por What are the Inca gods?
The inca gods They are representations of various elements of nature to which the people worshiped. These gods made up the religious pantheon of this ancient people, a South American civilization located in the Andes mountain range, which included present-day Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
This civilization worshiped the elements that could help with the crops and sustenance, and for this reason experts call them «gods of sustenance.»
Among the oldest are Viracocha and Pacha Mama, who are the most general gods, and also Inti, Ilyapa or Pacha Camac.
List of Inca gods and their attributes
Viracocha
Primordial god who emerged from the waters and created the sky, the earth, the ocean, the sun, the moon and the first race that inhabited Lake Titicaca. He is pre-Inca, prior to the beliefs of the Empire, probably from the Tiahuanaco and Huari culture, and is the first god they worshiped.
He is represented with two rods and was always accompanied by a bird, Inti, who knew the future and the present. For this reason, the feathers of this bird were reserved for the crowns of the emperors, to symbolize their belonging to the divinity.
inti
Son of Viracocha, he is the Sun god. As a source of life and heat, he was worshiped by farmers, and received numerous offerings.
He is represented as a golden disk and with human features. He would take a greater role in the Inca Empire after the Inca victory over the Chanca people, since King Pachacútec awarded Inti his own victory. Since then, Inti is one of the most important gods. He also became relevant when the Sapa Inca, as imperial ruler, was declared to be a descendant of Inti. That is, the emperor, as the son of Inti, was of divine origin.
There were many Inti temples scattered throughout the Empire, so that everyone could worship him.
Mom Kilya
Inti’s sister and wife, she was Mother Moon and was also associated with rain. Due to her lunar phases, she was the representative goddess of the passage of time. She ruled over the calendar and religious festivities.
She was the protector of women, and her cult was guided by an order of priestesses.
Ilyapa
God of lightning, thunder, lightning and rain, and also of war. He was represented to him as a man with rich clothing, holding in one hand a jug full of water, where the Milky Way was, and in the other a slingshot.
Ilyapa controlled the weather elements by shooting a stone from his sling into the pitcher. The hum of the slingshot was thunder, the projectile crossing the sky was lightning, and the spilled water was rain.
Pacha Mama
Goddess responsible for the life of everything on earth. The success and abundance of the crops depended on her. The Incas used to offer coca leaves to this goddess to have a good agricultural production.
Messing with the order of the crops or not following their signs in the seasons was disrespectful to Pacha Mama. It was believed that every time this happened, the goddess caused earthquakes.
mom cocha
Goddess of the waters, also considered protector of sailors and fishermen. She was responsible for ensuring that there were enough fish in the sea, which made her a provider deity. She helped prevent storms and was prayed to calm the waters.
This goddess was the wife and sister of the creator Viracocha, and mother of Inti and Mama Kilya.
pacha camac
God of tremors and earthquakes, associated with fire, the sky and clouds. He is known to be the creator of the second generation of humans, after defeating Kon, who created the first.
Pacha Camac would provide this second generation with everything necessary to survive, which is why he was revered by humanity.
Manco Capac
Son of the Sun and the Moon, Manco Capac created the entire Inca race together with his sister-wife Mama Ocllo, after surviving the great flood of Viracocha. He is also considered the god of fire.
Viracocha gave Manco Capac a beautiful headdress and a great war ax to establish his figure as leader and ruler of men. From there he emerged from the underground caves near Lake Titicaca with his brothers and sisters to find a place to settle.
With a golden rod he struck the Earth to test whether the places were suitable to start his great civilization: not too rocky, not too soft, not too wet, not too dry. In this way they found where to found the city of Cuzco.
Mama Ocllo
Wife of Manco Capac, with whom she founded Cuzco. The goddess of looms and family values, she was responsible for teaching women to spin with their hands and weave to make wool and cotton fabrics.
chuichu
He was the god of the rainbow who helped Inti and Mama Kilya with the crops of the town. Since the Incas depended on both the sun and the rain to have good and abundant harvests, Chuichu appeared when both deities were unified for the benefit of the Incas.
vichama
Vichama was the god of death, considered vengeful and merciless. He is the son of Inti and half brother of Pacha Camac.
