Island Life

This week I spent two days on the two biggest islands in Lake Titicaca: Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna (Island of the Sun and Island of the Moon). Both have been inhabited probably for as long as the lake basin has (at least 8000 years) but have some really neat Inka architecture on both which makes for great tourist attractions! I have visited Isla del Sol before but have recently learned some cool trivia about both islands, worth sharing!

These are the Inka ruins on the Island of the Sun. The Sapa Inka (Inka king) would make annual pilgrimages to this island from Cusco. There are a few stories explaining why- one Spanish chronicler wrote that this island was the mythical Inka origin point, although few corroborate this. More likely, the Inka nobility visited this area regularly to reinforce their authority in this area (especially since the lake basin was home to some powerful polities prior to Inka conquest!). Interestingly, this island is actually called "Titikaka" in Inka legend, and this is probably where the whole lake got its name. What is modernly called Lake Titicaca is actually two large lakes, joined by a narrow strait at Tiquina. Both the upper and lower lakes have names in Aymara/Quechua (Chucuito and Winaymarka) but are collectively called Lake Titicaca today. The Island of the Sun was renamed thus by the Spanish and it persists today. Also, to complicate matters one step further, the island was called Titikaka because of a huge boulder that vaguely looks like the head of a native wild cat, the titi. Kaka means house or home. The island was thus named "the home of the titi" because of this sacred rock.  

These are the ruins on the Isla de la Luna, nicely framed by a llama (and her baby which you can see if you count the legs!). This is a smaller site overall but slightly better preserved. This was a temple run by women devoted to the empire and sun god, Inti, called Ocllakuna. They did a lot of weaving for the state and ran temples such as this one. The island as a whole has an interesting mythology behind it too (as translated from Spanish on a signpost on the island by me, so with some editorial opinion!). Called Coati originally, this island is somewhat long, skinny, and curved (thus why the Spanish called in the island of the moon). However, Inka legend actually says that this island represents a great serpent, who swam through the lake to menace Isla del Sol and eat everyone living there. Luckily, a brave Inka saw the serpent coming, hoisted up a huge boulder, and crushed the serpents head with it! This sank the snake to the depths of the lake, where it turned to stone overtime and created the island, Coati. They say that late at night you can still here the snake wriggling to try to get out under the rocks...