arequipa
Arequipa is a volcanic town. Most city buildings were built with volcanic rocks. The name Arequipa means "you can stay here" (The legend mentioned the Inca King passed here and the locals told him "Arequipa".)
You have to got two verified miracles to be a saint and The Pope edifice Santa Catalina because she was fully qualified.
Legend said that when Santa Catalina was inside the convent, some sick people in town had saw her spirit and was healed. Some said they dreamt about her. But in fact, she never left the convent.
The nuns was isolated from the outside world. At that time, life inside the convent was much better than the outside, so many parents sent their daughter to Santa Catalina. It's a city inside a city.
The nuns couldn't talk to each other, so they could only talk to the flowers.
When the nuns take a bath, they have to turn the statue of St Peter away so he couldn't look at their body. But this is not the bathroom, it's for washing clothes.
Jaunita was on vacation to Japan so I didn't see her inside.
It was also the place where Jaunita was sacrificed. Since the people think the mountain god Misti was a male so they picked a girl. At age thirteen, she became the Virgin of the sun whose life time career was to be sacrificed. It was a great honor for her family and herself. They probably received some special privileges (e.g. tax deduction, free vacation to Lake Titicaca etc). It was believed that the sacrificed animal will continue to live as part of the mountain and the sacrificed girl will live as a princess in the other world.
Incas believe that life came from Pacha Mama (mother earth). Pacha Mamma gave us live. So sacrifice return life to Pacha Mama.
Jaunita was discovered by an American Explorer Johan. When he found the mummy, the same volcano activities happened just 500 years ago. The thick ice on the mountain was melted and Jaunita's body was dropped into the Volcano just five days before it was found. It's kind of spooky. Now Jaunita was traveling around Japan (as a mummy, not alive).
Usually, human sacrifice didn't stopped the volcano eruption. So the Incas punished the mountain by removing it's name. So later when the Spanish came, no one know the name of this mountain. But obviously some farmers around the area forgot to forget the name, that's why they found the real name of the mountain, Misti, which means my lord.
Besides Jaunita, 3 other mummies were found in the same mountain but they have no names. It's so sad. Everybody deserves a name, whether they are alive or mummified.
For details check out Nova's web site.