His mother was murdered at the hands of his half brother, for which in revenge he transformed the entire Pacha Camac race into stones, for this reason he is associated with petrification. Then, feeling lonely, he laid three eggs from which a new race was born.
supai
Supai ruled the Uku Pacha, the world of the dead and a race of demons. With the arrival of Christianity, he would be awarded the representation of the devil, since he was represented with horns.
However, it was neither good nor bad, and for the Incas it meant balance.
click
Chasca was the brightest star in the firmament, Venus, the first to rise and the last to disappear. For this reason she was considered the goddess of dawn and sunset and of flowers.
She was also the goddess of beauty and virgins. She was associated with spring and renewal.
urcuchilay
It was a god represented with a llama head, worshiped by Inca shepherds. He was an essential deity for the well-being and multiplication of herds, and he was considered the protector of animals.
pariacaca
God of water and also associated with rain and storms. He was originally born as a hawk and later became a human. It was believed that he was responsible for the floods.
apu
He was the god or great spirit of the mountains. It was believed that all the important mountains for the Inca people had their own apu, as well as some rocks and caves. Sacrifices were offered to these apu to obtain the strong aspects of being.
The apu were protectors of the territories: as imposing guardians over all the Inca lands, they took care of the people, the cattle and the crops.
urcaguary
Urcaguary was the god of hidden treasures and underground riches. He was represented to him as a serpent with the head of a deer and a tail adorned with chains made of gold. He liked to crawl underground, traversing it to find and care for precious jewels.
mom sarah
Mama Sara was the goddess of grains, especially represented as the mother corn. When the crops turned out to have strange or crowded shapes, it was believed that it was the presence of Mama Sara.
Usually, they used to make dolls made of corn representing this goddess, decorating them with long dresses and the characteristic and traditional Inca shawls. The women taught their daughters to dance with the dolls in honor of Mama Sara.
kon
Kon is the god of the wind and also of the rains of the south, of the Peruvian coasts. He was the creator of the first generation of humans, who forgot about him and were punished with drought.
He is represented as a being with a feline face, but in reality he had no flesh or bones.
ekeko
Ekeko was the god of prosperity, abundance and the warmth of the home. He was represented as a cheerful little man of short or dwarf stature, plump and dressed in typical Andean clothing.
He carries a series of bottomless sacks where he carries objects and goods necessary for life in the homes.
The ancient Incas made dolls that represented him. They believed that by putting a small object inside the doll of something they wanted, the god would grant it in real life during the year.
Today, in Peru and Bolivia, Ekeko is still a living tradition. Many types of Ekeko dolls can be found among the populations of the Andean highlands.
other gods
Amaru, god of wisdom. Ataguchu, pre-Inca god who helped Viracocha in the creation of the world. Auquis, gods who watched over the towns. Axo Mama, the goddess of potatoes. Catequil, pre-Inca god of lightning, good and day. Cavillace, young and virgin goddess. Huallallo Carhuincho, god of fire. Coyllur, goddess of the stars. Coniraya, moon deity. Chuquisuso and Capyama, guardian goddesses of the ditches. Copacati, pre-Inca goddess of rivers and lakes. Huamancantac, god of grain. Huari, main god of the Chavín culture, associated with water, agriculture and war. Yanañamca and Tutañamca, gods of darkness and night. Urpihuachac, goddess creator of fish and birds. Wasikamayuq, god of the home. Temenduare and Arikute, brother gods who caused a flood. Runacoto, divinity associated with virility. Pikiru, god of the night and evil. Mirahuato and Llacsahuato, sister goddesses of fertility and food.
References
Inca religion, a religion of many gods. Retrieved from discover-peru.org. Elick, L. Merchant. Gods and Goddesses of the Incas. Recovered from seanachaidh.com Inca Gods: The Gods of Incan Mythology. Recovered from machupicchu-inca.com.