Ancient civilizations-2

Inca gods

The creator god of the Inca and of pre-Inca peoples was Viracocha, who was also a culture hero. Creator of earth, man, and animals, Viracocha had a long list of titles, including Lord Instructor of the World, the Ancient One, and the Old Man of the Sky. Some have said that he also was the creator of the Tiwanaku civilization, of which the Inca were the cultural heirs. Viracocha went through several transmogrifications (often with grotesque or humorous effects). He made peoples, destroyed them, and re-created them of stone; and when they were re-created, he dispersed humankind in four directions. As a culture hero, he taught people various techniques and skills. He journeyed widely until he came to the shores of Manta (Ecuador), where he set off into the Pacific—some say in a boat made of his cloak, others say he walked on the water. This part of the myth has been seized upon by modern mythmakers, and, as Kon-Tiki, Viracocha was said to have brought Inca culture to Polynesia.

Viracocha was the divine protector of the Inca ruler Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui; he appeared to Pachacuti in a dream when the Inca forces were being besieged by the Chanca. Upon victory, Pachacuti raised a temple to Viracocha in Cuzco. He was represented by a gold figure “about the size of a 10-year-old child.”

Inti, the sun god, was the ranking deity in the Inca pantheon. His warmth embraced the Andean earth and matured crops; and as such he was beloved by farmers. Inti was represented with a human face on a ray-splayed disk. He was considered to be the divine ancestor of the Inca: “my father” was a title given to Inti by one Inca ruler.

Apu Illapu, the rain giver, was an agricultural deity to whom the common man addressed his prayers for rain. Temples to Illapu were usually on high structures; in times of drought, pilgrimages were made to them and prayers were accompanied by sacrifices—often human, if the crisis was sufficient. The people believed that Illapu’s shadow was in the Milky Way, from whence he drew the water that he poured down as rain.

Mama Quilla (Mama-Kilya), wife of the sun god, was the Moon Mother, and the regulator of women’s menstrual cycles. The waxing and waning of the moon was used to calculate monthly cycles, from which the time periods for Inca festivals were set. Silver was considered to be tears of the moon. The stars had minor functions. The constellation of Lyra, which was believed to have the appearance of a llama, was entreated for protection. The constellation Scorpio was believed to have the shape of a cat; the Pleiades were called “little mothers,” and festivals were celebrated on their reappearance in the sky. Earth was called Pachamama (Paca Mama), or Earth Mother. The sea, which was relatively remote to the Inca until after 1450, was called Cochamama (Mama Qoca), the Sea Mother.