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Ayahuasca and the resin of the San Pedro cactus in their rituals and ceremonies, traditions which would continue

to be used right up to the modern day in shamanistic ceremonies. As Andean religion spread across the Pacific

basin of South America, two major concepts came to embody the bulk of their religious beliefs: the reverence of

tribal ancestors and the importance of the huacas (Conrad 105). Ancestor worship was particularly prevalent

throughout the Andes, especially within the societal framework of the ayllus.

The basic societal, political, and religious unit of Andean society was the ayllu, which was an extended

familial unit whose members could trace their lineage back a single ancestor (Conrad 87). The ayllus were entirely

self-sustaining all on their own, managing farm fields, livestock, and production for both the ayllu and for trade

with other ayllus. The spiritual heart of the ayllu was it’s titular ancestor, who was most commonly mummified

and served as the sacred guardian of the ayllu. A common belief among Andean societies was the absence of death

(Conrad 123), by that I mean, they did not believe in the cessation of bodily function as the end of life, but rather

the beginning of the next stage of life. The practice of mummification was not just to preserve the body in death,

but to allow it to remain healthy through the next stage of life. The Mummy of the titular Ancestor of the ayllu

was the most powerful huaca any individual ayllu could have (Conrad 105).

Huaca was the term used to refer to any item which the Andeans viewed as having spiritual significance.

The larger the physical size of the huaca, the more powerful it’s spiritual influence. Anything could potentially be

a huaca, from streams and stones to the sun, moon, and mountains. Ayllus could have a whole host of huacas

revered around their land and territory. The beliefs and Ancestral practices of the individual ayllus resulted in a

mishmash of cultural beliefs that covered the Andes mountain range like a societal quilt. As time went on, the

growth in the populations of ayllus and inter-relations between them soon led to groups of ayllus uniting into cities

and eventually empires. Within these cities, the worship of Ancestors and huacas began to be eclipsed by the

worship of local gods. These gods were often directly associated with aspects of the natural world and many

societies within the Andes shared worship of certain gods.

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