OUR LOGO

Every company needs a logo. We searched long and hard to find something with meaning that supported the business image we wished to express. At the same time we wanted to symbolize our general feelings toward the country of Ecuador and South America with whom we are showcasing.

While searching the internet for symbols from Ecuador, Peru (the Incas) and various other sites, we came across the Chakana symbol which caught my wife's eye immediately. After much investigating and research we found several things in common with our experiences and parallels with our business and life itself. Following this short introduction will be the results of our research which we wish to share with you.

First of all the three worlds in Inca cosmology coincided with how we defined our business adventure: the "over world" coincided with our dream from above about even the possibility of being in business for ourselves, the "this world" where we found all the trials and tribulations of the business world in which we have to deal with and the "underworld" which means what happens to our business when we are gone. Maybe all the decisions and events are in the hands of the Gods in the celestial world.

We also believe that the three levels of our Chakana represent the dog, cat and the horse. These happen to be the animals, in order, that we are most compatible with and admire the most.

The hole in the center of the Chakana represents the life of our business which will be a never ending circle of experiences, products and prosperous endeavors.

We came to the decision for the colors of our Chakana during our latest visit to Ecuador with our most gracious hosts, Gary and Merri Scott. They own and operate a quaint little hotel called Mesón de las Flores, Imbabura, Cotacachi, Ecuador, Phone (06) 2916 009. Their staff is the most attentive of any place we have ever visited. They are at your elbow to serve every moment you're there and will remember not only your name but services you request most often. For one of the most beautiful experiences you will ever have, please visit them. You will never forget it. Anyway, let's get back to the colors. The yellow circle in the center represents the sun witch radiates outward to a red sunset. The center, green, represents the green earth. And, of course, the center initials for the name of our business, All American Enterprises AAE in blue represents the sky which is unlimited.

We hope you will enjoy the following information on the Chakana.

Bob and Dot

Chakana

Chakana is derived from the Quechua word chakay, meaning "to cross" and is rooted in its astrological beginnings but its significance is more extensive. The most important meaning behind the chakana is that it represents the Southern Cross constellation, the most important stars in the Incan cosmological system. This constellation was seen as holding great significance, since it could be used to show the cardinal points of the compass (with the most distant star pointing south when in the sky), as well as the lines joining the four stars being of lengths equal to the side of a square and the diagonal bisecting it (one, and the square root of two).

Another significant meaning of the chakana is the three steps on each diagonal. These represent the three worlds in Inca cosmology: Hanan Pacha, the over world (or celestial world) where the Gods dwelled and the spirits of the deceased were carried; Kay Pacha, this world; and Uqhu Pacha, the underworld of the dead and unborn. These three steps could also be used to represent the tripartite agricultural system of work used to divide the harvest between village, imperial and temple.  These tiers may also be redefined as underground, earth, and sky.

It is important to note that these worlds do not correspond to the Christian ideas of Heaven, Earth and Hell. In fact, the negative imagery associated with the snake, for example, was not shared by the Incas.

The three levels also represent the snake, puma and condor. Many buildings, temples, and religious sanctuaries are scattered with relevance to the chakana. Sacsayhuamán Temple, located in Cusco, Peru, has a stone entrance shaped to form the upper portion of the chakana. Artifacts and jewelry still made by Inca descendants often depict the chakana.

The hole in its centre denotes Cusco, hi termed "the navel of the Inca Empire" and also represents the circle of life.  Its twelve external corners are believed to mark the Twelve months of the year, while the four arms of the cross represent North, South, East and West.

In addition to the stand-alone icon that can, for example, be worn as a talisman, the Inca also built the steps of the chakana into their architecture such as in the temple of the condor at Machu Picchu.

Finally, the chakana could be divided into composite square sections, with the major Incan deities, cosmological objects and man and woman positioned within.

The Crux, commonly referred to as the Southern Cross, is the smallest and most definitive constellation of the Southern Hemisphere. A group of four main stars, the constellation may be used to find the cardinal points. Such importance is reflected in the multiple representation of the Crux, including the Australian, Brazilian, New Zealander, and Mercosur flags. This prominence is reflected in Andean culture, where the four points of the Crux are apparent in one of the region's prevalent symbols, the Chakana.

