Huayru

Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT Scholar Works

Theses

Thesis/Dissertation Collections

2006

Huayru

Cristian Mogrovejo

Follow this and additional works at:

http://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Thesis/Dissertation Collections at RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please [email protected].

Recommended Citation

ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

HUAYRU

A THESISSUBMITTEDTO

THE FACULTY OF THECOLLEGE OF IMAGINGARTS ANDSCIENCES

IN CANDIDACY FOR THEDEGREE OF

MASTEROFFINEARTS

INDUSTRIALDESIGNDEPARTMENT

BY

CRISTIAN MOGROVEJO

ROCHESTER,NEW YORK

Approvals

Chief Advisor,

Professor David Morgan:

Date:

Associate Advisor,

Professor Stan Rickel:

Date:

Associate Advisor,

Professor Santiago Ordonez:

Date:

School Chairperson,

Professor Patti Lachance:

Date:

David Morgan

Stan Rickel

Santiago Ord6nez

Patti Lachance

I, Cristian Mogrovejo, hereby grant permission to the Wallace Memorial Library ofRIT

to reproduce my thesis in whole or in part. Any reproduction will not be for commercial

use of profit.

Date:

Cristian Mogrovejo

Copyright 2006

by

Cristian Mogrovejo

Allrightsreserved

To_my

family

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS v

Chapter

1. THESIS SUMMARY 1

Componentsofthesis

Necessity

ofthesis Goals

Limitations

2. THE ORIGINALHUAYRU 4

Thepurpose ofthegame

Theplayers

Materialelements

Anexperience_playingtheoriginal game Conceptsassociatedto thegame

3. DESIGNOFTHE NEW HUAYRU 15

Designofboard

Designofdie

Designof counters Designofcards

Theconcepts

4. ABOUT PRODUCTION 38

5.CONCLUSIONS 42

Accomplishmentof objectives Further development

A finalthought

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure Page

1.IndigenousmanfromtheAndes 1

2.

Cemetery

at

Sigsig

4

3. Ancient dice.Archaelogical Museum.Universidad de Cuenca 6

4.Diceschemes 7

5. Ancient die. ArchaeologicalMuseum.Universidadde Cuenca 7

6. Configurationsofholesonboards 8

7. Huayru set atdonFelix'

sPlace 9

8.DieandboardatdonFelix'splacein

Sigsig

10

9.Configurationof paths ofdon Felix's board 10

10.Graphic

Mindmapping

13

11. Text_Mindmapping 14

12. Designprocessforboard1 17

13. Designprocessforboard2 18

14. Designprocessforboard 3 19

15.Designprocessfordie1 21

16. Designprocessfordie2 22

17.Designprocessforcounters 1 24

18. Designprocessforcounters2 25

19. Designprocessforcards1 29

20. Designprocessforcards2 30

21. Designprocessforcards3 31

22.Conceptsin Instruction Manual 35

23. Rules inInstructionManual 36

24.Conceptsapplied 37

25.Technicalspecifications 1 39

26. Technicalspecifications2 40

27. Technicalspecifications3 41

28.Original Huayruat_Sigsig,Ecuador 43

29.NewHuayruat_{Rochester, NY,}U.S.A 43

CHAPTER 1 THESISSUMMARY

Cultureis not_static;humansocietieschangeinresponsetovariations ontheirnatural surroundings, politics,

technology

development,

migration

dynamics,

etc. Traditionsand values within cultures are affected

by

_{these changes; those things that}couldhavemade sense topractice ortobelieve inat some pointin_time,could_eventuallychange

dramatically

or

disappear.

Individualswith a recalcitrant sense of cultural conservationism would arguethat those changesingeneral are negative andshouldbeavoided. I stronglydisagreewiththis

[image:8.516.49.202.254.364.2]

perspective. Ibelievethatchangesinculture shouldbeunderstood andaccepted,and

they

are not_{necessarily harmful.}

Moreover,

Ithinkthat theiracceptance or rejection shouldbea choicelefttoeachindividualinvolved.

Fig. 1.IndigenousmanfromtheAndes

This imageshowsanindigenousperson fromtheAndesmountain range_wearingwhat seem tobea"cowboy"hatand a"skateboarding"_sweater,bothobjects are representative ofa

foreignculture.

Why

hechoseto wearthoseitems insteadoftraditional_clothing such as a strawhatand a ponchois his decisionand shouldberespected.

Ontheother

hand,

Ialsobelieve that,whether a cultureloses itstraditionsor_{not,preserving}

knowledgeaboutthemispositive.

Knowing

aboutthepast could

help

understandthepresent and provide valuable resourcesfor

facing

thefuture.

Knowing,

forexample, that the

indigenousmanfromtheimage couldbe wearing a strawhatand a ponchois a_waytobetter

understandhimandhisculturalenvironment.

Forthis project,Iwilldesignaboardgamebasedon

Huayru,

atraditionalritual game played

by

someindigenouspeople fromtheAndesmountain rangeforcenturies.

Mostly

played

currentlyat

funerals,

thistraditionis consideredtobeinextinction: "NooneplaysHuayru

anymore"

said an elderfroman_{indigenous community in}

Sigsig,

Ecuador. The disappearanceofthis traditionisdueto themultiple changes andtransitions thatthese

indigenous conglomerates experiencedthrough time. Itisnot_{among my}objectivesto reintroducethepractice of_{the ritual;}

instead,

Iwillaimtorescueits memoryandtransmit

knowledge aboutit

by

designing

adifferentgame _usingtheelements oftheoriginal as

Iwill

try

toemphasizetheroleofdesignpractice in

keeping

the_memoryoftraditional

knowledge.

Asopposedtoacademic_compendiums,museum_exhibits,articles inspecialized

magazines,etc., an_object, suchas agame,hasthepotential of_reachinga_considerably

broaderand morediverse audience.

Thisproject will also constitute a_commentaryonthe_capabilitythatobjectshaveto transmit

culturalknowledge and values.Howmuch oftheconceptsbehindthedesignofthe_cowboy

hatandthesweaterisabsorbed

by

the indigenousman fromtheimage?TheproductIwill

develop

willtransmit totheuser as much oftheconcept utilizedfor itscreation asispossible.

Now,

why did Ichoose a game?

Primitive societyperformsits sacredrites, its sacrifices, consecrations,and mysteries, all of which servetoguaranteethe_well-beingoftheworld, ina spirit of pure_play

truly

understood.

Nowin myth andritualthegreatinstinctive forcesof civilizedlife havetheirorigin:

lawand_order, commerce and_profit,craft and_{art, poetry,}wisdomand science. All

are rootedintheprimeval soil of play. (Huizinga

1970,

23)

Throughthe_studyofgames, anthropologists have beenabletofindvaluable information

abouthumanconglomerates andtheirculturalbehavior. Thisisthecasewiththegame called

Huayru. The data foundaboutit hasrevealedimportantcluesthat

help

tobetterunderstand

thenature and religiousvision ofSouth Americanpre-Hispanic people.

Playing

Huayru

representsto_them,not_onlya_waytospendtimeand avoid_monotony, butalso a complex

interactionwiththeirspiritualworldprojectedthrough theirculturalvalues.

Moreover,

_many

oftheelementsofthegame reflect aparticular_waytounderstandtheworldfroman

aesthetic, religious andpoliticalpointofview(Ordonez

2004,

4).

Componentsofthesis

This thesisbegins with anoverviewoftheoriginal game. This sectionwillconstitute an

exposition of_myfindings

during

theresearch stage. Iwill explaintheoriginalHuayrugame

intermsof_{the significance, elements,}rules andconcepts associated withit. Allthe

informationprovidedinthis analysis willbe used as afoundationthatwillguidethedesign decisions forthenewgame.

Following,

therewillbeadescriptionofthedesignprocess,whichwillleadto the

presentation ofthedesignofthenew game. Thissection willdescribe how I appliedthe

differentelements oftheoriginalHuayru inan attemptto preserve its_memoryandproject

knowledgeaboutit.

Finally,

thereader willfind _mycommentariesandrecommendations about production

Necessity

ofthesis

IndigenouspeoplefromtheAndesare_gradually

losing

theirtraditions. Diverse

factors,

such

as_{emigration,trading,} technological

imports,

religious_{restrictions, etc.,} canbeunderstood as

reasonsforthisloss. Thisprojectisan effortto preserveknowledgeabout one ofthese

traditionsindangerof extinction: Huayru. This is mycontribution as adesignerto the

understandingof cultures. SeveraltimesI have beenasked: "When dopeople_playthis game?"

