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Continuing
the route toward the east of the city, by the road
toward Puno, in Km. 125 is the Raqchi village which
belongs to the district of San Pedro de Cacha, province
of Canchis. Raqchi is found on the right bank of the
Vilcanota River, at an altitude of 3500 mts. (11500
ft.). Apparently its pre-Hispanic name was "Cacha"
and not "Raqchi". |
Name which the origins and right pronunciation are unknown.
The evidences indicate that Raqchi was a complex village with
multiple constructions for various purposes; including farming
terraces, "kanchas" (apartments), "wayranas"
(buildings having only 3 walls), "qolqas" (storehouses),
different shrines, religious water fountains, etc. Possibly,
it was an important "tambo" in the route toward
the "Collasuyo". The most important building within
the complex is the "Wiraqocha Temple", that according
to ancient chroniclers was made built by Inka Wiraqocha in
homage to the Superior Invisible God of Andean people: "Apu
Kon Titi Wiraqocha". Pedro Cieza de Leon collected the
tradition telling that the shrine was built after the appearance
in this place of a man who began performing miracles, and
the village inhabitants had decided to stone him to death;
but when going in search of that strange man they found him
knelt with his arms extended skyward and immediately after
a fire rain fell. Thus, those remorseful men left him free;
that strange man was gone toward the coast and got submerged
into the ocean waters disappearing forever. Thereafter, construction
of a shrine in his memory was decided as well as the sculpture
of a stone idol that according to some conquerors that saw
it, must had been the image of some Christian apostle that
came through these lands. Concerning to the fire rain, it
is possible that it referred to some eruption of the presently
extinguished volcano "Kinsach'ata" located by the
surroundings; there is a great quantity of dried lava (volcanic
rock) all around the zone.
The "Wiraqocha Temple" is a grandiose construction
for its era. Architectonically it is classified as "kallanka";
that is, a large building completely covered with a thatched
roofing (wood and "ichu"); it is outwardly 92 m.
(302 ft.) long and 25.25 m. (83 ft.) wide. Its central wall
is manufactured with very well carved stones in the base for
a height of about 3 m. and adobes (sun-dried mud-bricks) upwards,
it has 1.65 m. of thickness by the base and it had about 1.30
m. by the upper part. Today that wall has 12 m. of height,
a century ago it had 15 m. and according to a hypothetical
reconstruction consigned by Santiago Agurto originally it
must have reached 16.60 m. Its lateral walls had 1.20 m. of
thickness and they must have reached about 3 m. of height.
Its roofing must have been impressive covering almost 2500
m² with its slope inclination of about 50°. There
were circular columns which bases are still found between
the central wall and the lateral ones for supporting the roof;
those columns had 1.60 m. of diameter and about 9.80 m. of
height.
Furthermore, in this same site there are some other very important
sectors with remains of "wayranas" and a great amount
of "qolqas" with walls of "pirka" type.
