Ayabaca Province
The province of Ayabaca is one of the eight provinces that make up the department of Piura in northern Peru. It limits by the north and by the east with Ecuador; to the south, with the provinces of Morropón and Huancabamba, and to the west, with the provinces of Piura and Sullana.
Ayabaca is located, together with the province of Huancabamba, on the western chain of the Andes. Its capital city, Ayabaca, is the highest in the department of Piura.
From the point of view of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, it is part of the diocese of Chulucanas.
Toponymy
The name Ayabaca, also written as Ayavaca, comes from Quechua, deriving from two roots: aya, which is related to death, but also with immortality; and huaca, which designates sanctuaries and sacred places. In some local monographs this meaning has been limited to that of "antique grave or tomb of the dead", linking the name to the discovery of human bones and remains of primitive weapons, near the indigenous reduction established by the Spanish. Called Pueblo de Indios de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Ayavaca or Ayavaca Vieja. It is assumed that the bones would be of hosts fallen in fierce combat, as a response to the expansionist attitude of the Tahuantinsuyo.
For a broader understanding of the possible etymology of Aya Huaca or Aya Waka, consider that in Quechua, aya is & #39;deceased' and 'ancestor', not only in the physical sense of the corpse or the skeleton, but also in the symbolic and transcendent sense of the soul that leaves the body, temporarily during sleep and definitively at the end of life, but that circulates again in vital processes, such as in the cycles of water, light and the seasons that move together with the earth.
Aya is another name for the spirit or universal energy of Pachamama. For this reason, the Quechua word aya also designates the pale red or yellowish color of dawn and dusk and the paleness of newborns and the dying, while huaca is the Name of respect that sacred places and things receive.
In this sense, the ancient sanctuary of Ayahuaca or Ayawaka, located at the western end of the Andes mountain range, in the last mountain range places where the sun hides or "dies", and at the same time, in the area geographical area where all the rivers and water sources of the region are born, would come to be the Abode of the Ancestors or the Sanctuary of Death. But also of Immortality, of change and transformation of life.
History
In the government of President Ramón Castilla, the law of March 30, 1861 was promulgated, which created the province of Ayabaca with its capital Huancabamba. By law of January 14, 1865, the province of Huancabamba is separated, leaving Ayabaca as the provincial capital.
Geography
The province has an area of 5,230.68 km².
Population
The province has a population of approximately 140,000.
Administrative division
It is divided into ten districts.
- Ayabaca
- Frías
- Jili
- Lagunas
- Montero
- Pacaipampa
- Paimas
- Sapillica
- Yescchez
- His
CAPITAL
The capital of this province is the city of Ayabaca, its Spanish Foundation dates from 1571, when the local indigenous population was "reduced" or concentrated to form the people of Our Lady of Pilar de Ayavaca, name of the first Patroness Patron of the place. It is found in the Piuranas Seranías at 2715 m s. n. M. , has a cold and healthy climate.
It has been and will be the city of Ayabaca a tourist potential of northern Peru for religious festivals in honor of the captive of Ayabaca, held on October 13 of each year. The previous day is celebrated to the Virgen del Pilar whose stone image is in its temple and is of ancient data.
Authorities
<Scionales- Regional adviser
- 2019-2022: Rolando Saavedra Flores (Independent Movement Regional Force)
Municipals
- 2015-2018
- Mayor: Baldomero Marchena Tacure, of the Alternative Movement for Peace and Development (APD).
- Regidores: Óscar Manuel Córdova Caucha (APD), Julio Jaramillo Pardo (APD), Manuel Rodrigo Elera García (APD), Eleazar Peña Abad (APD), Alcira Chinchay Ramírez (APD), Segundo Florencio Calva Calle (APD), Juan Abad Ruiz (APD), Alexander Carhuapoma Calle (Unión Democrática del Norte), Floresmilo Antonio Ríos Rimaycuna
- 2011-2014
- Mayor: Baldomero Marchena Tacure, of the Movement Unidad Popular Regional Piura (UPRP).
