Sacred Sounds, Exchange, and Copper Bells in the Ancient Southeastern Andes: The Yamparas and Inka Empire

Abstract In this paper, we discuss the importance of sacred metallic sounds in ancient rituals involving the reproduction of crops, fertility and abundance in the Yampara territory. During the Inka imperial expansion ( ad 1300–1536), the region was part of the Charcas confederation in the southern Andes. Our discussion centres on a ritual cache deposited on a storage qollqa in the Yampara centre of Yoroma. The offering contained a triadic musical instrument composed of several folded, pyramidal copper bells and other exotic objects obtained through long-distance trade networks. As still occurs today with the celebration of Tata Pujllay during carnival, metallic sounds played an important role in welcoming a good harvest and the capricious earthly divinities of the underworld. The manuscript also explores these metallic bells as ritual paraphernalia and elite ornaments in the southern Andes.