Religion in the Inca Empire


The Inca religion was a group of beliefs and rites that were related to a mythological system evolving from pre-Inca times to Inca Empire. Faith in the Tawantinsuyu was manifested in every aspect of his life, work, festivities, ceremonies, etc. They were polytheists and there were local, regional and pan-regional divinities.
It has been noted that aspects of the Andean religion extend well beyond the border of the former Inca Empire into the lands of the Mapuches and Huilliches in southern Chile, which has raised the hypothesis whether there is a prior dissemination of Andean religion from Tiwanaku.

Duality

A theme in Inca mythology is the duality of the Cosmos. The realms were separated into the upper and lower realms, the hanan pacha and the ukhu pacha and urin pacha. Hanan pacha, the upper world, consisted of the deities of the sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning while ukhu pacha and urin pacha were the realms of Pachamama, the earth mother, and the ancestors and heroes of the Inca or other ayllus. Kay pacha, the realm of the outer earth, where humans resided was viewed as an intermediary realm between hanan pacha and ukhu pacha. The realms were represented by the condor, puma and snake.
Asymmetrical dualism is especially important in Andean worldview. Asymmetrical dualism is the idea that reality is built by forces that are different and compromised but need each other to be complete. Additionally, one force is slightly larger or more powerful than the other, leading to a disparity between beings and forces. This disparity is the foundation of reality and which causes things to happen. Throughout Andean thought, this asymmetrical dualism can be seen in the dispersion of life force or vitality throughout the land. Camac is the life force that inhabits everything in reality. It does not distinguish between living and dead and inhabits things in different quantities. This life force permeating different places at different times gives recognition to certain places or objects. These places and objects were regarded as holding special energy and were collected under the title of wak’a.
Sacred sites or things named wak'a were spread around the Inca Empire. In Andean mythology a wak'a was a deific entity which resided in natural objects such as mountains, boulders, streams, battle fields, other meeting places, and any type of place that was connected with past Incan rulers. A wak'a could also be an inanimate object such as pottery which was believed to be a deity-carrying vessel. Spiritual leaders in a community would use prayer and offerings to communicate with a wak'a for advice or assistance. Human sacrifice was part of Incan rituals in which they usually sacrificed a child or a slave. The Incan people thought it was an honor to die as an offering.
Archaeological remains confirm such human sacrificial practices, according to Reinhard and Ceruti: "Archaeological evidence found on distant mountain summits has established that the burial of offerings was a common practice among the Incas and that human sacrifice took place at several of the sites. The excellent preservation of the bodies and other material in the cold and dry environment of the high Andes provides revealing details about the rituals that were performed at these ceremonial complexes."

Deities

Inca deities occupied the three realms:
  • hanan pacha, the celestial realm in the sky.
  • ukhu pacha, the inner earth realm.
  • kay pacha, the outer earth realm, where humans live.

