Ayaviri or Ayawiri (Aymara) is a town in Southern Peru, capital of the province Melgar in the region Puno.

What meaning can be inferred is through the etymological study of the words, suffixes and prefixes of the languages prevalent in the region throughout its history.

Jorge A. Lira (1952) the translation of the word ayaviri to “soldier,” “military” or “minuteman,” which by extension can mean "meeting place of many armies" or "Captain-General."

A connection might exist between these words and the many tombs recorded to have been present around the town by Pedro Cieza de León.

He describes them as being “proud, cautious, and melancholy, their clothing was usually of a somber colour, and their music was plaintive and sad.” In comparison with the tribe of Canches, with whom they often warred, he further describes those of the tribe of Canas as “of a darker complexion” as well as “stouter and better made.”[8] The accounts left by Pedro Cieza de León and “The Inca” Garcilaso de la Vega are the best written testimony available concerning the Incan conquest of Ayaviri.

He writes that the people of Ayaviri stubbornly went to battle, unwilling to hear the counsel or the promises offered and desiring to die fighting for their freedom.

[9] Cieza de León writes that “they suffered so severely that they submitted to his service, to save themselves from entire destruction.”[10] The two historians appear to differ in their portrayal of Lloque Yupanqui’s disposition.

Cieza de León describes some of the Incas as “vindictive” and, similar to his treatment of previous villages he conquered, he killed many “in such sort that few or none were left alive” even after their surrender.

[11] Thus Ayaviri was fully incorporated into Tahuantinsuyo, its population under the control and distribution of the Inca and receiving the religion and economic structure.

[16] Moreover, Ayaviri is recorded to have had a significant place in the second phase of this rebellion (after Tupac Amaru II) by responding enthusiastically to its promotion.

Carlos Contreras and Marcos Cueto contend that Pumacahua's revolution ultimately failed because it did not attract neither criollos nor indigenous supporters, and that it was the very people of Ayaviri that captured him and gave him up for execution.

The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi, located in the Plaza de Armas, is the oldest structure in Ayaviri and a symbol of the enduring Catholic faith of the people.

"[20] Manifesting an exterior and interior decoration that is exemplary of the Cuzco school of art and architecture, the cathedral is considered an exceptional representation of Andean Baroque.