                                                 Crux

The four arms of the chakana equate to the cardinal points, or may designate the four provinces of Tawantinsuyu, while the circle represents Qosqo and the circle of life. The twelve peripheral points mark the months in a year. The lines which run vertically through the symbol represent interconnectivity between the worlds while horizontal lines are the bonds which unite those within each world.

The frequency and popularity of the chakana in Andean art and society from antiquity to modern day is a testament to the symbol's broad significance.

                                                               Name: Southern Cross.

                                                               Astronomical name: Crux.

                                                               GENITIVE: Crucis.

                                                               Common name: Southern Cross.

This circumpolar constellation (always situated above the horizon) of the South Hemisphere, is located between the Centauri and the Fly constellations, just above the Polar Antarctic Circle and it is crossed by the Milky Way. The Crux is visible the whole year between 25 N and 90 S degrees of latitude, especially at early night from middle autumn and during the whole winter. This is why the Crux is not totally visible to all countries, and among those where it has the best visibility are: Chile, Argentina, Perú, Madagascar, Bolivia, Uruguay, etc.

The Southern Cross is the smallest constellation, filling only 68 square degrees in the firmament and covering only the 5% of the biggest one, the Hidra. In spite of being the smallest, the Crux is composed of approximately 54 stars; It was named thanks to its four principal stars which are Alpha Crucis or Acrux, Beta Crucis or Mimosa or Becrus, Gacrux or Gamma Crucis and Delta Crucis; all of them are represented using Greek letters and give this constellation the shape of a perfect cross. 

The stellar figure of the Crux is one of the most famous and easiest to recognize due to its location in a bright region of the Milky Way and also because of other stars not necessarily related to this constellation but that help to find it as Alpha and Beta Centauri, better known as "the buoys of the Cross". These two beautiful stars seem to point to its higher mast. When finding the Crux we will notice that its main axis, the longest, points to the Southern Celestial Pole. This is the reason why the Crux is used in orientation during the night. Knowing where the South is we are able to find the North, the West and the East. This system of reference has been used for centuries by seamen that sailed across the world's seas, more specifically the Southern Seas.

The Cross through time and its past

As many of us know, most of the existent constellations had influence in the past of human beings, which after thousands of years of evolution sought more knowledge using the Universe, its stars and its mysteries.

During centuries humanity was looking for an answer to many phenomena that today seem very simple to explain. In Antiquity people used fantastic stories that helped to explain the origin of all the surrounding phenomena, and in so doing many civilizations mentioned the Southern Cross in their myths and legends. Many of them explain to us about the ancient location of the constellation.

The Babylonians (5th century B.C.) identified the 12 zodiacal signs and also the Crux, which was also glanced from Alexandria, Athens and Rome. The Egyptians, that knew the stars for a long time, classified them in 1022 (the person in charge of this classification was Ptolemy) and in their classification system Acrux was already present. This binary star was visible 5 degrees above the southern horizon and even when Crux was not yet distinguished as an independent constellation (but was part of Centauri together with Lupus) was important for the civilization according to the Alberto Martos' Theory (stories of the constellations).  Marto's Theory argues that ANKH (an ancient kind of cross) means life and the living could not be indifferent to such an advanced civilization.

In the other corner of the world (Peru) the Inca culture used the Southern Cross to determinate the best dates for planting and harvesting and solstices and equinoxes.

Also in Chile, the Mapuche people associated the Cross with the footprint of the Choike or ñandú. On the other hand the Aymara in Peru considered the Crux as a square cross in whose centre Mother Quilla was situated (the Moon). This way, the fame of the Cross spread all over South America. Also in Bolivia (with the Tiawanako petro glyphs, Paracas cloaks and Chavin ceramic) it is demonstrated that this constellation was important for people's life and even today their pilgrimage (on march 3rd) is the continuity of the veneration towards the Southern Cross in the antiquity.

In India there existed a constellation called SULA (Beam of Crucifixion). It was confirmed that they were talking about the Cross due to its characteristics and general descriptions.  In the Centre of Australia it was called "the eagle's leg" and, coincidentally, among some Brazilian tribes it was called "The Suri's leg".

In 1500 Joao of Lisbon and Pero Anes used this constellation as a reference to find the South.  For the first time in 1505 Hernando de Magallanes names it as "Cruz do Sul" (Southern Cross), and some time later, in 1515, Andres de Corsalli called it "Marvelous Cross".

