El Brujo, Chiclayo

Today we worked our way north from Trujillo to Chiclayo, a 4-hour drive along the coast. Chiclayo will be our base to explore the Moche and Lambayeque temples along the Chicama and Lambayeque river valleys.

An hour north of Trujillo is our first stop, the ‘El Brujo’ archaeological complex. The name ‘El Brujo’ (‘the witch’) came from the belief one of the pyramids held magical powers. For centuries, shaman travelled hundreds of miles to the site in the hopes of boosting their healing powers.

El Brujo has been inhabited for over 14,000 years. The site has multiple temples from Mochica and Sican times and a fine museum dedicated to ‘Senora de Cao’ whose mummy was discovered in 2005. The temples are built entirely of adobe bricks and have suffered from rains, salt water drift, and grave robbers.

We toured ‘Huaca Cao Viejo’, the only temple available for viewing and is the best-preserved temple on the site. It was here that the Senora de Cao was found. The mummy was wrapped in 22 layers of cotton and was very well preserved. She had tattoos with snakes, spiders, and geographic patterns on her face, legs and arms. At death, the Lady of Cao was 25 (est) years old – very young as the average lifespan of the time was 45. Archaeologists surmise she died at childbirth. Her tomb is that of a sovereign, richly decorated. The discovery and the suggestion that she was a queen caused a massive re-thinking of Moche culture as it had been assumed that only men had important positions in society.

Today a number of young school children were also visiting the site. While listening to our guide explain details on the temple, we would frequently find ourselves surrounded by polite, smiling children entranced with hearing English spoken. Great!

Landscape along the route to Chiclayo is pretty desolate and desert-like with sugar cane being the main crop along with rice (incredibly) in irrigated sections. Much of the drive is on the Pan American highway and the sections there are pretty good. When off the highway though two-lane roads that need serious maintenance are the norms. The small villages that dot the route suggest many of the inhabitants live much like they have for hundreds of years – except for the ubiquitous tuk-tuks!

Once in Chiclayo we dined on Duck Ceviche (!), then visited the Sipan Museum – more on that tomorrow as we are touring the ruins then.

We were picked up this morning by our driver and Rocio, our guide. We had about an hour drive along some most interesting roads, the Northern Peruvians seem to be quite fond of speed bumps and the drivers seem most inclined to ignore or avoid them. Lane markings are only suggestions and it is mostly a free for all.

We arrive in due time to “El Brujo”, the archaeological complex where the “Lady of Cao” was discovered in 2005. She was buried with all the ceremony usually accorded to the high leader and that was quite a shock to the patrimonial view of Moche culture to that point. In fact, this woman, was washed with saltwater (a preservative), her body was dusted with a mercury compound (another preservative) and then wrapped in 70 meters of linen before she was buried. No other corpses have been found to date with this treatment. They concluded that she was about 25 years old and died in childbirth, not her first. In accordance with tradition, she was buried with the honors of her rank, as a leader and a warrior. In addition, this is the first time they were able to use imaging techniques to reconstruct her facial features and now have a 98% chance they have determined what she looked like alive, very cool. One note, the exposure of “El Brujo” to the elements of wind and salt water have eroded much of the color and detail that existed at the Temple of the Moon, yet it is still clear that the same elements had meaning between the two complexes.

Next was a four-hour drive to Lambeyeque to tour the Lord of Sipan Museum. The museum is closed on Mondays, so we toured the museum today and the ruins tomorrow.

The first Sunday of the month all the Peruvian citizens can go to the Museums for free, and many take advantage of it. Rocio, a true professional, manages to get us in ahead of the queues and to make our tours private. Several of the school children are entranced by her commentary and also the ‘gringos’ that are with her.

We drive back to Chiclayo to check into our hotel and bid adieu to Rocie and Zuita. Tomorrow we will meet up with new guide Julio and his driver for the next adventure.