Shining Path: Maoism and Inca Myths
Sendero Luminoso uses elements of indigenous mythology in the "people's war" it launched more than two and a half years ago against the Peruvian government. Recalling the remote times of the Inca Empire, the Maoist guerrillas of the central Andean highlands publicly flog the "enemies of the people" guilty of minor offenses, or shave their heads as the Incas used to do. They even kill dogs and hang them from poles and trees as a death threat for those who know that the ancient Incas buried the dead together with their dogs.