Yahanuara, April 11th 2014

Dear Professor Smith,

I write you to thank you for the sponsorship given to our research, and today I can tell you that we have a
very important discovery about Incas death rituals. And as you requested, we send you a summary of it.
During these three years, our team found that Incas had a particular way to bury dead people. First, Incas
believed in life after death, they thought that the soul went to the mysterious world of Huacas , a place
that according to them, had a connection with dark forces and supernatural powers.
In first place, they remove the organs of the deceased. Then, it was wrapped into fines clothes of linen that
were made by the virgin girls of the community (girls between eight and twelve years old). The men
dressed in black and women cut their hair. After that, they started a procession from Cuzco with the
presence of the Inca (the leader). The corpse was put in fetal position. The grave (in fact, very narrow) was
filled with offerings like ceramic stuff such as pots and dishes; fresh food (vegetables, fruits, beans)and the
most important belongings of the deceased, in case of women adornments like earrings, bracelets and
necklaces; and toys in case of children. A confortable abode had to be made for the deceased, if it was not
like that, it would get mad and return to take the soul of some relative.
When someone important died, they put him a golden mask. If the deceased was the emperor, one of his
wives and servants volunteered to go with him to the Huacas. Then, they made a celebration and drank a
lot of corn chicha to proceed with the sacrifice. Once a year, in the Great Sun Festival, they made a
procession with all emperors corpses.
Sometimes in these celebrations, they made human sacrifices that consisted in taking the person to a high
hill, there, she was dressed with a tunic and over it , a llamas made coat , then all this was tied. A few days
before this, the person had to consume coca (a sacred plant for them) to avoid suffering. He was left there
where the cold temperatures would end his life.
As you can see, this community has been culturally rich ; however, there are still a lot of things to discover.
Next week, I will send you the videos and pictures that we have obtained.
Best regards,

Yohana Muoz
Researcher
Universidad Catlica de Santa Mara
Faculty of Anthropology

Mrs. Christopher Smith
Professor
Cambridge University
Trinity Ln, Cambridge CB2 1TN
UK
Yohana Muoz
Universidad Catlica de Santa Mara
Urb. San Jos
Yahanuara, Per
Postal code 04020
+51 54 382038