Cañaris

High up, where the guardhouse looks out over the steep terraces of Machu Picchu, the Cañaris stand in the dense cloud forest. They are not rulers but the silent squires of the peaks. The endless depth of the valley is mirrored in their eyes while their hands hold the spears. They guard not only stones, they guard a secret. When night falls and the empire of the Inca goes under, they hold their posts — one with the rock, exactly like the ash-grey viscacha enthroned beside them on the cold battlements. In the high mountains, human and animal merge into a single, motionless unity of watchfulness.