Karajia
Coordinates: 6 ° 9 ′ 43 ″ S , 78 ° 1 ′ 16.9 ″ W.
Karajia is a village in the province of Luya , Amazonas region in northern Peru and a burial place of the Chachapoya culture named after this place .
On a rock face about three hundred meters below the village, several sarcophagi can be seen halfway up . Princes of the Chachapoya were probably buried in these.
The crouching mummies inside the sarcophagi, well preserved because of the constant temperatures, look to the east and thus towards sunrise, presumably because the rising sun is a symbol for life and consequently also for life after death.
A similar way of thinking can be observed in many ancient cultures of the Andes , such as the dead of the Nazca culture in the cemetery of Chauchilla , who also face east, show.
The sarcophagi are modeled from clay and straw. Some of the figures fell during various earthquakes. In the village of Karajia found objects (a mummy, grave goods, the headboard of a sarcophagus) are exhibited in a building.
There are three different groups of figures from different times on the rock face. How the sarcophagi and the dead got onto the inaccessible rocky outcrops cannot yet be clearly established. Most likely the theory is that a ledge led to the appropriate places; in order to protect the burial place from being destroyed by the Spaniards, this path could have been destroyed.
Directions
The best way to get to Karajia is from Chachapoyas , the capital of the Amazon region . Chachapoyas is served by various bus companies and has an airport, which is currently only served sporadically. In Chachapoyas there are various travel agencies and haulage companies that drive towards Luya , where Karajia is located.