    Deities of the official pantheon

  • Viracocha: He was typically personified as a human male, and known as the creator of humanity and everything else in the world. In Inca Water Worship and Religion, it states, "He created humanity on an island in Lake Titicaca on the border between modern Peru and Bolivia and taught people how to live, assigning them tribal dress and customs and determining where they should live." After this occurred, Viracocha gave control over humanity to lower gods then disappeared. When the Spaniards came to the Inca territory, the Inca thought they were god like because of their similarities in appearance with Viracocha. Viracocha is often depicted as one of a triad of gods with Inti and Inti-Illapa. Not to be confused as a trinity, the three gods had multiple, overlapping personalities. There does not seem to be any major ceremonies devoted to him as well, as a small priesthood and only a few shrines dedicated to him.
  • Inti: Inti was one of the most important gods to the Inca people and known as the sun god. He is typically viewed as a boy from the Inca society and was also known as a golden disk with fire-like rays coming and a face in the middle. The image of Inti as a boy with sun rays protruding from his head is reflected in the principal idol of Inti that was created by Pachakuti. Named Punchao, this idol bridged the expanse between the Sun and humanity, as Inca rulers’ vital organs were burned, and the ash stored inside the statue. The Inca believed the sun was a key element for agriculture by protecting and helping with the growth of their crops. The temple dedicated to Inti was the Coricancha, which was one of the most important temples for the Inca people. Inside Coricancha was a miniature field of corn and the corn was made out of gold. Annually, the emperor would "farm" this as a tradition. Viracocha did not start out as the top deity in Inca religion, Inti was the first original and most powerful god. The transition from Inti to Virachocha has a couple of theories including: 1. The Inca society and people developed intellectually and started to question Inti's power. They questioned why an all-powerful god did the same thing every day. 2. The society moved forward and they started going more towards Henotheism. Since Viracocha was seen as a human, they saw this as being more powerful.
  • Illapa : The name of this god means thunder and controls things like weather, rain, and lightning. The Inca valued this god because Illapa was in control of the weather and the growth of their crops. Many of the Inca society saw the image of this deity as a man wearing a sling. Every time that Illapa used the sling, it would create the thunder heard by the Inca people.
  • Kon : The Inca rain god extended beyond its agricultural significance to encompass its role in spiritual beliefs and rituals. This god was perceived as a divine entity capable of both providing life-giving rains and unleashing destructive floods, highlighting the complex relationship between the Inca people and the forces of nature. Integrated into broader cosmological beliefs, reflecting the interconnectedness of water, life, and spirituality in Inca culture
  • Mamaquilla : The name of this god in the Inca language can be translated into Mother Moon. The Coya, or Incan queen was considered to be the daughter of Mamaquilla and leader of moon worship. All of the Inca society recognized this deity as female who was also seen as a silver disk with a face in the middle. She was the wife of the deity Inti and was also in control of calendars. This god was in charge of calendars because of the moon's cycle which the Inca could track. All the temples that worshiped Mamaquilla were worked on by priestesses.
  • Pachamama: The name of this god translates to Earth Mother and is known as a female among the Inca society. The Inca saw her as a protector of their crops/fields and a god of fertility to help their crops grow. Pachamama embodies a gendered understanding of nature, representing both a maternal nurturing force and a powerful deity. Pachamama is portrayed as a source of fertility and abundance in Bolivian indigenous belief systems, influencing agricultural practices and environmental administration. Pachamama embodies the interconnectedness of life and nature, serving as a central figure in rituals and ceremonies that honor the earth and its resources.
  • Mama Cocha: The meaning of this god's name from the Inca language is Mother of Lakes and is widely known as a female. The job of this deity is to keep the world strong and provide sources of water.
  • Stellar Deities: These are deities formed using constellations or other cosmology features and are mostly believed to be of animals or activities. In the book Inca Water Worship and Religion, an example would be "Urcuchillay, which is known to western astronomers as Lira, was thought to protect llamas and alpacas." Another important stellar deity was Qollqa. This constellation was honored because she was the mother of all other stellar deities. When the constellation appeared after not being visible for 37 days, the start of the agricultural year was marked.
  • Huacas':' Anything, including people, places, and objects, in the world that the Inca believed had a supernatural spirit, were called Huacas. The size of the Huaca determined how much power it had. For example, mountains were considered some of the more powerful Huacas. The Inca worshiped and cared for them similar to the other deities.

    Household gods

In addition to the communally worshiped deities, Incan families sometimes worshiped household gods via their representation as miniature figurines most commonly referred to as or. were often natural or carved stone objects that resembled crops or livestock, such as for maize, for potatoes and for llamas.

Origin

The Incas had an immense number of origin stories that historians and scholars have trouble deciphering and sorting out. These stories often contradict themselves, seeming to retell the story at a later point to include information and events that had occurred. Many of the origin stories of the Incas had life begin at Lake Titicaca. The story has the Creator god Wiraqocha Pachayachachic form giants to see if humans would work well at that size. When he found that they did not, he made them of his own size. These humans were hubristic and greedy, and thus were turned to stone or other forms and some were engulfed by the stone or sea. The Creator then summoned a great flood to destroy the land and all life on it except for three men, who would later help create humans again. At a later point at Lake Titicaca, the Creator made the sun, moon, and stars. The moon shone brighter than the sun, and being filled with jealousy, the sun threw ashes in her face to dim her shine. The Creator then spread out with two servants to call forth the people of every nation, from every mountain, crevice, cave and lake before walking over the water into the west.
The origin stories of the Incas reflect an attitude of change, where the past could be changed to better situate the present. This allowed for the possibility of new peoples and lands being discovered having been present from the very beginning. The origins of the Incas however do not represent the origin stories of other pre-Incan Andean peoples. There are vastly more versions and stories that predate and play into the Incan stories. Inca origin and religion draws from many local and ancestral traditions. The official tradition of the Inca Empire was the cult of the Sun, but the Incas allowed locals to worship their existing beings. Many people thought that their founding ancestor arose from an exact spot, a paqarisqa. These locals worshiped their gods through pilgrimages, offerings, and other rites that allowed them to keep true to tradition while still providing necessary sacrifices and offerings to the Sun god.