Yanantin

thumbnail|Visualization of dualism in Chavín culture

Yanantin is one of the defining characteristics of native Andean thought and exemplifies Andean adherence to a philosophical model based in what is often referred to as a "dualism of complementary terms" or, simply, a “complementary dualism". Much like in Chinese Taoism, Andean philosophy views the opposites of existence (such as male/female, dark/light, inner/outer) as interdependent and essential parts of a harmonious whole. Because existence itself is believed to be dependent upon the tension and balanced interchange between the polarities, there is a very definite ideological and practical commitment within indigenous Andean life to bringing the seemingly conflicting opposites into harmony with one another without destroying or altering either one. Among the indigenous people of Peru and Bolivia, the union of opposing yet interdependent energies is called yanantin or "complementary opposites."