- Regidores: Santos Evaristo Castillo Castillo (UPRP), Rony Ivan Zegarra Cordova (UPRP), Miguel Herrera Neyra (UPRP), Melqui Othon Santur Rivera (UPRP), Melania Quinde Castillo (UPRP), Edilberto Carmen Quinde (UPRP), Eleazar Peña Abad (UPRP), Vladimir Saguma Acha (Fuerza Regional), Marianoñez
Police
- Commissioner: Commander PNP Luis Criollo Benavides.
Religious
- Diocese of Chulucanas
- Bishop: Bishop. Daniel Thomas Turley Murphy (OSA).
Health
- Essalud: Doctor surgeon Jeancarlos Espinoza Castro
Festivities
- 13 October: Cautive Lord of Ayabaca
The city has great religious devotion to its patron saint: the Señor Cautivo de Ayabaca, also known as Señor Cautivo, represented in the figure of an eccehomo, who seems to have been inspired, on the one hand, by the Christ of Medinaceli, Spain, and, on the other hand, in the local religious traditions. The festivity of Señor Cautivo, whose central day is October 13, attracts a large number of faithful, who arrive on pilgrimage, from different northern areas of Peru and even from Ecuador. Some groups of pilgrims, who travel some 2,500 kilometers and walk to Ayabaca from Tacna, in southern Peru, make this pilgrimage the most extensive on the continent. A secondary festivity of the Captive Lord is held on January 1, with the participation of peasants from the coast who come to request water or thanks for the rains.
- Our Lady of the Pilar
Archaeology and tourism
In the district of Ayabaca, 43 km southeast of the city, it is located at 4°42′33″S 79°34′30″ O / -4.709162, -79.574869 the archaeological site of Aypate, an Inca building located on, or in front of, an ancient pre-Inca sanctuary that is part of the great Qhapaq Ñan. In 1996, the National Institute of Culture of Piura granted Aypate the recognition of "Archaeological Capital of Piura". The name of Aypate (also Aypache or Allpachí), also designates an important character who would become a kind of founding father in the history of this region.
The legend describes a symbolic competition that relates to the human need to understand and control nature, without destroying it. Aypate embodies that aspiration, and his legendary reign, to this day represents a current model of peace, justice and prosperity.
In various places in the province there are important testimonies of the ancient local culture, either in the form of petroglyphs (El Toldo, Samanga), megalithic altars (Chocán, Montero), or remains of the old Inca trail, also known as like Qhapaq Ñan.
Ayabaca also has a multiplicity of landscapes that range from areas of dry forest to areas of almost permanent humidity located in the mountains, in the region of páramos and lagoons and cloud forests that make up the main sources of fresh water in the entire department of Piura. The best-known lagoons are the Prieta lagoon, between the Huamba and Samanga areas, the Arrebiatadas, which are a set of interconnected lagoons at descending levels. Other lesser-known lagoons, such as the Cristal lagoon, the Cántaro lagoon and the Santa Clara or Siete Poderes lagoon, are found in the Tapal area and in the Yanta community. Likewise, on the border between the provinces of Ayabaca and Huancabamba is located the large group of lagoons known locally as Las Huarinjas or Huaringas, several of which are shared by both provinces. One of them is the very important Laguna del Rey, or the Inca King, possibly the highest in the Piura mountains. It is said that this lagoon, located in the Ayabaquino district of Pacaipampa, contributes its waters to both the Pacific basin and the Atlantic basin.
Other relevant data
Diverse transport companies cover the Piura-Sullana-Ayabaca route in a trip of approximately five to six hours. At the extreme north of the province, in the district of Suyo, it crosses the eastern branch of the Pan-American Highway that connects the town of Las Lomas, in Piura, with the Ecuadorian city of Macará, in the province of Loja. A large part of the territorial surface of Ayabaca borders the Republic of Ecuador.
Ayabaca is considered one of the most important natural conservation regions in northern Peru.
Likewise, the province has important mining deposits located in the vicinity of the páramos and lagoons. For this reason, its eventual exploitation is controversial, since the possible development of mining activities could put the region's water sources at risk.