“La Doncella” Revisited
I posted about the exhibition of the body of the 500-year old "mummy" of a young girl called "La Doncella" or "The Maiden". She was about 15-years old when she died in a ritual of the religion of the Incas. I mentioned that the find was amazing yet very sad. Sometimes I am too brief in the way I write my posts here at Blue Crab Boulevard, I think. "La Doncella" has an almost lyrical sound to it. The reality is much more harsh. A 15-year old girl was marched or carried, willingly or unwillingly, up the side of a mountain into horrible cold and a thin, thin atmosphere. There, she and the two other children - even younger - were left to die from exposure, then their bodies were entombed there in the cold, thin air.
Now, more than 500 years later, her body lies, chilled to -20° C on display for curious, modern people to look at. She looks like she is sleeping. But she will never wake up and see the people staring at her. That's probably best.
I have a 15-year old daughter. This story really saddens me more than you realize.
Personal Thoughts | Gaius Saturday, 8 September , 2007
By Quilly Mammoth, Saturday, 8 September , 2007 @ 11:09 pm
Wondered about that. Amazing and amazingly sad.
By Anthony (Los Angeles), Sunday, 9 September , 2007 @ 5:45 pm
For all their rapaciousness and brutality, the Conquistadors did some things right, such as ending religious practices like the one that did those children in.
By Chris, Tuesday, 11 September , 2007 @ 4:50 pm
Who are we to judge the dogmatic religious customs of a very superstitious culture, via contemporary westernized standards, for a purported “barbaric” practice that happened over 500 years ago? Perhaps it was an honor to be sacrificed and the sacrificed individual was elevated to some kind of sainthood. Perhaps the family of the sacrificed child was “taken care of.” It seems to me that events similar to this are still taking place today, only updated in the manifested form of the suicide bomber. But there’s nothing left of them to view in a museum.
By Gaius, Tuesday, 11 September , 2007 @ 6:46 pm
In a word, Chris: civilized. There are things that are simply wrong no matter the context.
Displaying the frozen, dead body of a 15-year girl like a circus exhibit for example. Or taking that 15-year old up onto a mountain to die for another. Yeah, I’m being judgmental here.
I don’t go in much for cultural relativism or political correctness.