Inca gods and Creation story
The Inca's religion was polytheistic which means that they believed in more than one God. They had a God for every aspect of Earth (sun, wind) but they had two more important or main Gods. One was Inti the sun god, and the other Viracocha, who was the supreme creator of the earth and everything on it. The creation story was that the world was covered in darkness, then a God emerged from a lake. He created the stars and moon, making the moon his wife. He crafted humans out of a huge mountain of rocks, before sending them to corners of the earth. The sun God's had a son and a daughter to go down and help the humans. The son went and taught the men how to plough fields and build houses. The daughter taught the women how to weave and prepare food. The son ruled over the village and became the first Ina ruler, assisted by his sister/ wife. They went on a journey to find a place to settle. Every now and then they would place a golden rod in the ground, and one time it sank down into the ground and disappeared. The son decided that would be where they settled, so the son and daughter split off to get people to come with them and build the city. Many people came and built the city of Cusco.
These are some of the Inca Gods:
Apu: God of the mountains
Apocatequil: God of Lightning
Catequil: God of thunder and lighting
Chasca Coyllur: Goddess of flower and young maidens
Copacati: Goddess of lake
Illapa: God of weather
Ko: God of rain and wind; he was said to be the son of Inti
Mama Zara: Goddess of grain
Pariacaca: God of water and rainstorms.
Apu: God of the mountains
Apocatequil: God of Lightning
Catequil: God of thunder and lighting
Chasca Coyllur: Goddess of flower and young maidens
Copacati: Goddess of lake
Illapa: God of weather
Ko: God of rain and wind; he was said to be the son of Inti
Mama Zara: Goddess of grain
Pariacaca: God of water and rainstorms.
Ceremonies and Ways of Worship
Sacrifices:
Sacrifices were a huge part of their lives, and it was important that they sacrificed blood to the Gods often. Non-living items such as baskets of leaves and clothes were thrown into a fire for some of the sacrifices. The Inca leaders would demand children from the ages of 4-16 to be used for sacrifice. A few years before the sacrifice, the children's diets were changed to just corn. They were then brought to the capitol where the Capacocha (sacrificial) ceremony would take place. The selection of children would be given feasts and ritual celebrations, before they were sacrificed (sometimes on a sacrificial altar, and other times they were buried alive). They mainly sacrificed to Inti the sun God, because they believed he was in charge of agriculture and good weather. They needed to maintain their relationships (through prayers and sacrifices) with the Gods to keep the crops. They sacrificed food, woven cloth, cocoa leaves, animals, and the main sacrifice of Humans.
Burial Customs:
The bodies of Incan rulers were embalmed. They were dressed in fine clothes, and put on a chair of gold with their arms folded. When they died the palaces where they lived were abandoned, because they believed that the rulers would return one day. They worshiped the bodies and placed them in ancient burial places (called machays). Sometimes the preserved bodies were covered in tunics and cloths. They still had servants who would maintain ownership of their property, and the mummified bodies were taken to major festivals or to visit other mummies as if they were still alive. Peasants buried their dead in caverns and tombs, and weren't mummified, although because of the cold temperatures in the mountains some bodies were kept preserved.
Religious festivals:
Sitowa:
This was a significant festival which chased away evil spirits that could threaten a town. Everyone would gather and chant words such as 'sickness, unhappiness, leave us!'. Then the soldiers would run along the roads to the outskirts of the city, banishing the spirits. At night everybody feasted and washed the rest of the evil away in the river.
Raymi:
The purpose of this ceremony was solely to worship the sun god. When the sun came out the town would go on their knees and stretch out their arms; praising the sun. The Inca Emperor would fill two goblets with wine, then drink one himself. The other one would be poured on the ground for the God to drink. The celebrations for the festival would last for a few weeks.
Sacrifices were a huge part of their lives, and it was important that they sacrificed blood to the Gods often. Non-living items such as baskets of leaves and clothes were thrown into a fire for some of the sacrifices. The Inca leaders would demand children from the ages of 4-16 to be used for sacrifice. A few years before the sacrifice, the children's diets were changed to just corn. They were then brought to the capitol where the Capacocha (sacrificial) ceremony would take place. The selection of children would be given feasts and ritual celebrations, before they were sacrificed (sometimes on a sacrificial altar, and other times they were buried alive). They mainly sacrificed to Inti the sun God, because they believed he was in charge of agriculture and good weather. They needed to maintain their relationships (through prayers and sacrifices) with the Gods to keep the crops. They sacrificed food, woven cloth, cocoa leaves, animals, and the main sacrifice of Humans.