My

response_{usually is:}

"Mostly during

funeralsnowadays."

The firstreaction tothis

answer is _amazement,even amusement.

Then,

immediately

after

listening

tothereasons_why

they

do it andthesignificance oftheritual, people show respect andinterest.

Also,

thisprojectisan_opportunityformetodemonstratethatdesignpractice canbenefit

from knowledgeof

history

andtheancient.When

facing

design_problems,most ofthe time

designersrefertonew orfuturetrends togetinspiration. Sometimesthis leadsto the

production of"moreofthe same"

objects.

Taking

alookatthepast could provide examples

ofhowproblems were solved and could open opportunities for designto havemore cultural

value.

Latin Americanartists and crafters often _relyontherichnessof

forms,

colors and materials

that

identify

object production oftheircultures.

By

_usingtheseautochthonous recognizable

details intheir_work,

they

expectto gain accessto internationalmarkets withtheircrafts. I believe that, becauseofthispractice, concepts and spiritual values ofthesecultures getlost and are neglected.This new_game,whichwillcome out asthe product ofthisproject,will

useboth: concept and aestheticfromtheAndes.

Goals

Thegoals ofthisproject arebothgeneral and specific.The general goalwillbeto

demonstratethatdesignpractice can_playanimportantrole inthepreservation oftraditional

knowledge. Thespecific goalwillbeto designaboardgamebasedonHuayru withthe

potential of

introducing

to the general publicbasicnotions aboutthis traditionand,with

them, some aspects ofthepre-Hispanic cultures.Itwillaimtorescuethegame's memory.

Limitations

Time is the main limitation for this project. There are three main stages to consider in the

gamedesignprocess: "1:

deciding

ontheoverallformof_{the package, 2: producing}prototype

versions for all materials _required, 3: Field

testing

and _revising the

package"

(Ellington,

Addinall,

and Percival

1982,

_{28). After presenting} a prototype version of the new _game,

CHAPTER2

THE_{ORIGINAL HUAYRU}

In_myefforts tointroduce whatIunderstand abouttheoriginal game of

Huayru,

Ipresent, to beginwith,somedefinitionsfound intexts Iused as reference:

Asmalltruncatedpyramid-shaped_object,carvedin_wood,boneor_stone, or moldedinclay.Thefaces andbasesoftheseobjectshaveengravingswhich were interpretedin differentways when played as aEuropeandie. Inpre-Hispanic_times,

suchitemswere producedto

dialog

withthehuaca1.

They

persistintotheXXth2 century as a

funerary

_{ritual and as a game of chance. Thepre-Hispanicdispersion}

of thisclass of object comprisestheTahuantinsuyu3andisa usefulfeatureto determine Incapresenceinregions withlittle monumental construction. (Gentile

1998, 75)

Huayruisa ritual of pre-Hispanic origin expandedto the

Territory

of

Tahuantinsuyo

during

theperiod ofIncaexpansion and associatedto there-structure of moments of changeinabroadrange of spaces oftheAndeansociety.

Presently,

its practicehasbeenreducedto

funerary

contexts. (Ordonez

2004,

4,

my

translation)

Cemeteryat_Sigsig

Theseshort and general definitionsgive an

introductory

idea. We havetobare inmindthe

factthat thegamehas been studied

by

_manyauthors, withdifferentspecific purposes and from diversepoints ofview.

Thus,

it iscomplexand_challengingtocomment on_{every detail}

found. It isalso remarkablethe_quantityof versions ofthegame andthedifferencesbetween

them;thisis dueto thechangesthat thepeople whopracticed,orpractice

it,

have experiencedthrough theirculturalhistory.

However,

it isimportanttogather as much knowledgeas possibleinordertointroduce a_properlysupporteddesignsolution.

Following,

Ipresent a_summaryof whatIsuggest arethemost relevant aspects ofthe game fromallthesourcesIwas abletousefortheresearch. Thesesources consist_primarilyof research articles written

by

anthropologistsinterestedinthe topicand afieldresearch conductedin

Sigsig,

Ecuador (asmall cantonlocatednearthe_cityofCuencawherethe traditionis stillin practice) inJune-

July

2005.

1

Thistermreferstoelements consideredtobesacred

by

pre-Hispanic cultures. 2

Thecitationdatesfrom 1998. Thegameisstill playedinthe21stcentury. 3

The purpose ofthegame

Huayruwas usedforthreepurposes:

1)

to distributetheexpenses ofthe funeral_ceremonytogivefood anddrinksto the contestants;

2)

toallocate (that

is,

reconfirmthe

distribution)

ofthebelongingsofthe

deceased;

and

3)

to foretellthe

will ofthesoulofthedeceased.

(Brownrigg

1989,

29,

_my

translation)

Huayru hasreachedourdaysas a

funerary

ritual.

Among

thefunctions itserves

during

these

contemporaryceremonies wefind:

-Helpthesoul ofthedeceased reachtheafterworld

-Makepeople_{pray for}thesoul

-Distributehis belongings

-Determinewhopays fortheexpenses ofthe_ceremony

(alcohol,

food,

_etc)

-Determinewhether or notthespirithas "unfinished

business"

ontheworldofthe

living

-To

keep

people awakethrough thenight -Asplain entertainment

Outofthestrict

funerary

_context, wefindthat thegame usedtoservediverseobjectivesfor

theritual worldoftheAndes.

They

are _amongothers:

-Tolegitimizethe transactionofmaterial possessions.

-To act as a mediatorinconflicts.

-Torelieve tensionsgeneratedinthe transitionbetweentwodifferentstages oflife.

-To getthefavorofthegodsinagriculture relatedrituals.

Theplayers

Fromthesources_consulted, itcanbenoticed a_varietyof versionsabout who was supposed

to_{play Huayru. In}thetimesoftheInca

Empire,

it seemsthatthegame wasrestrictedto the

"nobility."

Currently

inthe

funerary

contexttheplayersare:

-Any oneinvitedtothefuneral

-Any one who isnot

family

ofthedead -Men_only

-Peopleover 10years old_only

-Childrentoo

Materialelements

The die

Acarved object made ofboneorwood. It hastheshape of atruncated

pyramid with

five,

six or sevenlateralsides, a

top

and abase. This faces showcarved

circles of medium sizethatdeterminethepoints; thesecircles are always surrounded

by

smaller circleswithadot in_{their centers, crosses,} etc.Theseelements createan

impressionofdisorder. (Cerecedaand others

1987,

166,

_my

translation)

Fig. 3. Ancient dice. Archaelogical Museum.

Universidad deCuenca

Asnoticed

by

_comparingthisdescriptionwiththe definitionofHuayrupresentedinthe

beginning

of_{this section, there}are_manyversionsofHuayru dice. Noticethat

they

couldbe

made of abroad varietyof_materials,have differentnumbers ofsides andhave differentrules associatedwithit. Here Ipresent a_{summary list}ofthe datacollected aboutit:

-Materials: itcouldbe_{made, amongothers,}of: llama

bone,

cow

bone,

yucca, ceramic, stone,

tapioca,wood.

-Numberof sides:

four, five,

_six, seven. It seemsthat thiscan _vary

depending

on thetimeand

area wherethegame waspracticed. Themost commondice have sixlateralsides, a

top

and

abase.

-Shapes ofthesymbols:

Crosses,

concentric _circles,

dots,

circleswithdots inthe middle,

holes,

blackpainted

holes,

colored

lines,

representations ofthesunand_{the moon,} etc.

-Size: its heightvariesfrom 6to 12_cm,itswidthfrom 2to4. This may be not exact and

definitive,

butgives a generalideaofproportions.

