La Doncella

摘要

High among the Andes in Argentina, La Doncella, the maiden, was taken to the top of a mountain and left to die. Some 500 years ago, she was a capacocha, a sacrifice offered to the gods by the Inca in exchange for continued prosperity. Not just anyone was fit to be a capacocha. Children were selected from among the villages, likely chosen for their beauty and purity. The boys were taken to the Incan capital of Cuzco and sacrificed immediately; the girls were sent to compounds where they assisted priests. These chosen girls, called aclla, helped prepare chicha, a fermented corn beverage, and other ritual items, says Johan Reinhard, an independent researcher who has done extensive work on high-altitude archaeological sites.