Burial Customs:
The bodies of Incan rulers were embalmed. They were dressed in fine clothes, and put on a chair of gold with their arms folded. When they died the palaces where they lived were abandoned, because they believed that the rulers would return one day. They worshiped the bodies and placed them in ancient burial places (called machays). Sometimes the preserved bodies were covered in tunics and cloths. They still had servants who would maintain ownership of their property, and the mummified bodies were taken to major festivals or to visit other mummies as if they were still alive. Peasants buried their dead in caverns and tombs, and weren't mummified, although because of the cold temperatures in the mountains some bodies were kept preserved.
Religious festivals:
Sitowa:
This was a significant festival which chased away evil spirits that could threaten a town. Everyone would gather and chant words such as 'sickness, unhappiness, leave us!'. Then the soldiers would run along the roads to the outskirts of the city, banishing the spirits. At night everybody feasted and washed the rest of the evil away in the river.
Raymi:
The purpose of this ceremony was solely to worship the sun god. When the sun came out the town would go on their knees and stretch out their arms; praising the sun. The Inca Emperor would fill two goblets with wine, then drink one himself. The other one would be poured on the ground for the God to drink. The celebrations for the festival would last for a few weeks.
Roles of their Religious Leaders
The priests held a high role in society,because the whole government was based on religion. The priests held different ranks, the top rank being the high priest of the sun (which was almost as powerful as being the emperor in their society). In fact this rank of priest was responsible for deciding the next emperor (which was the highest position in their civilization). The emperor was named the 'sapa Inca'. The other ranks of priests were decided by which temple they served and worked in. They took part in sacrificial ceremonies, and even helped to advise rulers what choices they should make. Priests had a job of reading omens (which is an event regarded as good or bad, and prophecies). The Inca didn't make big decisions without finding out what the omens favored. Priests also read patterns from leaves of plants for example- to determine and prophesise the future. Priests could question the dead Sapa Inca and consult with spirits to make decisions.
Places of worship and their temples
Their houses and temples were all made out of stone (and sometimes clay). The Incas had skilled stonemasons and built strong buildings by shaping stones to fit and sticking them together with mud. The Inca built many temples to worship in and some of them are still around today. Most of them were located in and around the mountains to glorify the Gods.
Machu Picchu was a large mountain-top city which is located 100 kilometers north of Cusco (where the Inca first settled). This city was surrounded by mountains, which they believed were Gods. The whole city refers to the sun and mountains,and has several temples which they worshiped in. One temple is the temple of three windows, which looks over more mountains and faces the summer solstice (the longest day of the year). In the middle of Cusco a large place of worship was built, and was the most holy place in the entire empire! It is called the Temple of the Sun, or Coricancha. The Inca built large monuments of the sun, animals and corn out of gold to worship in this temple. The building had immaculate stone work, and the walls were even covered in gold.
A Huaca by definition is an ancient Inca religious concept that is variously used to refer to sacred ritual, the state of being after death, or any sacred object. The Inca would go to these places and worship as well as the temples, sometimes making sacrifices there.
Machu Picchu was a large mountain-top city which is located 100 kilometers north of Cusco (where the Inca first settled). This city was surrounded by mountains, which they believed were Gods. The whole city refers to the sun and mountains,and has several temples which they worshiped in. One temple is the temple of three windows, which looks over more mountains and faces the summer solstice (the longest day of the year). In the middle of Cusco a large place of worship was built, and was the most holy place in the entire empire! It is called the Temple of the Sun, or Coricancha. The Inca built large monuments of the sun, animals and corn out of gold to worship in this temple. The building had immaculate stone work, and the walls were even covered in gold.
A Huaca by definition is an ancient Inca religious concept that is variously used to refer to sacred ritual, the state of being after death, or any sacred object. The Inca would go to these places and worship as well as the temples, sometimes making sacrifices there.