-Gamerulesassociated withthedie: Inmost ofthecasesstudied, thereis afaceofthe die

withno_marks; some callit "llampu". This side_generallysignifies"badluck". Inthe

majorityofversionsof

Huayru,

ifthedie falls inan upright positiontheplayer(or_team) [image:13.516.58.204.191.314.2]

3* 3!D5 J-AKPECi

"THROOWTO JU-_ R0CRW7W4

[image:14.516.44.267.55.186.2]

"

Fig. 4. Diceschemes

-Ancientdice madeofbone havetwospecial characteristics:

they

display

beautifulpolished surfacesthatare aproduct of_aging;

they

also

display

somekindof perforationinthebaseof

thefacethatmarks thenumberfive. Thisperforation seemsto bean arterial_cavityofthe

bone;

isa_mysterysofarwhatits function

is,

and_{why it is located in}thatparticular

face;

maybethis_{cavity has}a ritualfunction (Santiago

Ordonez,

personal_{communication,} June 2005). Thiscouldbea powerful detailto

keep

inmind

during

theprojectforthe design

proposal ofthedie.

[image:14.516.40.125.343.499.2]

Theboard

Oneoftheformalparts ofthegameimplies countingthepoints achieved

by

throwing

thedie

andrepresented

by

kernelsofdifferentcolors orlittlepebbles. _{This counting is}made on a

boardthatconsists of a system of circular

indentations,

withfive

big

circles called

"casa",

which arethe start andfinishspots. Betweenthese "casas"therearefoursmaller circlesthat

drawa pathbetween"casas" (Ordonez

2004,

85).

Here,

Iprovide somedetailsabouttheboards:

-Materials: _wood, agaveleaves. ForsomeinstancesofHuayrunoboardwas_necessary;

drawing

thepaths andthecircles onthegroundwasenough (Cerecedaand others

1987,

162).

-Sizes: Some oftheboardsstudied

by

anthropologists (HartmannandOberem

1984, 72)

measure 22.5cm

by

14cm. Thisgives us anideaoftheproportions.

-Shapesanddispositionof elements:there are several versions ofthedispositionsofthe holes andthepathsdescribed

by

them.

Among

themwefind:

o w

ooo _? o

O O A *

o o o * _W

P e o .

|

Fig.6.Configurationsofholesonboards

Thecounters

Bertonio

(1879)

in his Vocabulariode la Lengua Aymaraprovidesthe

following

translation

fromanindigenous languageto Spanish:

Huayrusitha,

Piscasitha:jugarcon vnas piedrecitasadelantandolasensus

hoytos[sic]. segunlospuntosdevnamanerade dadograndeenvnosdestosjuegos

van adelantandolaspiedras alderredoroen_circulo; en otrosdando vueltacomorio. (citedin Cerecedaand others

1998,

84)

Here,

Iprovide_mytranslationin English fromthisdefinitioninold styleSpanish:

Huayrusitha,

Piscasitha: toplaywithlittlepebbles,makingthemgoforwardthroughlittle

holes accordingtothepointsgiven

by

a

big

die. Insomeofthese_games,theselittle pebbles [image:15.516.46.269.299.414.2]

Fromthisantiquedefinitionofthegame wehave a generalideaoftherolethecounters play.

Thesecountersare usedto

keep

record ofthepoints and

determine

a winner.In some cases thewinneris

determined

by

thenumber ofcountershe/shecan_gather; in_others,

by

a

"finish"

spot ontheboardwherethewinner counterhasto land.

By

looking

at allthe sources Iwas able_{to gather, these}littlecounterscouldbe among others:

-Littlepebbles

-Cornkernels -Broadbeans

-Kidneybeans

-Coloredcornkernels

Anexperience_playingtheoriginal game

Giventheamount and

diversity

ofHuayru _versions,which_{varyaccording}tothearea ortime wereit

is,

or_{was, played,} it is difficulttopresent a set of rulesthatmake sense and atthe

sametimesummarize all.

Here,

Idescribea particularHuayru game, the onethatIwas able to experience,not

by

_reading articles or_{visitingmuseums, but}theonethatwas explained

directly

tome

by

thepeople who practicethe traditioncurrently.Iwas able to_playthis Huayrumatch out ofthe

funerary

context giventheobviousdifficultiesof

finding

areal

funeral.

Fig.7.Huayruset atdonFelix's Place

"Venga,

venga nomas, yatraenelHuayrupara que

vea"

-"Come,justcome, someone will soon

bring

theHuayru so you can see it"- (don

Felix,

personal_{communication,}

July,

_2005).

Don Felix istheoldest member ofa

family

ina rural_communitynearSigsig. Ifoundhim

sittingon a stoolintheyardofhissmallhousealmostinthemiddle ofthemountains. I had

askedhisneighborsfor informationaboutthegame and

they

ledmetohisplace.

Don Felixhas thegame piecesforrent. Hehadno problems_showingmethe_game, and even

[image:16.516.36.151.375.528.2]

a usagepatinaand were_remarkablywell crafted.

My

hostmadehis daughterset all the

piecesjust likeitis donein

funerals;

she lit_{a candle and gave us a cornkerneland a}

kidney

bean. The boardwas placed on an estera(somekindof straw_mat)wherethediewas [image:17.516.37.244.112.306.2]

supposedtobethrown.

Fig. 8. DieandboardatdonFelix'splacein_Sigsig

The die hadsix_sides, fiveofthem_{marked with concentric circles: oneinone}

side, twointhe other,three,fourandfive. Oneofthesides orfacesdidnot_{have anymark; don Felixtoldme}

that thatitsname wasLluchu(naked).The face with one markhadsomekindof arrow

drawnon

it;

_myhosttoldmethat thisparticularfacewas calledtheHuayru face.

The boardofthisparticular sethadthe

following

disposition:

.\

;.'.'. ' '.',

'

:

;

1 2

Fig. 9. Configurationofpaths

ofdonFelix'sboard

Thegamebegun:

-First, each onehadtothrow thedie inturnsuntil someone got aHuayru face. Itwas_me,soI startedthegame withthekernel in spot 1. Spot 2 wasfor don Felix. Spot Xwasthegoal.

-In_myfirstthrow thedie gave mea_one; thatisaHuayru face. So Iwas ableto take a short

cut,shownin thediagramabove asthepath ontheleft.

My

hostgot a_three, so he hadto take theother path_movinghis kernelthree spots.

- After

playing and_movingthekernels forward fora_while,Iwas aboutto _win;allI needed was atwo to reachthegoal. Igot a

five,

soIwasinstructedtoreturntothe _startingpoint. I hadto gettheexact numberinordertowin.

-Ifsomeone hadthrownthedie soit landed inan upright position or"standing" hewould have becomethewinnerinstantly.

-Ifsomeonehadgot an_emptyfaceorLluchu (whichcouldbetranslatedas

"naked"),

he wouldhave lostaturn. This is bad luck.

-Ifsomeonehad got aHuayrufaceat_anytime,hewouldhave beenableto movethe Kernel to thenext

big

circle. These

big

circles were called"casas".

-Wekept playingthis_{way for}aboutten minutes,there was no winner.

After_{the match,}don Felixand I hada short conversation.Hetold methat thegame was

played

by

twoteams, andthenumber of playersdidnot_reallymatter.Eachteamhadtoname a

"kallay"

or captain.

Children,

_{women,men, any}one wasinvited. Whoever lost hadto _pay

some_moneythatwasthendonatedtothewidow andleadtheprayersforthesoul. This Huayrugamesethad been inthedon Felix's

family

foryears.

Conceptsassociatedto thegame

As Icommented

before,

thebroadtime

frame,

thedifferentplacesanddifferentcommunities

whereHuayrutakesplace, makeit acomplextopictoconfront.

However,

it is this

complexitythat givesit itsrichness inaconceptuallevel. Here it isalistof some ofthe

concepts connected_{to the game,}with an effortto_{list only}themostcommon:

-Dialogueswith gods and spirits

-Relations toEuropeangames

-Survival ofInca Tradition

-Generosity

-Water_{and rivers}

-Huayruasa_name,asaword

-Feminine

-Politics

-Pairsof_opposition, dualities: Beauty-ugliness Female-evil Beauty-evil Beauty-death Healthillness Life-death -Space-time -Dead-living -Beauty -Love

-Christian vs. Indigenous

-Luck

-Disorder

-Ambiguity

-Asymmetry

-Beauty and seduction

-Peace -Happiness -Animals: Spider Bat Llama Owl

Dog

Donkey

-Thenumberfive

-Transitions

-Conflict

-Sacred

-Faith

-Sin

After_{gathering information}abouttheoriginal_game,the idea istoutilizeit efficientlytoface

thedesignchallenge. Iwill use thisinformationina

Mindmapping

exercise. Asa

brainstorming

methodin

design,

Mindmapping

facilitatestheconsideration ofideasrelated toa certain concept

during

ideationstages. Acentral conceptischosen andideasrelatedto it

arethenwritten

down;

allthisideas arethenusedtoinspirethesolution ofthe design

problem.

