Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino

ÑAWRAY PACHA: WORLDS AND TIMES

The Andean conception of the world is different from the Western conception. ‘Pacha’ is a concept that simultaneously means time and space. Together they are a unified whole through which all living beings can transit. In this world, the past has not disappeared. It is there, beside the present. Before the European invasion of this land and the forced conversion of its peoples to Christianity, there were two pachas— ‘purum pacha’ (time and previous humanities) and ‘kay pacha’ (time and current humanities). After the Spanish conquest, another appeared, ‘hanaq pacha’, the heavens. For Andean peoples, the beings that inhabit this world can transform themselves into animals, plants or stones, and the other beings of the world, including the deities, can become like humans. The dead can also create life and participate constantly in the world of the living.