If you ask the people around you—professors, architects, engineers, doctors, clergy, bankers, mayors, ministers, and even the “president” himself—what “La Chakana” or the “Square Cross” is, the vast majority will not be able to answer you, because the vast majority do not know; the Inquisition, religion, history, and foreign education, as well as the policies of cultural eradication still in effect today and their traditions (T-erra-diccion), have seen to that. The closest thing to this term that is commonly known in the city of Lima is the “geometric” symbol associated with the political party called “Perú Posible,” which contains the letter “T” within it. How sad!
The word “Chakana” refers to a bridge, a staircase, or the steps connecting ‘Heaven’ with “Earth,” which can also be seen in the word “Chakaruna,” which refers to man as a connecting bridge between both worlds. Over time, it has also been given similar names such as “Chinkana” and “Chikama,” depending on whether it points upward or downward. I met an elder named “Qenko” who calls it “Toqe,” and as we will see, it is also called “Tawa’Chunka,” which on one hand refers to the number 40 and on the other, to the circumference of 4√10 or 12.6488 cm.
It is also known as “TawaChakana,” a term that refers to the “four staircases” or the “four sides” of the ‘square’ or “TawaTinkuy,” which refers to the “four forces” that come together or meet. In summary, the term “Chakana” and all its related terms refer to the “symbol” or “geometric structure” that allows us to observe and measure the movement of the “Pachakamaykuna Forces,” the forces of ‘nature’ or the “Creative” forces, among which we have primarily the forces of “TaytaInti” and the forces of “MamaKilla.”
To know the “Chakana” is to know movement; it is to know the threads of creation; it is to know time; it is to know about the seasons and changes in temperature; it is to know the code of the “muhu” or ‘seed’ and of your own “seed,” and how it germinates, grows, and develops “naturally.” To know about the “Chakana” is to know “nature” and the elements, their properties and ‘natures’; in short, it is to know about “life” and its movements.