Forthis project,thecentral conceptis "theoriginal

Huayru",

and entriesontheMindmaps

aredatatakenfromtheresearch.

By

_{usingthis method,} Iintendto make thedesignofthe

newHuayru havea_strong connection withtheoriginaltradition.The

following

illustrations

show examples of mind _mappingexercises usedfor

ideation;

they

canbe made of either

graphics ortext.

During

thenextchapter-DesignoftheNew Huayru-1present explanations

abouthowtheseentries oftheMindmapsinspirethedesignsolution.

c

on c o

[image:20.516.42.469.69.647.2]

&

%

Fig. 10. GraphicMindmapping

> 01 E a. a. x 5 on 5 0J O e < Q 111 E E >. c o Xj U =1 01 =1 (0 CD u

1

fc

-It o o hi < i/ioo _i O O O 0>

3 o c Oi on t5 c o u 01 E > 10 s r C ra

I

_a o on c OJ o 01 E (0 c

D

01 E to on c (0 Q. U1 10 c u. 3 X

>

a. o ra LU

3

O .-> o

l/l a. _l

z

c

o 0)_c

ro m c

c

0) _E

on a: Oi

u. U-O 01 Oi =1 on O 5 a 01 a (0 Oi CD r o 1/1 o Q. Oi ^ c L/l (1) CL > c .c

O 3 ID Oi"O _m 5* ill >. >. 01

F

ffl m B ro <D (0 0) 0) Oi 01 01 _It Q. CO Ll_CO CD I _l

[image:21.516.43.467.86.630.2]

^

\

Fig. 11. TextMindmapping

CHAPTER 3

DESIGNOF THE NEWHUAYRU

Designofboard

We know nowthatsome versions oftheoriginalHuayru are_generallyplayed

by

twoteams

of anundeterminednumber of players each.

Every

member oftheteamhas hischanceto throwthedietomakethecounter move. Forthenew_{game, this} rule was changed: the

number of playersistwotofiveand each playerhas hisown space ontheboard.

Oneoftheprincipal considerationsthatinfluencedthisrule change istheimportanceofthe

numberfive forthe

indigenous,

_especiallyinconnection to thegame and

funerary

rituals. Numbers ingeneral_playanimportantrole intheoriginalgame,not_{only for}themechanical

aspects of

it,

butalso as concepts and symbolic values. Wecould

identify

a special attention givento the numberfive insome indigenoustraditionslike funerals: thesouls are supposed toremainfivedays withinthe

living,

the

funerary

rituals are supposedtolast five

days,

etc. Five isthe_winningnumber intheHuayru

die;

theface markedwiththatnumber,orthe

inferiornumbersthat add

five,

permittowinthegame(Ordonez

2004,

10).

Also,

theideaof_makingthenumbers of playersbetwo tofive it ismore convenient. Itis easiertogatherthatamount of playersthan_gatheringtwo teamswithequal amount of members.

The structureforthe

board,

wherethe_{Individual Paths eventually}meet and leadto the Common

Path,

was envisioned_using a characterfromatraditionalIncamythasinspiration.

Inthis myth,wecould

identify

someideasrelatedto

Huayru,

ideasthatwe_{previously listed}

as part oftheresearch.

V. Cereceda

(1987)

in herwork: Aproximaciones aunaEsteticaIndigena: de la Bellezaal

Tinku,

usesthe

following

_storyto explainherpoints ofview abouttheIndigenous

understandingof concepts such asbeauty:

Themyth oftheillnessofInka

Tupaj

Yupanki

During

therule ofInka

Tupaj

Yupanki,

strangesignalsappearedinthesky, theearth andthe sea. Peoplehadtoconsult aboutthem to thewak'a,thelocalgods, wantingtofind outwhat

they

meant. Thewak'athenpredictedtheinvasionanddestructionoftheInca Kingdom

by

foreigners. This omenworriedso muchtheInca_ruler, that_{he became seriously ill}after

hearing

thenews.

The Incaruler wasthen takento a place with pleasantweathernearthecapital ofthe

kingdom (Cuzco). Several

healing

rituals and sacrifices wereheldthere

trying

to preservehis

health. Thewak'awere consultedagain aboutthefutureofthe

Inca,

this time

they

predicted

thathewould survive.Sincethatmoment,thisplacewithpleasant weatherwascalledMana

Wanunqa,

which means "Hewillnot

die."

Worried aboutthehealthof

Tupaj

Yupanki,

his

brother,

theprince Tupac

Amaru,

went with

himto ManaWanunga.

There,

heand a_groupof members ofthenobility,played several

games.

Oneofthose

days,

whileTupac Amaruwas_playing,henoticed a_groupofbeautiful ladies

contemplatingthegames.

Suddenly,

he fell in lovewiththemostbeautifulofthem:

Kusichimpu. Aftera_while, theprince foundamomentto declare his lovetoher butwas

rejected. Desperate

by

the rejection,Tupac Amaru decidedto wanderinpain.

Reflecting

in

sadness abouthis impossible

love,

hefounda_springand sattocry.

Suddenly,

theprincesaw a spiderthat thenativescalledKusi

Kusi,

and which

they

consider

a good premonition. While staringat

it,

he noticedthepresence oftwo serpents(maleand

female)

that were_{coming from among}theflowersofthebeautifulspring.The male serpent

was

trying

tocouplewiththealways reluctantfemale. He founda whiteflowerandtouched

herwithit. The touchoftheflowermadethefemaleserpent succumbtothewishes ofthe

male. Exitedaboutthis

discovery,

Tupac Amaru tookanother ofthesewhiteflowers and

wentto touchittohis beloved

Kusichimpu,

whothenyieldedto hisdesires.

Since then, theprincewas calledAmaru aftertheserpents.Amaru meansserpent inquechua

-oneofthelanguagesspoken

by

theIncas- (Cerecedaand others

1987,

139).

During

theanalysis ofthe story, the authormakesthe readernotetheimportanceof games as

mediatorsbetweenthelife andthedeathoftheInca. This isone ofthereasons_whythis

myth was chosen as inspiration forthedesignoftheboardinthefirst place.

Allthecharacters andelements onthe taleare important

by

themselvesand couldbe

providersofinformationaboutIncatraditionsandcultural vision.

When reflecting aboutthespider Kusi

Kusi,

Cereceda

(1987)

emphasizesthefactthatit isa goodomenand acts as aprelude forthe

discovery

oftheflower

by

Tupac Amaru. Theauthor

also makesus noticetheclose_{relationship between Kusi}andKusichumpu.

"Kusi" could

mean

"happiness",

andis theword usedto nameboth: thebeautiful

lady

andthespider. The

other part ofthename ofthis beautiful

lady

is"Chinpu,"whichmeans

"halo."

Now,

ifwe

thinkaboutthe_anatomyof aspideras acentral circlefromwherelimbs

irradiate,

it is

possibletomake alink between itsshapeandtheshapeof ahalo (Chinpu).

Thespider was selectedas inspiration forthedesignoftheboard

because,

hereinthe story,it

acts as amediatorinaconflict, andrelatesto theideaof

beauty

givenitsclose_relationship

withthebeautiful lady. Noticethat

"conflict", "beauty",

"feminine"

and

"luck"

are all

concepts associated withtheoriginal

Huayru,

asIstatedintheinitialpart ofthisproject. Kusiisalso partof anIncatale thatdealswiththeimportanceof games fortheir society.

Is

3S

J

5 i^u _BW <

0

1

o ^S3Ml

^0$

[image:24.516.42.483.73.635.2]

^

\

Fig. 12. Designprocessfor board

[image:25.516.46.480.82.627.2]

Fig. 13. Designprocessfor board 2

[image:26.516.39.481.83.640.2]

Fig. 14. Designprocessfor board3

Designofdie

The_{die is probably}one ofthemost representative elements ofthe originalHuayru.

Therefore,

Idecidedto

keep

most ofitsoriginalcharacteristicsforthe designofthedie inthe

new Huayru.

