San Catequilla de Pichincha and Catequil, the cult to Lightning (Illapa) in the context of Inca expansion

Summary

Natural features, hills, subterranean springs, etc., designated as, ‘Catequilla,’ in northern Ecuador were huacas associated with Catequil, a religious cult to lightning (Illapa), worshiped from Quito to Cuzco, in the context of Inca expansion. San Catequilla de Pichincha is located in the Pomasqui Valley of northern highland Ecuador and the only huaca under the equator at 0°0’02" South Latitude. Ethnohistoric accounts indicate it was one of the most highly venerated Andean huacas, in part because of its importance to calculation of astronomical cycles. When the sun was in zenith passage on the autumnal equinox the gnome in the center of the circular platform had no shadow. It is for this reason that the huaca is still given ritual offerings at this time of the year. Preliminary research at San Catequilla indicates that it predates Inca expansion, with associations to earlier Panzaleo culture.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Current Perspectives in Ecuadorian Archaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage