A triple-jamb niche at Pilco Kayma, a two-story
structure on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca.
Once plastered and painted, triple-jamb niches
such as this one are extremely rare and were
reserved for use in buildings that commemorated
places of origin. Joe Castro/Guía del Caminante.The Incas resettled the islands’ original residents on the mainland and replaced
them with mitmac colonists from all over the realm to serve the shrines and the
pilgrims, both on the islands and on the mainland. At the Copacabana peninsula
on the mainland, an administrative center controlled the flow of pilgrims, who
came from afar bearing offerings of llamas, gold, silver, Spondylus shell,
feathers, coca, and fine cloth. Storehouses contained provisions and clothing for
attendants and pilgrims. Before reaching Copacabana, pilgrims had to pass
through a gate with watchmen and guards. Prior to embarking for the islands, the
pilgrims fasted, abstaining from salt, meat, and hot peppers, and visited and