TheoriginalHuayrudieisthe"material"elementthatpersists ofthegame, almost with no

changethrough time. Wecan observe samples ofHuayru dice in_museums,private

collections and as part of someindigenous families'

legacy. The basicformsand most ofthe

characteristics are commondenominators.Forthedesignofthedie inthenew

Huayru,

Itried topreserve most ofthesecharacteristics. The die forthenewHuayru isa geometric

interpretationoftheformsoftheoriginaldiceobserved. Ipreservedthenumber of_sides, the

"denomination"

of each ofthefacesand most ofthe game rules associated withit.

Original Huayru dice are made of a_varietyof_materials, asI previously described. I decided

to use woodforthedieofthenew game. Woodis a warmmaterial, andit is easytoget and

shape

(especially

ifwe consider production). Wood has alsothecharacteristic potential of

"aging

well."

Themoreincontactit is withexternalfactorsthemoreitchanges.Ifthese

externalfactors are_mostlytheoilsofthehandsthatwillmanipulatethediewhen_playingthe

game, thenthewood ofthediewill acquire a"usage

patina,"

a

finishing

detailadded

by

the

usersthemselves.

The ideaoftheconcentric _circles,used inmostoftheobserved original piecestodetermine

thedenominationofthe

faces,

ispreservedforthenewproposal. Theconcentricdisposition of circleswas_particularly significantfortheritual world oftheAndes.

Many

oftheformsof

theornaments observedinoriginaldice mayevenbeenrelatedto the_studyof_astronomy

(Ordonez

2004,

90).

[image:28.516.38.478.70.604.2]

Fig. 15.Designprocessfor die

[image:29.516.43.479.76.621.2]

Fig. 16. Designprocessfor die

Designof counters

The designofthecounters wasinspired

by

theHuayruru seed(Rhynchosia

Pyramidalis),

a

seedfound insometreesoftheSouth Americanrain

forest,

which isconsidered

by

some as

an amulet and a symbol of goodfortune and protection. Ifoundthat theRynchosia

Pyramidalisis still wellknownand used

by

localcraftersin South America.

Ihada_{broad variety}of objectsto choosefromas inspiration forthedesignofthe counters of

thenewHuayru: corn

kernels,

_manykindsof

beans,

_pebbles, etc. Itwould nothave been

difficultformetochoose one of_{these objects,} analyze itwithinthecontextofthegame and

present a designsolution_properlyjustified.

However,

IselectedtheHuayruruseed as

inspiration,

eventhoughit was not usedforthepractice ofthe original gameitself. This decisionwas made giventhehighconceptual value ofthisseedforthe world oftheAndes

andthe

indirect,

yet_{strong, relationship}between itandthewholeideaoftheoriginalHuayru.

Moreover,

intheireffortstounderstandthegame and its implications forthepeople ofthe

Andean_cultures, some authors recurto theobvious_{relationship between}the wordsHuayruru

- Huayru. Ordonez

(2004)

commentsthat thepeculiarcombinationof colors andthe_striking

contrastfound intheHuayruruseed (blackvs. _shinyred) makeitexceptional, out ofthe

ordinaryandbeautifulfortheindigenous (Ordonez

2004,

29). Thisuniqueness makesit a sacred elementforthepeople oftheAndes. Theauthor usestheparticularities ofthis seedto

illustratethe_{relationship between}theoriginalHuayru andconceptssuch as

beauty

andthe

sacred intheAndeanworld. Theconnectionsbetween HuayruandHuayruruareindeed

undeniable.

According

to the_studyofOrdonez

(2004),

theoriginal game ofHuayruplaysan important

role inthe transitionbetweentwoopposed statesof

being,

suchas

living

anddead. This

opposition_{may be}well represented

by

the two_contrastingcolors oftheHuayruruseed.The

indeterminatestate of a soulbetweenthemomentofdeathandtheafterworld couldbe

representedsomehow

by

the linethatdividesthered andblackzones. This

interesting

analogymakes theseed aneven stronger referentialelementforthedesignofthecounters.

Morespecifically, Iadoptedthecombinationof colorsblack

-redforthe

finishing

ofthe

pieces. Iusedceramic astheproductionmaterial; itgavemethechancetomakeeach

individualcounter_slightly

different,

just as onewouldfind Huayruru seedsinnature. The

counters aredesigned tobe hand molded,providingan_{opportunity for}theintroductionofa

sense of"human

touch"

to the new game.This is especially importantgiventhe ideaalways

present inthenewHuayru: asoulintransition.

Ialsoborrowedthecolorcombination oftheHuayruru seed andappliedit intheentire game

asachromatic identity.

Fig. 1 7. Designprocessforcounters

[image:31.516.37.487.68.641.2]

[image:32.516.41.478.72.623.2]

Fig. 18. Designprocessforcounters2

Designof cards

Designing

a new version oftheoriginalHuayrurepresents multiplechallenges,especially if

weconsider one oftheobjectives targeted

by

thisproject:transmission ofknowledge about

thecultures oftheindigenouspeople oftheAndes.

Theoriginal_game, as_generallyconceived

by

thepeople who practiced

it,

dependson chance

exclusively. Thereseems tobenotactic or_{strategy involved.}

Considering

theplain

mechanical aspects of_everyversion ofHuayru studied so

far,

itcanbeobservedthat

outcomesdepend onlyonthe_waythediefalls. This fact leavesus with alimitedrange of

possibilities of

introducing,

in adirectand simpleway, culturalinformationforthenew

players_{using only}theoriginal rules as vehicles.

Also,

theelements oftheoriginalHuayru

(board,

counters,

die)

donot

display

intheir shapes and visual_nature,adirect andliteralreferencetopre-HispanicAndeanculture. It may be

difficultfora"stranger" _merely

by

_seeing, or even_playingthegame,torecognize itsorigin,

even

less,

acquireknowledgeaboutitscultural surroundings. Withinthis context, wecould

make an_analogyto ChessorParcheesi forexample: theseare_verypopulargames giventhe

qualityof entertainment

they

provide;

however,

not_manypeopleknow abouttheirorigins.

Severalchangesto theshapes and aesthetics oftheoriginal gamehave beenintroduced for

this new version.

However,

by

_themselves,these changesdonot make thegame stand out

fromothers asAndeanto theeyes of apossible broadrange ofplayers.

Therefore,

changes

to therules and mechanics are adoptedhereas a solution.

Fortunately,

Huayru has extremely

abundant culturalaspects relatedto

it,

whichwe could usetomakethese changes valid and

properlysupported. Themost significant changes areintroducedwiththe

Identity

Cards,

as

explainedbelow.

InthenewHuayru players are supposedto

help

a soul restinpeace and reachtheafterworld.

Theplayerthatdoesit first

by

reachingthegoalhasthefavorofthissoul andwinsthegame.

Now,

inordertodo so,everyonehastohavea

"companion"

giventohim/her

by

an

Identity

Card. Eachone ofthesecards represents acharacter chosenfromtheritual worldofthe

Andes. Itcontains informationaboutit and specialinstructionstofollowwheneverthe

playerslandon a specialholeontheboard.

Inorderto avoidconfusion,giventhegreat_varietyofcharactersthatcouldbechosenfrom

thespiritualworld oftheAndes anditscomplexities; itseemstobea goodideato set

parametersfortheirselection:

Thesecharacters should somehowrelatetotheideaofdeath and,whenever_possible,have

someconnection withsomeofthevarious versionsoftheoriginalHuayru.

Sixcharactershave beenchosenasexamplesforthisproject.

However,

therecouldbe many

Identity

Cardsthat canbeaddedtothe game,openingchances for collectingand_giving more

possibilities fortransmissionofculturalinformation.

Following,

there isan explanation of

thecriteria we usedforthe selection.

Brownrigg

(1989),

in herarticle "Un Juego dePishcaalHuayruen

Quingeo,

Azuay,"

describes

the

funerary

ritualsheld

by

a small_communitywheretwogamestookplace atthe

sametime: Huayruandthe"GameofAnimals." Inthis particular caseHuayru was played in

ordertodistributetheexpenses of_{the ceremony,} legalizethedistributionofthebelongingsof the

deceased,

andto findout whether or nothewas satisfied and inpeace. Thegame of

animals was played

by

six members ofthe

family,

each one

interacting

withthepeople atthe

funeralinthe

following

way:

Gata (Cat): thisrole consisted of_actingas a cat and _{stealing food from}thepeopleto

distributeit_among theother animals.

