![]() At the bottom of many pieces we can find the figure of snakes or roots, representing the Uku Pacha. In the middle we might be able to find human figures such as faces, or felines, representing the Kay Pacha. In many works we can find the Sun, or the Moon, the stars or the Condor at the top of the design, representing the Hanan Pacha. Now that you understand these three realms and their representations, you can see that many tapestries by Maestro Laura express these same realms in a visual way. ![]() The Uku Pacha is the inner world, the world of the dead as well as of the new life, the world of fertility, of earth and that which is beneath the earth (traditionally represented by the figure of a snake). This realm is normally represented in Maestro Laura’s tapestries by a jaguar or by human figures. This is the realm of the living, of the present, of humans, the earthly world. The Kay Pacha is the middle world (literally meaning “this world”). This is also why Maestro Laura includes the mountains as an important theme for many of his works, sometimes found in the background of a tapestry or as the main theme of a piece. ![]() The sacred mountains or “Apus” are thought to have spirits that bridge the gap between man and the Hanan Pacha, which is why in the Andes many mountains and their peaks are viewed as sacred, and many times used as a location for ceremonies. This realm is normally represented by the figure of the condor, the Sun or the Moon and in Maestro Laura’s tapestries it can also be represented by the stars or flying being. ![]() The Incas believed that one would ascent to the Hanan Pacha after death. The Hanan Pacha is the world of the above, of celestial beings, the world of the gods, of the Sun God and the Mother Moon. They shaped the religion of the Incas and the life of the people. The three pachas represent different levels or existence that are interconnected by spiritual and mythical elements. Another important concept that we need to understand when reading the works of Maestro Laura is that in Andean cosmology, the cosmos is divided in three realms or three pachas: Hanan Pacha, Kay Pacha and Uku Pacha. ![]()
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