The paperback, ISBN 0-89733-282-2 is still available from Academy Chicago Publishers, Chicago. USA. The theme of the film and the book covers the ceques, a linear arrangement of sacred shrines arranged around the Sun Temple and a comparison with the famous Nasca Lines.  The arrangement of the shrines and their importance was recorded in the 17th century. Some of the shrines are visible today and still venerated by the native American people.

If any reader would like to add information or suggest corrections, please send an e-mail to the editor. The addresses are not linked.

All the material in South American Pictures Features may be downloaded free of charge for personal education and research purposes. A credit must be given to South American Pictures or individual authors. For all other uses including those by charities or not-for-profit organisations please refer to

www.southamericanpictures.com