Cuscungu (Owl): hadto screamlikean_owl,

because,

accordingtothe_tradition,

they

scream

to announcethatsomeonehas died.

Gallu (Rooster): hadto _{sing like} a rooster.

Burro (Donkey): hadtoimitatethesounds of a

donkey

andhadto take the_clothingofthe

deceased fromtheriver whereitwas washed _accordingto the

funerary

tradition.He also had

toattack and chase all ofthesingle women atthefuneral.

Rezador (Theone who prays): hadto _sayprayers forthedeceasedinthenativelanguage

(Quichua).

Mayoral: thisrole wasto_gossipand screaminsultsagainstwidowsinthe

funeral,

_especially

againstthewidowofthedeceased

(Brownrigg

1989, 26)

Thearticle describestheentirefuneral ceremony in

detail,

with special emphasis onthese

twogames. Italso describeswhattheconsequences of_playingthemwereforthe_community

during

and aftertherituals.

Thecharacters ofthe"Gameof

Animals"

are good choices torepresentthroughthe

Identity

Cards ofthenew Huayru because

they

relate_closelytothe ideaofdeathwhich was selected

as the"theme."

Also,

thereis anobvious_{relationship between}the"Game of

Animals" and

theversion oftheoriginalHuayrupresented

by

Brownrigg,

giventheinteraction between

thesetwo games

during

therituals.

Eventhough thisexampleofthe

funerary

rituals atthissmall_{community may}seem

isolated,

itsimportance fortheknowledgeand_{understanding}ofindigenoustraditions ingeneralcan

notbedenied.

Withtheintroductionofthe

Identity

Cards playershave thechancetolearnaboutAndean

traditions.

Also,

thesecharactersmake thenew_{Huayru evidently Andean. Who is going}to

take the soultoits finalrest and winits

favor, Gata,

Cuscungu, Burro,

Gallu...?

Thetextoneachofthe

Identity

cards is asfollows:

Gata

Insomecommunities ofthe

Andes,

Gata

(Cat)

stealsfood fromthosewho attend afuneral.

Gata hasstolen allthefood fromthe

family

ofthissoulintransit. Thespirit is in_pain, the

funerals are wanting. Go backto start.

Cuscungu

Cuscungu means "Owl"inquechua, thenativelanguagestill spoken

by

some communities of

theAndes. Itis believedthatwhen a cuscungu screamsit isan announcement of someone's

death. Thesoulispleased

by

the_screaming ofthecuscungu. _{It brought many}people to_pray

inthe funeral.Throwagain.

Gailu

Insome villages ofthe

Andes,

Gallu

(Rooster)

sings

during

funeralsas part ofthe

ceremony.The_singing oftheGallu isan announcement of anew

beginning

forthesoul you

are

trying

totake totheafterworld. Goaheadthreespaces.

Burro

Aspart oftheceremonies,Burro (Spanish for

"Donkey")

attacksthesinglewomen_attending

funerals. Italso carriesthe_clothingofthedeadtobewashed intheriver forpurification.The

behaviorofBurrohasthe soul preoccupied. He hasattacked_manywomentoday. You are out

ofthegame.

Rezador

Rezadormeans"theone who

prays"

in Spanish. Heattendsthefunerals and praysforthe

soul ofthedead.The soulispleased. Gameover,you win.

Mayoral

During

thefuneralceremoniesin somevillages ofthe

Andes,

Mayoralinsultsthewidows

who attend. Mayoralhas beentooloud and aggressivethistime. Gobacktenspaces.

Itisimportanttonoticethat someofthesecharacters owntheirexistence and namesto

Spanishcolonies. We knowthatdonkeysand cats are not considered native speciesfrom

South

America;

they

werebrought

by

theconquistadors.

Nevertheless, they

have become

part ofthecontemporaneous cosmovisionoftheAndes. Forthis project, theworld ofthe

Andesisunderstoodfromabroadperspective intermsoftimeand space. Somecharacters

thatmeetthecriteriaforthedesignofthe

Identity

Cardscanbe Inca (like Kusi forexample);

others can becontemporaneous like

Burro,

etc.

1/1

u

c

on (Stone-Miller1995)

(Sondereguer2003)

E9

o

g>3

Oi

Q

^

^

Fig.19. Designprocessforcards1

[image:36.516.41.475.70.646.2]

U

<u

o

o

Iftp

^

.&

<35

^81

'M^

^TLi

[image:37.516.45.478.77.619.2]

0) o

Fig. 20. Designprocessforcards2

Fig.21. Designprocessforcards3

[image:38.516.41.474.65.656.2]

Theconcepts

Huayru relatestoso _manyconcepts andhas so_many

functions

_{forthe ritual world ofthe}

Andes,

that_{it may}be_nearly

impossible

to

introduce

and explainthemone

by

onehere.

Thegame of_{Huayru is linked}toritualmomentsin whichthe_winningor

loosing

factortranscends theplaincompetition and gets

deep

intoprocesses such as

legalization

andtransactionofmaterial_{possessions, relations of spacelinkedto the}

socialorganizationofthe

Andes,

_{aesthetics, agricultural}

cults, simulation of

astronomic _movements,cultto the ancestorsandtherelationsbetweenthe world of

the

living

andtheworld ofthe_{dead. (Ordonez}

2004,

4,

my

translation)

Fromalltheseideasrelatedtotheoriginal game anditsfunctions inthespiritual world ofthe

Andes,

I chose the "relation between the world ofthe

living

and the world ofthe dead" as

inspiration forwhat we can callthe"theme." InthenewHuayru theobjective ofthegame is

to

help

thesoul of adeceasedpersontorestinpeace and reachtheafterworld.

Mostofthestudies used as reference forthisproject,define Huayruas a practice _that,

nowadays, is strictly

funerary

and analyzeit withinthiscontext.The varietyof authorsthat

have studiedthegame andthe_varietyof versions andfunctions

they

present, makethisa

conceptuallysubstantial_topic;

but,

atthesame_{time, difficult}toanalyze as a whole. Ihave attackedthis problemintheideation stageoftheproject

by

_{making lists}ofthemost

remarkable aspects ofthegame,and

by

_using theminsomekindof

brainstorming

exercise. Here I havechosen some studies_{only in}ordertoprovide anideaofHuayruas a

funerary

ritual.

A. M. Hocquenghem

(1987)

presentsinformationabouthowsome oftheindigenous inthe

Andeshave

historically

perceiveddeath.

According

toone ofthesome ancient Andean

myths quoted

by

the author, peopleused tocomebacktotheworld ofthe

living

justafter five daysof

being

dead. His

family

usedtowaithimwithfoodand presents_{getting ready}to

welcomehim. Then heusedtofeel

happy

for

being

alive again_{and, this time, for}eternity.

The storytellsthatthis "resurrection"caused _manyproblems _speciallyrelatedto

overpopulation. Peoplestartedtofeelthelackoffoodandland forcrops,

they

sufferedalot.

According

to themyth, one

day

a mandiedandhis

family

was_{waiting for him}thefive days

it was supposedto takehimto come

back,

but it tookhimsix. 'That sixth

day

he found his

family

awaiting inanger, hiswifethrew acorontato

him,

andthejust arrived soul

disappearedin theairlike afly. Sincethat

day,

thedeaddon'tcomebackanymore"

(Hocquenghem

1987,

96,

_mytranslation).

This myththatItried tocondensein few

lines,

tellsalotaboutsomeideasrelatedtodeath

embraced

by

the indigenous.

First,

we canunderstand nowthat

they

believe in"souls"

and

spirits;then, wecould_saythatit is important forthemthatthissoul reaches a state of rest.

Weknownow_that,thegame ofHuayru is

immediately

associatedwiththe

funerary

_rituals,

and insomeindigenouscommunities it isstill animportantpartofthem.

Many

theoriescan

be,

andhave

been,

coinedto

try

to understand _whythegameended _up

being

used_exclusively

in_thisway.Itis

not a concern of_{this project, to}

studythese theories in

depth; instead,

we

will

describe

thegame as part ofthe_rituals,

trying

to

justify

the selection ofthe themeofthis

new_version.

