Museo del Convento de Santo Domingo Qorikancha








"According to the chronicler Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, when they conquered the Cusco valley, the founders of the Inca dynasty, Manko Qhapaq and his family, settled on the site now occupied by the Qorikancha. Later the main temple of the Inca Empire was constructed here. 
The great imperial reformer Inca Pachakuti (or Pachakuteq), rebuilt the shrine and endowed it with fabulous riches, and for this reason its name was changed to Qorikancha, which in Quechua means “golden enclosure”.

After the Spanish conquest in 1532, during the division of Cusco’s lands and buildings, the Qorikancha fell to Juan Pizarro, one of Francisco Pizarro's brothers. Before his death, Juan Pizarro decided to donate the Qorikancha to the Order of Preachers (Dominican Order). Founded in 1534, Cusco’s Saint Dominic Priory (Convento de Santo Domingo) was the first Dominican convent in Peru". [source]
Ceque System 
The Ceque system was a series of ritual pathways leading outward from Cusco into the rest of the Inca Empire.The empire was divided into four sections called suyus. In fact, the local name for the empire was "Tahuantinsuyu," meaning "four parts together." Cusco, the capital, was the center and meeting point of these four sections, which converged at Qurikancha, the temple of the sun. Cusco was split half, Hanansaya to the North and Hurinsaya to the South, with each half containing 2 of the four suyus. Hanansaya contained Chichasuyu in the Northwest and Antisuyu in the Northeast while Hurinsaya contained Collasuyu in the Southeast and Cuntisuyu in the Southwest.Each region contained nine lines, except for the Cuntisuyu which had 14 or 15. It comes to a total of 41 or 42 known pathways radiating out from the Qurikancha or sun temple in Cusco and lead to shrines or huacas of religious and ceremonial significance.[source]

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