Asarpay, also known as Sarpay (16th century), was an

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

priestess in a cult dedicated to Apurima, the personified version of the Apurimac River, during the 1500s. She was the sister of the Inca, possibly a daughter of the Inca

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (; Cuzco Quechua: ''Wayna Qhapaq'' ) (before 14931527) was the third Sapa Inca of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. He was the son of and successor to Túpac Inca Yupanqui,Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; 2015, originally published in Sp ...

. Asarpay spoke for the Apurimac

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

, understood as an oracle of the personified river. She would give advice and warning to those of her community on the shrine's behalf. Asarpay is known for her actions and premonitions during the Spanish conquest; Asarpay foretold the Conquest and advised Inca nobility to gather and use up all of their food stores, as to not leave the conquerors any access to their resources. Asarpay is mentioned most frequently in regards to her sensationalized suicide; the reasoning for her suicide, however, is not exact. There are some claims that Asarpay threw herself into the Apurimac river gorge as a way to assure her freedom after being previously kidnapped by the Spaniard Diego Nunez Mercado. However, it is also believed that Asarpay threw herself from the Apurima temple into the river as a way of returning to the river goddess, rather than watching the destruction of the idol by the advancing Spanish army.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asarpay Inca Empire people 1500s births Deaths by drowning Suicides in Peru Priestesses Nobility in South America