Hocquenghem

(1987)

presents also

descriptions

made

by

some other_authors, about

funerary

rituals insome regionsoftheAndes:

During

thefive daysof a

funeral,

people_playHuayru. Theplayers ofHuayru

place

facing

each_{other,one at each side ofthe}

corpse andthrow an object made of

boneor wood.Thisobjecthasapyramidalshape withfouror six marked_sides,

depending

onthearea whereit is

found.

The facesofthissort ofdieare marked and

are

determined

by

different

_{names and}

signs,whenthediehassix sides, thereis also an_{empty face. The}

belongings

_ofthe

deceased,

his animals,are at play. First his

cattle are_{played, thenhis birdsand}

finally

hiscuyes_(guineapigs).Ifthedie fallsina vertical_{position, that}playerhas goodluckand wins. Ifthedie falls_showingone of

itsmarked_{sides, the}playerhasto_paytheamount of marksin money. _{This money}

thenwillbeusedto

buy

thealcoholtobeconsumed

by

those who attendthefuneral.

Ifthe_{die falls showing}thenaked

face,

theplayerhastobepunished and getshiton

thefingers. Playersare supposedto

help

thesoultoreach

heaven,

andthedeceased

thanks them

by

_givingthemhispossessions. (Hocquenghem

1987, 152,

_my

translation)

Notice here howimportantthegameistothefuneralritual_and, with

it,

to ideasoflifeand

death. Thereare_manydescriptionsofthe game as

funerary

ritual_amongthe

bibliography

we

were able_{to gather,} somedifferfromothers,buttheessential concepts remain.

When_workingonthefield research,Ihadthe_opportunitytobemore

directly

incontact with

theworld of

Huayru;

theideaofdeathwas_especiallypresent.

During

thefirst

day

I foundan

elder member ofthe _{indigenous community}and approachedtohimwith aHuayru diethatI

just hadbought intown. Iwantedto ask

him,

firstof_all, whether or nothe could recognize

theobject_{in my hands. The}reaction oftheinterviewedwas unexpected: heavoided

talking

about_{it claiming}nottoknowaboutthesubject and_asking metoleave. Was itbecausethe

idea ofdeathwas symbolized and containedintheobjectI held? Was itbecauseIappeared

as complete foreigner_{presenting something}thatbelongsto themonly?Or he_simplywas

being

honestanddid not recognizetheobject.Iwill_probablynever

know,

butthis

occurrence was a powerful prefacefortheexperienceIwas abouttohave

during

_{my stay}at

Sigsig.

Atfirstsight, and_especiallyafterthis

introductory

experience, thetopicof research seemed

tobedifficulttotalkor find informationabout.

However,

the more peopleI

interviewed,

the

more openInotice

they

wereto

talking

aboutthegame and _explainingrules and ideas behind

it. The ideaofdeathand spirits was alwaystherewhileImade

interviews,

photographedthe

various originalHuayrusetsI

found,

or _simply

talking

to people.

They

told me what

they

knewwithno apparentdifficulty. Ieven hadthechancetoattendadramatizationof afuneral

by

a

family

thatowned a set of

Huayru;

thiswas ofcourse, a resource wehad to take advantageof,giventheobvious

difficulty

of_attending a realfuneral. The game ritual was

similarto thosedescribedinthewritten sources Ihave beenusing.There are smalldetails

that_{varied, but again, the}essentialideas were still used.

The sole ideaof_playing

during

afuneral _maysound"strange" and would shock morethan

one.

However,

it is_somethingthatis still accepted and practiced

by

someindigenousofthe

Andes.

During

research at

Sigsig,

I didnothavethe_opportunitytoexperience afuneral

whereHuayru was used as part ofthe_ritual,but Iwitnessed afuneralwhere adifferentgame

was

taking

place: Itwas around 10aminahousenearthecentral park ofthesmalltown

whenIsaw some people_attendinga

funeral,

_probablysleepless.

They

were_sittingarounda

table,

talking

and_playinga card game. Was itpossiblethatpeople changed thegamebut

preservedtheideaof playing?Thiswas laterconfirmed

by

a member oftheindigenous

community:

"Nowadays,

_{almost no one plays Huayruin}

funerals;

they

playcards andthings

likethat"

(personal_{communication,}

June,

2005). The newHuayru doesnot pretendtobea

waytoconvincethesepeopleto _playtheoriginal game _again;instead it aims to"tella

story"

about_traditions, regardless ofthecultural and socialbackgroundofitsplayers.

Also,

the_constantlyrecurrent ideasoftheoriginal game used as a conflict resolutiontooland

as a_waytodeterminethedistributionof_possessions, made meintroducea suggestion for

playingthenewHuayru: players coulddeterminesome prizeforthewinneror some

punishmentfortheloser.Remember

how,

forsome instancesofHuayru

during funerary

rituals, peopledetermine who paysfortheexpenses ofthe_ceremonyas a_punishment,or

determinewho getsthebelongings ofthedeceasedas prize. Thisalso adds_playvalueto the

game;it makesitmore "fun."

Inconclusion;the_strongconnection withtheoriginal game andideasaboutdeath inthe

spiritual world ofthe

Andes,

thefactthat thegameis still played as a

funerary

ritual and_my personal experience

during

theresearchareusedas support fortheuseofthedeathconcept.

The player oftheNew Huayruwill get anideaofhow deathwas,and still

is,

faced

by

the

indigenous. Thenew Huayrurepresentsa means of_explainingthat therearedifferentwaysto

understandideaslikethese ina_{culturally diverse}worldand,to a certain_extent,provide a chancefortheoriginal gameto survive.

^

Huayru

^8P isa game of chancebasedon a pre-Hispanictraditionalgame,withthesame

name,playedbysomeindigenouscommunities

inSouth America. Huayru letsyouhavea glimpse atthe traditionsandspiritualworld of

itspeople.

Theoriginal gamehasundergone

manychangesduringitsexistence. _Nowadays,

it isplayed_{mostly in funerals}as a ritualthat

allows peopletobein touchwiththesoul of

thedeceased,helpingitbe inpeace. People

playthisgameinfuneralstodeterminewho paysfortheexpenses oftheceremony,to

distributethebelongingsofthedeceased,and

toforetellthespirit's will about unfinished

business.In the timesoftheInca Empire itwas playedbyrulers and princes.Itwas also played

inspecialtimesoftheyeartoaskthespirits

forhelpwiththecropsforexample.Playing Huayruwasforthema_waytosolve conflicts and relievetensions,away tobe intouchwith

thesacred andthebeautiful.

Withthisnew gameitis inyour

handstokeepa spiritinpeace on_{its way}to theafterworld._{Someone has just died}and you and yourfriends havetokeephissoulin

peace.Thesoul will guidethedieand

determinethe winner, theonethathas its favors. Specialcharactersguide youinthe

journey. Thesecharacters arerepresented by IdentityCardsthatspeaktoyou aboutthe traditionsofthegreatAndes._Playwith

Gata, Gallu,maybeKusiand see which one

connects youbetterwiththespirit.

Theoriginal game was also used

bytheindigenousas a_waytolegitimizethe transactionsbetweenpossessions.Ifyouwin

the game,you wintheotherplayers'

IdentityCardsand can usetheminfuture Huayrumatches.Thereare_manyidentity cards which you can collect andtrade through themediation oftheHuayru ritual. Ifyou wanttogofurther,decidewhatthe

winner getsbeforeplaying.Doyouhavea conflict with somebody?Isitgetting hardto

solve?Leave itto thespirits.Leave it

toHuayru.

There isa simple path and simple rulesto

follow,butrememberthateach move you

makehas beenmadeforcenturies. So,obey

therules and respect_{them, for every}orderof

thediemight mean morethanmere chance.

Have fun.

-_{TheHuayru team...me.}

One ofthosedays,whiteTupac Amaruwas

playing,henoticed a_{group of beautiful}

ladies contemplatingthegames. Suddenly,

he fellinlovewiththemostbeautiful of

them:Kusichimpu. Afterawhile, theprince

founda momenttodeclarehislovetoher, butwas rejected. Desperatebythe rejection,TupacAmarudecidedtowanderin

pain.Reflectinginsadness abouthis impossiblelove,he founda_springand sattocry.

Suddenly,theprince saw aspider,whichthe

natives calledKusiKusiandhaveas a good premonition.Encouragedbythegood omenof the spider, theprince seducedtheLadywith a whiteflower;Kusichumpusuccumbed.

