Chakana

most commonly used variation of an Andean cross used today; this open Andean cross can also be seen at the Tello obelisk and on Tiwanaku Qirus often with an eye inside

The chakana (Andean cross, "stepped cross" or "step motif") is a stepped cross motif used by the Inca and pre-incan Andean societies. The most commonly used variation of this symbol used today is made up of an equal-armed cross indicating the cardinal points of the compass and a superimposed square. Chakana means 'bridge', and means 'to cross over' in Quechua. The Andean cross motif appears in pre-contact artifacts such as textiles and ceramics from such cultures as the Chavín, Wari, Ica, and Tiwanaku, but with no particular emphasis and no key or guide to a means of interpretation. The archeologist Alan Kolata calls the Andean cross the "one of the most ubiquitous, if least understood elements in Tiwanaku iconography".

Interpretation

According to one interpretation, the square is suggested to represent the other two levels of existence. The three levels of existence are Hana Pacha (the upper world inhabited by the superior gods), Kay Pacha, (the world of our everyday existence) and Ukhu or Urin Pacha (the underworld inhabited by spirits of the dead, the ancestors, their overlords and various deities having close contact to the Earth plane). The hole through the centre of the cross is the Axis by means of which the shaman transits the cosmic vault to the other levels. It is also said to represent Cusco, the center of the Incan empire, and the Southern Cross constellation, as well as being a Christian (or syncretic) cross.

Modern Andean cross with central eye motif replicated in the Coat of Arms of Puno (Peru)

Andean cross with central eye motif

Ancient Tiwanaku Qirus sometimes bear an Andean cross with central eye motif.

Historical evidence

The Andean cross is one of the oldest symbols in the Andes. It appears as a prominent element of the decoration of the Tello Obelisk, a decorated monolithic pillar discovered by Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello at the Chavín culture site of Chavín de Huántar. Construction of Chavín de Huántar began around 1200 BCE and the site continued in use to about 400 BCE. The exact date of the Tello Obelisk is not known, but based on its style it probably dates to the middle of this range, around 800 BCE. The form of the Andean cross may be replicated in the Akapana, a large terraced platform mound with a central reservoir built at the site of Tiahuanaco by people of the Tiwanaku culture near Lake Titicaca, Bolivia and dating to about AD 400. Tiwanaku was the center of the Tiwanaku Empire, which thrived in the southern Andes from about 400 to 1000 CE.

The mestizo historian Garcilaso de la Vega, el Ynga, reports about a holy cross of white and red marble or jasper, which was venerated in 16th-century Cusco.

The Incas began to venerate the holy cross, after they heard how Pedro de Candia had miraculously defied a lion and a tiger holding a cross. When the Spaniards captured the city, they transferred the cross to sacristy of the newly built cathedral, where De la Vega saw it in 1560. He was surprised that the clergy had not decorated it with gold or gems. Ongoing stories about indigenous crosses contributed to the idea of a 'natural' religion that would have prepared the Indians for their inevitable conversion to Christianity.

• 
  "Andean cross" at Tiwanaku
• 
  "stepped or Andean cross motif" at Kantatayita (Tiwanaku)
• 
  Wall of the Six Monoliths at Ollantaytambo with "step motif"
• 
  Four-Cornered Wari Hat
• 
  Chakana at Kanchisqocha
• 
  "Andean cross motif" at Iñaq Uyu
• 
  The plan of Akapana is often described as "half Andean Cross"
• 
  Chakana on a Wari Tunic
• 
  Chakana on an Inca Uncu

Controversy about New Age fringe beliefs

Chakana how it is sold to tourists

Some scholars regard it as an “invented tradition". Although the Chakana as the 'Andean cross', presented as bearing cultural, spiritual, or mystical interpretations, has wide popularity in contemporary Andean culture, the roots of these mystical interpretations are no older than the late 20th century.

Further reading

• Soledad Cachuan: Mitología Inca, Buenos Aires 2008
• Drury: The Elements of Shamanism, Element Books, 1989.