Just 164 years later Bayer incorporates this constellation in his work, but it is in 1679 when finally Royer separates it from Centauri giving its birth to the constellation number 63. In his drawings Royer puts the constellation vertically.

It is thought that Marco Polo was able to see the Cross from Java and Madagascar, when Prieto de Albano describes Marco Polo's sky in his "book of wonders". This way Dante knew of its existence and could mention it in his work "The Divine Comedy"

The Southern Cross has not been visible from the Northern Hemisphere for 20 centuries but it has been well observable form the South for many centuries, as it has been demonstrated through ancient cultures that worshiped this constellation.

Today's sky

If Ptolemy lived at this time, he would not be able to observe this constellation because currently from Alexandria it is only possible to see Gamma Crucis at 1.5 degrees above the horizon.

Nevertheless, in South America we have the possibility of seeing the Cross and people even today remember their ancestors' traditions such as the celebration of the 3rd May (which represents day zero in Aymara calendar).

In Mexico, Bolivia and Peru there are many Andean festivities such as: Mexico: the day of the bricklayer is commemorated, in which people pay homage to the "Saint Cross", wrapping a cross with a special paper to decorate buildings.

Bolivia and Peru: Considering their geography, the cultures of these two countries are linked by ancient Inca life. Currently people from both countries celebrate especially the Southern Cross better known for them as chakana (which on the 3rd May acquires the shape of a perfect cross). In this feast people give thanks to the cross for the protection of the crops as May is the month for harvesting.

Currently the Southern Cross is present in many national flags and flags of groups, such as the one of MERCOSUR, a commercial treaty among some South American countries. The Cross is also present in the flags of Australia and Brazil.

To illustrate it we present the following table with Brazilian cities and the star represented by it:

Brazilian City      Star of the Southern Cross

Sao Paulo                                                                              Alpha Crucis

Río de Janeiro                                                                       Beta Crucis

Bahía                                                                                      Gamma Crucis

Minas Gerais                                                                         Delta Crucis

Espírito Santo                                                                        Crucis Elipson

Possible future of the cross

In a far away future the Southern Cross will change its shape due to the proper motion of stars through space. This means that it will look no longer like a cross, so its name will likely change as well. This change can also occur if one of the stars making up this constellation disappears. The life of a star depends on the speed with which it performs thermonuclear reactions (consuming hydrogen) and also on what stage of its vital cycle we find it. Thus we can predict:

• Gamma is a red giant (last stage of a star's life) that could disappear earlier, exploding as a nova or supernova, and then evolving to be a white dwarf or a neutron star, eventually becoming a pulsar. On the other hand, we must take notice of the fact that neutron star has an inferior size limit, so it could become a black hole (region of the space with such a high density that no radiation can escape from it).

• Other part of the constellation that could change substantially is the Jewel Box cluster. Although it is just a few million years old, its red stars already show signs of premature ageing. This happens because the more massive stars have already exhausted their supplies of nuclear hydrogen (converting it to helium via nuclear fusion), and so starting an accelerated agony. Surely some other stars will also change colors as millions of years go by, and thus our descendants will find that this box contains more rubies but less diamonds.

Southern Cross, legends and stories

Antonio Fernández, a specialist in Mapuche language, conducted a research about the experiences of the Mapuche ancestors. He found out that the Southern Cross is represented as the pawmark of a choike o ñandú (a native bird). Also, the nthropologist Roberto Lehmann-Nitsche points out that in Patagonia, in the XVIII century, the Milky Way was imagined as a field for ñandú hunting. This legend tells that Nemec, a chief hunter, tried to capture an enormous choke, but the bird escaped unharmed to the sky and stayed there.

In the following table we list the representations of the constellation by some local cultures:

People                       Name or Description of the

                                   Constellation 

Aymara, quechua                                                                           Chakana

(Andean high plateaus)

Carabuco                                                                                        Square Cross

(Titikaka Lake, Bolivia)

Bororó (Brazil)                                                                                 Paw of a large ñandú

Mocovies                                                                                         Choike

Mapuche (Patagonia)                                                                     Choike

Yirkala (Australia)                                                                            Paw of an eagle

We cannot be sure about the origin of legends. Time has altered the stories so that new tales have emerged, occasionally producing radically different stories. Historians, archaeologists and anthropologists are the scientists in charge of recovering the past and discover fascinating data about it. Their method is to search for information by studying oral stories, iconographic materials, written materials, etc.

