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Machu Picchu - 19: Intihuatana
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THE INTIHUATANA
Literally meaning the hitching post of the sun, the word Intihuatana derives
from the Quechua word for sun, inti, and the verb to tie, hata. Situated behind
and up from the Principle Temple, the Intihuatana was so-called because the
Incas are said to have “tied” the sun to a hitching post during sunrise on the
solstice to stop it from going any further away. Its shape mimics the
horn-shaped peak Huayna Picchu which dominates the city and is powerfully lined
up with mountains in all directions. Every Inca site of note would have had such
a stone but, after the Conquest, Spanish priests used to lop the tops off them
in order to exorcise them. Machu Picchu’s is the only Intihuatana to survive in
its original state. Archaeologists believe that it was used for making
astronomical observations and calculating the passing of time.
www.machupicchuperu.info Text Copyright Anne Noon. Photos Copyright Mike Weston. All rights reserved 2007
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