This boardwas createdusing Kusi Kusiasinspiration.

Youwill count yourpointswitha Huayruru,a magical seedfor the Andespeople.TheHuayruruseedis

consideredanamulet and

representsbeauty.

TheIdentityCardswill_helpyou_{stay in}

touchwiththesouland withtheancestors.

Theywill attract or repel goodluck. They

represent characterstakenfromthe

spiritual worldof the Andes.

The dieyou willbe rollinghas

been rollingforcenturies. This wooden versionof ithasthe

samebasicshape_{of the}ancient

diceandpreservestheirrules.

Fig.22. Concepts in Instruction Manual

[image:42.516.59.429.376.632.2]

i>Common Path

Individual Paths

PREPARINGTHE BOARD

-Theboardconsists of six modules calledPaths.

-Thesepaths are stacked and can

bespread.

-Eachplayerhastochoose oneIndividual

Path;theseare marked withBlackcircles.

-The_{top Path,}theone marked withthe

redcircle, is theCommon Path.

-Thefirst holeofeachIndividual Path is

each player'sstartingpoint.

-Thelast holeofthecommon pathisthegoal.

Whoeverreachesitfirst,wins. -Everyfifth holein theentireboardis

called"Casa."

-EveryCasa ismarkedbya colored circle.

SELECTING THEIDENTITYCARD

-Eachplayerhastorollthedieonetime.

-Theplayerthatgetsthehighest

scoredealstheIdentity Cards, onetoeachplayer.

-Each_identitycardhasa special ruletobe followedbytheplayer wholandsonthecenterCasaof

the Common Path.

PlayerscanbringtheirownCards froma

different Huayruset ortheirparticular

collections.

In thatcase:

-Playersmustsurrendertheircards

andletthe dealershufflethemwith

therest.

-Thewinnergetstheother

players'

Cards.

READING THE DIE

Faceup:

Upright=Win Thespiritiswithyou

moveonespace

movetwospaces

[

e ffl

movethree

movefour

movefive. Throwagain

B 3eJ? _{| jfyou ?et a5}onthe fjrst turn Llampu.Bad tuck! Losea turn. d Conflictswiththespirit

GAME PLAY

-Theobjectiveis tomove theHuayruru through theboard,from the starting hole to thegoal

usingthedie.

-Eachplayer chooses aHuayruruand placesit

onthe_startingpointofhis Individual Path.

-Every playerhas two initialthrows,theone withthe highestscore playsfirst,playwill continue withtheplayertohisright.

-IfyourHuayrurulandsontheredCasaofthe

CommonPath,refertoyour_IdentityCard

andfollow itscommand.

Thesecommandsaredifferent for

eachplayer,dependingonthenature of each character.

-Ifthedietellsyoutomove more spaces

thanyou needtoreachthe goal, stayatthe

spot where you are and waitforyour nextturn.

[image:43.516.38.462.120.632.2]

-Ifyoulandon ahole alreadyoccupied_by anotherplayer,goback to the beginning.

Fig. 23. Rules inInstructionManual

OI

u _c _

C OJ 4-/ ₃

0) it c it

5; -C

. 0) ro

OU I- _Q Z

ro

5

c

0)

JO C ra E ^

O o O) ro _(U ro

QUCOllj_Z

r-O -tr1 *-' -. J=

- _OJ

LO

* c E * "S

O < I- _{< O o;}

#'

[image:44.516.43.480.73.633.2]

\

Fig. 24. Conceptsapplied

CHAPTER

4 ABOUT

PRODUCTION

Inorderfortheobjectto betterachievethegoal of

transmitting

knowledgeabouttheoriginal

traditional game,itsproduction methods should make itas accessible to thepublic asit is

possible.

Also,

thesematerials _{and methods should provide opportunitiesforthe}

reinforcementofconcepts andideasrelatedtotheoriginalHuayru.

Ipropose materialsthatare notdifficultto acquire, such as wood andclay, and processesthat

donot present_excessivelycomplexchallenges. Theseconsiderations makethegame cost

effective and provideopportunities forthe production of a_{considerably large} amount of units

in a giventime. Thisenhancesthepotentialforthe game totransmititsmessage: themore

Huayrugames_{available, the} more people willknowaboutit. Theshape ofthe

board,

for

example, is achieved

by

plywood

bending,

which requires simpletools and shorttimes. The

dierequires simpleimplementsforitsproduction as_well, suchas lathesandhand carving

tools. Thecounters arehandmade and handpainted, theirshapesdonot require excessive

attentionto

detail,

which makes themfasttoproduce.

Now,

it canbearguedthattheuse ofhigh

technology

mass production methods and

materials,such as injectionmolded_polymers, would reduce costs andincreaseproduction

quantities. _{This may be}true

but,

forthespecific caseofthenew

Huayru,

thesemethods

would sacrificeitsconnections withtheoriginalHuayru.

Proposing

hand- madecounters,for

example,is a_waytoadd ahumanisticcharacterto thegame.

By

_makingevidentthe touch of

thehandofthe crafter,_{my intention is}toreinforcetheimportanceof"people"forthe

understandingoftheexperience of_{playing Huayru.}

Also,

theproductionmethodsIpropose

could_{easily be handled}

by

craftersfromtheAndes region.Thisprovidesan_opportunityto

takeadvantage oftheirknowledgeaboutlocalcrafts,and givestheobject even more

authorityto

"speak"

aboutAndeantraditions.

Ibelieve I haveachieved an adequatepotentialforproduction,without _sacrificingthe

conceptstobetransmitted.Itwouldbe difficult forthenewHuayrutopresentideasabout

traditional

knowledge,

forexample, ifit were made of plastic

by

some automated process.

rN

o

O

cn

c

"D

.. C

5sQJ cn-O

o-n

o o cn cn c o c C

f

t =

3

>-P a. UQ

Wl

.'1-E

S fc ? F CO

i_ *->

o

CO

I

c

h-

^

[image:46.516.43.487.69.622.2]

\

Fig. 25. Technicalspecifications

o2 01a.g1

5x>

SZ'E

o o

o

WO

~r

a. p

fO

i/i ai

5 OJ

[image:47.516.41.477.62.622.2]

JC

^

\

Fig. 26. Technicalspecifications2

01T3 C o o =

fO 01 fO N

Sc"0

ro

sro

5 c

[image:48.516.45.475.77.631.2]

^

\

Fig. 27. Technicalspecifications3

CHAPTER5

CONCLUSIONS

Accomplishment

of objectives

Let usfirstrememberthegoalsIproposed to achievewiththisproject:

Thegeneral goalisto

demonstrate

thatdesignpractice can_playanimportantroleinthe

preservationoftraditional

knowledge.

The specific goalistodesignaboardgamebasedon

Huayruwiththepotentialof

introducing

_{to thegeneral public basicnotions about}

this tradition and, with_them,some aspectsofthepre-Hispaniccultures. Itaimstorescuethe

game's memory.

Letus now comment onthem:

I haveutilized designpracticeto present an object capable of_preservingtraditional

knowledge.

During

testing,

Inoticed playersinterestednot_{only in}theobject as adesign

piece,but also inwhatitmeans. I hadthe_opportunityto tellstories about

Incas,

myths about

indigenouscommunities andfactsthatIwas abletoexperienceinsmallEcuadorianvillages.

I have alwayshada_{strong interestforHistorical}

Anthropology

_{andknowledgeabout}

cultures oftheworld;withthisprojectI hadthe_opportunitytocombinethisinterestof_mine, withdesignpractice.

This,

by

itself,

_{constitutes a personal achievement.}

ThenewHuayru hasthepotential of

introducing

notions abouttheoriginaltraditionalgame.

Whethertold

by

myselfin_person,

by

theinstructionmanual presentedinthegame package

or

by

the simple exercise of_{play, traditions} as powerful asfuneralswere

being

explainedina

friendly,

funand_easyway.

During

theresearch_stage,Iexperienced some

difficulty

in

explainingtheoriginal gametopeople, _{mainly because} allI hadwere academictexts written

by

anthropologist and most ofthemin Spanish. Once I hadmodels and prototypesforthe

new

Huayru,

itwas much easierformetodo so.

ThenewHuayru introducesknowledge about some aspects of pre-Hispaniccultures,

especiallythrough thecharacte