In old books there are tales about ancient travelers and scientists. Thus is how, in theory, Dante heard of the constellation Crux, by the writings of P. Albano, who tells the story of Marco Polo.

Past will not be ever recovered completely because no science is completely precise.

The stars making up the cross

The stars composing the Southern Cross are approximately 54. The most important stars are the four ones that give the Cross its peculiar shape: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. There are also some other important stars in this constellation, such as E-Crucis which is variable and is located just in the middle of the imaginary line that links Delta and Alpha. In addition Crux includes an open cluster, one of the most beautiful, known as the cluster of the Jewel Box.

          Acrux or Alpha Crucis: is one of the prettiest double stars in the sky, having magnitudes 1.7 and 2.1 it is situated in 21st place in a ranking of all the stars ordered by magnitude. These stars of a white-bluish color are located at a distance of approximately 296 light years and its temperature is between 10.000 and 30.000 degrees Celsius. The luminosity of these stars in relation to our Sun (Sun: 1) is of 3.200/2.000. Currently its orbital period is unknown.

          Mimosa or Beta Crucis: this star is at the West end of the cross. It is roughly 500 light years from the Sun. This white-bluish giant has a magnitude 1.3 and a luminosity of 6,000 with respect to the Sun. Its apparent size varies 5 times a day, but increasing by less than 1/10 of magnitude, so this change is not detectable to the unaided eye. Its temperature is between 7,000 and 20,000 Celsius degrees.

         Gacrux or Gamma crucis: is the star at the top of the cross. It is a red giant of magnitude 1.6. It is a visual double, having a very bright orange star of magnitude 6.4 two minutes away from it. Gacrux is roughly 200 light years from the Sun. Its temperature is between 2,500 and 4,500 Celsius degrees. It is believed that this star will be the first in dying, because it is at the end of its life cycle (red giant on the way of becoming a nebula).

         Delta Crucis: it is on the right of the cross, pointing to the West. It is one of the faintest stars, with magnitude 2.79. It is 570 light years away from the Sun.

      NGC4755 or Jewel Box: this open cluster is nearly 1 degree south of Mimosa. It contains over 100 stars of several colors and magnitudes from 10 to 6. These stars use an area equivalent to one third of the apparent size of the Full Moon. Although in fact this cluster is farther than any of the already mentioned stars (7,600 light years, so the light we see was emitted before Egypt's pyramids were built), it can be distinguished very well by using binoculars and it is impressive when looking at it through a telescope. Most of the stars in this cluster are white-bluish supergiant, with temperatures ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 Celsius degrees. In the centre of this cluster there is a super giant of magnitude 8; many blue stars surround it, one of them being Kappa Crucis, a white-bluish giant of magnitude 5.9. This cluster owes its name to the rich color contrast between its stars, which make it look like a jewel box. These stars will probably change their aspect in many more millions of years.

How to locate the Southern Cross?

Not having an instrument (e.g. a telescope) it is not a problem to observe this wonderful constellation. It can be observed with the unaided eye from latitude 25 degrees N to 90 degrees S. What you must do is the following:

• Wait for a clear night, and for feeling like observing the constellation!
• Stand on a place from where you can observe most of the sky (free of buildings blocking the view).
• Look to the South.
• Raise your eyes from the horizon and you will find the Celestial South Pole.
• Look diagonal from it and you will find the "pointer" of this constellation (Alpha).
• Then look to both sides and above the pointer.

In this way you will locate the four stars whose positions imitate the shape of a cross. This is the Southern Cross. The image below should make easier to locate the cross:

But beware; there is a false cross too! There are three ways of telling the false cross from the true one:

            • The true cross has an extra star on one side, which is absent in the false one.

            • At the feet of the true cross there are four fainter but fairly visible stars. They make up the constellation of the Fly.

            • The true cross is followed in its path by two bright stars: Alpha and Beta Centauri.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about the Chakana as much as we have enjoyed presenting it to you.

You may continue shopping at the Alpaca Silver Store.

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