Study of the concept of stone and stone animation in the central Andes

Abstract

In the Andes, there is the belief that beings made of stone inhabited the Earth before the emergence of the sun; stones appear as the building blockfor human beings. There are stories that tell us about the conversion of animals, human beings or gods into stones. There are many accounts on theanimation of beings confined inside of stones that, once reconverted, can communicate or intervene in the life of people or gods that seek their help.The petrification of animals, human beings or gods seems to indicate that those afflicted enter a different time that has the characteristics ofthe primordial ages, before humans were present. Survivors of various destructions of the universes still accompany us as stones, their formssometimes revealing their participation in one of the previous humanities. In Peru, they are given the name of “gentiles”, “pasados”, [past] or the“gente de antes” [people of the past]. These beings tend to live in the ruins of pre-Columbian monuments, caves in mountains, around springs,and in general, in delicate spaces.The most cited examples are Juan de Betanzos (2004), Antonio de Recinos (2003), Guamán Poma (1980), Joan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti (1993)and the inca Garcilaso de la Vega (2013). This article is dedicated to the discussion of this topic.