Ancestral Religion in The Andes

Firs Tomb.-

Restoration of this magnificent tomb took more than a year of step-by-step cleaning, recording and saving for posterity of bones, ornaments and marvellous jewellery, as well as the mere marks of items that had disintegrated. Thanks to this work around 600 objects that had been used during his life and which identified him as a ruler with military, religious and civil authority.

This discovery confirmed that the many representations in Mochica art of people receiving offerings and honours were not purely mythical; the principal authority of many of these scenes was, according to the garments found, the Lord of Sipan who may have presided over the most important religious and political events of his time, and who died 1,700 years ago.

Jewellery.-

Among the royal jewels recovered were three exquisite pairs of earrings in gold and turquoise, representing a sacred bird associated with fertility rituals, deer linked to ancestor worship and - the most extraordinary of the three - a miniature representation in gold of the ruler himself, flanked by two warriors.

Over his right hand was a sceptre consisting of an inverted gold pyramid bearing relieves showing military prisoners, undoubtedly the principal symbol of authority and power. 

Gold plated copper emblems or standards were also recovered, which could have been religious or heraldic symbols of the dynasty, showing a deity with his arms open and with his
fists clenched, as well as an enigmatic ornament representing a human silhouette with no head and its arms open.

A necklace consisting of 20 peanuts, half made of gold and half of silver repeated the dualism present in the Mochica religion. Underneath the body was the royal crown in the form of a great golden half-moon, confirming the Lord of Sipan’s earthly authority.

Another impressive ornament was a gold back plate weighing around 1 kg, which would have been worn on the lower back while conducting ceremonies on the summit of the pyramids.