Mercedes Cotacachi

Authors: ASE Tech Team

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Monkey image inspired by the pre-Hispanic designs of the Pasto nation investigated by Estelina Quinatoa for the book "Ancestral Representations and Colors of the Cosmos" (Ministry of Culture and Heritage of Ecuador).

Mercedes Cotacachi is northern andes term for Monkey, a dark constellation.

Etymology and History

Our planet belongs to the galaxy of the Milky Way, whose shape is that of a large disk with two bulging arms; this form and the rotation of the earth means that at the evenings of the equinoxes and solstices we can appreciate a specific part of it, thus becoming a signal that the ancestors appreciated to measure the times. Called in the Andes as the "Muyun" for many peoples, it represents a gigantic life-giving serpent.

Contrary to the West, the constellations are not made up of bright points or stars; the astral beings are housed in the "dark spots" existing in the brilliance of the Milky Way, so at each of the turning points in our annual path around the sun (Solstices and Equinoxes), we will find a guiding constellation in each "visible end" of the galaxy. As with lunar or solar movements, the movements of the constellations in the Northern Andes marked the beginning or end of specific eras, agricultural, civil, reproductive or festive. They determined the fate of beings, receiving respect and veneration for those who came for their wisdom; thus developing a religious thought similar to that of the sun or the moon throughout the continent.

Mercedes Cotacachi (The Monkey): Constellation that governs the female cycle, indicates the arrival of rains and the start of agricultural processes.

Reference

• References (general)