Blog Post 3: Essentialism

 Energy Vortex and New Age Spirituality

While the blog series has explored the broader place essentialism of the Machu Picchu several layers remain to be unpacked. Several smaller forms of essentialism serve to contribute to this greater misunderstanding, one of the most glaring being the promotion of Machu Picchu as an “energy vortex” and the rise of “spiritual tourism.”

Numerous online organisations promote travel to Machu Picchu and use this spiritualism as a means of enticing foreigners. “Ticket Machu Picchu” is an example of this, going so far as to assert that the “recurrent tremors and earthquakes” provoke the “energy” tourists feel in the mountain. These tours often frame the historic site as a means of personal discovery and cosmic power – fitting the Western New Age form of spirituality. This is a compelling means of drawing in tourists, but one that detracts from historical, scientific, and cultural complexity. As Massey (1995) explains, essentialist narratives often rely on a fixed idea of place, ignoring its dynamism and the multiple stories that intersect within it. This idea plays out at Machu Picchu, where spirituality often overshadows the site's evolving cultural reality.

Despite this, it would be disingenuous to cast all organisations under the same light. There exist several more recent tourism groups that frame the travel around the Incan way of life, acknowledge the Machu Picchu as a “testament” to the Incan people (Kondor Paths Tours). By representing the Incan culture and history of the mountain city through the tourism, the essentialist outlook is directly challenged, though the risk of stereotyping or commodifying the culture remains.

Ultimately, place essentialism in the Machu Picchu is an ongoing problem. It reduces a complex, live culture into a marketable brand for tourists at the expense of an evolving community. Whether the overall disregard for Incan knowledge or the more niche compartmentalisation into an “energy vortex,” it is only through engagement and learning that essentialism can be opposed.

Massey, Doreen (1995). 'Places and Their Pasts'. History Workshop Journal, 39(1):182-192.

Ticket Machu Picchu. (n.d.). Machu Picchu energy and spirituality. https://www.ticketmachupicchu.com/machu-picchu-energy-vortex

 

Kondor Paths Tours. (n.d.). Machu Picchu Inca history and tours. https://www.kondorpathtours.com

Blog Post 2: Street Art

The Great Mural of Cusco

Naturally, being a protected World Heritage site, the Machu Picchu does not feature any street art. In spite of this limitation, however, various avenues of artistic expression exist around the site, notably in the communities or cities near it. These ‘gates’ to Machu Picchu allow for unofficial perspectives of the site to be imparted to the visiting tourists and remain a key means of communication for the Indigenous population.

One such example of street art is The Great Mural of Cusco, a 50-meter tall and 6-meter-wide testament to the struggles and history of the Indigenous population of the region. It presents these people as a constant, developing force that continues to maintain their culture and history despite the conventional idea of them being ‘ancient’ or ‘lost.’ While originally a form of rebellion, the artwork has made a name for itself as an unofficial tourist attraction that many travellers and tourists see en route to the Machu Picchu from Cusco.

Critically, the mural performs exactly the kind of work Millner identifies in her analysis of street art as “visual poetics”. It is art with a critical impulse, capable of confronting institutional narratives (Millner, 2017). In this case, the mural offers a direct counter-narrative to the “mystical lost city” branding of Machu Picchu. It insists that the story isn’t over and that the people aren’t gone. The way it preludes people’s visits to the Machu Picchu and is such a modern form of expression helps to directly challenge the essentialist view of the site – highlighting the power of street art.

Millner, J. (2017). Visual poetics: The critical impulse in street art. In J. Millner (Ed.), Visual poetics: The critical impulse in street art (pp. 1–10).

Inkayni Peru Tours. (n.d.). Great mural of Cusco – considered the biggest mural of South America. https://www.inkayniperutours.com/blog/great-mural-of-cusco-considered-the-biggest-mural-of-south-america

Image: Tripadvisor. (n.d.). Great Mural Of Cusco – All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g294314-d27926320-Reviews-Great_Mural_Of_Cusco-Cusco_Cusco_Region.html

Blog Post 1: Symbols

The Intihuatana Stone 

Machu Picchu is often considered the crown jewel of Incan civilisation and is a clear representation of Indigenous knowledge and innovation. Despite this, conventional biases pertaining to Incan culture (and ancient civilisations in general) has led many visitors into being enthralled by the mysticism and spiritual aspects of the Machu Picchu without appreciating the scientific knowledge the villagers had.

A poignant symbol of this is the Intihuatana Stone. It is one of the most well-known sites at Machu Picchu, carved directly out of the mountain rock at the sites most elevated point. The Stone was considered a sacred part of the Machu Picchu and experts believe it to have been a centrepiece to many religious celebrations. This significance makes it a common tourist destination, with visitors claiming to feel energy radiating from the carving. Tourists used to even be allowed to touch it so they could feel the energy of the sun.

Despite this, the Intihuatana Stone is much more than a religious site – for it is also a symbol of the Incan’s understanding of astronomy. Experts agree that the main function of the Stone was as a sundial, a theory supported by how the sun lines up directly above the stone during both biannual equinoxes.

The tension between these interpretations reflects what Harper and White (2016) describe in Land of Symbols - that symbols gain power through ambiguity. When a symbol like the Intihuatana can mean different things to different people it becomes easier to promote and harder to question. This vague symbolic meaning feeds neatly into the “mystic lost city” stereotype, allowing tourists to project their desires onto the site while overlooking the complex Indigenous perspectives beneath it.

Harper, M., & White, R. (2016). Symbols of Australia. NewSouth Publishing.
Image: Savage, M. (2012, May 28). Intihuatana de Machu Picchu (Pérou) [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peru_-_Machu_Picchu_123_-_Intihuatana_(7181950605).jpg

 

About Me

 

About Me

Hello! My name’s Sid and this is my blog site all about the Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the 7 Wonders of the World. I learned about it way back in primary school when covering these Wonders, and it instantly caught my attention thanks to its serene mountain views, fascinating layering and, of course, the llama’s photobombing all the serious photoshoots.

I’m Bachelor of Science student at the Melbourne University, so this subject definitely stands out from my others in a pretty glaring way. I was initially drawn to the subject due to its unique twist on approaching travel, looking at it through a lens I had never considered before the start of this year.

I’d say I’m decently well-travelled person, having experienced the modern wonders of countries like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the more natural sceneries of Algeria, and the rich cultural landscape of European countries like France, England and Italy. Yet despite all of this my approach has been rather shallow, something I intend to rectify in the future.

“Traveling is an easy way of surrounding ourselves, as in childhood, with what we cannot understand.”

Among all of Pico Iyer’s assertions in “Why We Travel” this one stood out to me the most. It reminded me of the times my gruff old man would get excited to see the sites he only read about as a child, or how I would get starstruck by the sights and sounds of the places I didn’t understand. There’s simply something awe inspiring about travel that we feel but cannot name, and that’s what draws me to my next journey.

Looking back at the Machu Picchu, I aim to explore how this Wonder of the World has been relegated to the box of a ‘mystical lost city,’ subsequently diminishing the scientific ingenuity and deep cultural significance of the Incan way of life. This oversimplification serves to bolster the Western world’s idea of mystery and spirituality pertaining to the site, often at the cost of actual historical accuracy and Indigenous perspectives.