Dying to Rule: Sex and Power in Moche Society – 2007
Return to the living
After ruling for a time in the World of the Ancestors, the Ruler was prepared to return to the World of the Living. The inverted position of some objects in his tomb indicates a need to continue his journey, but this time in the opposite direction. “Wrinkle Face” and “Iguana” descended into the burial chamber and “woke up” the inert body of the deceased by loudly shaking rattles. They then rose to the surface, changed positions and, hanging from some ropes, dug up the coffin. This was followed by sacrifices of birds and women.