An array of offerings that accompanied one of the Capac Hucha
sacrifices on the summit of Llullallaico in Argentina, including a
necklace fashioned of Spondylus shell, ceramic plates, richly attired
silver and Spondylus male figurines, and Spondylus and silver llama
figurines. Johan Reinhard.While there is some confusion in the various chroniclers’ accounts as to when,
or on what occasions, Capac Huchas took place, there is general consensus that
they were used to mark cyclical and extraordinary events, as well as special
occasions that were of great regional and imperial import. Annual Capac Huchas
were dedicated to the health, long life, and prosperity of the ruler and his
principal wife, the Coya. Unscheduled Capac Huchas, on the other hand,
marked times of upheaval, such as illness, war, or the death of a sovereign as
well as natural disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions.
The Capac Huchas performed for such extraordinary events were intended to
supplicate and seek the support of the supernatural powers that controlled these
circumstances, with the hope of returning the world to a state of normalcy and
balance.
One example of a scheduled Capac Hucha coincided with the yearly oracular
congress in Cuzco, when regional huacas and their mediums came to the capital
to foretell the future. When the Incas conquered a province, they took a portable
version of its leading huaca to Cuzco, where they kept it as an honored hostage.
Although the huacas were eventually returned to their places of origin after the