How many inca gods are there

It was represented by a condor. The condor was sacred to the Incas. They believed that it communicated the upper world Hanan Pacha with the earthly world Kay Pacha. It is represented by a puma. It symbolizes strength, courage, freedom, and intelligence.

Ukupacha translates to the underworld. It was represented by a serpent or Ssnake. The serpent symbolizes the world below the Ukhu Pacha. It represented wisdom. Throughout the Inca culture, a kind of pilgrimage tradition occurred. The organizing centers of the Andean space were sacred symbols, places where people gathered to worship their gods, accepting the dominance of the representatives of the supernatural powers on earth.

Huiracocha created lakes and lagoons, it was an inexhaustible source of life. The apus were considered male divinities. These were worshiped, from the smallest domestic units, to the highest elites of Inca society, and other kingdoms and lordships. The arrival of the Spanish came with the imposition of the western religion, which they made theirs, mixing them with their ancestral customs, so that they were visibly acceptable to the invaders of the west.

A god previous to the Inca world because it was known from time immemorial. Possibly it would be a deity belonging to the Peruvian nomadic peoples who inhabited the Andean area, hence, since its birth, it was moving through various areas.

Also known as Wiracocha, he is the creator god, the essence of the origin and he is considered the first divinity par excellence of the Peruvians, regarding his cult we can say that initially he was exclusively destined for the nobility.

It is said to have arisen from the waters and subsequently created heaven and earth. It seems that he arises in the waters and after a long journey he decided to create heaven and earth, therefore, he is the god of creation.

On his travels he was accompanied by Inti, a magical bird who knew what had happened and what would happen. For this reason, the Inca emperors adorned their crowns with large feathers to simulate that they belonged to Inti, which provided them with the knowledge necessary to reign.

In addition to being Viraocha's traveling companion, he was the Sun god. The Inca ruler offered up animal sacrifices to the sun god on 21 June to celebratre the sun worship festivity Inti Raymi. Goddess of the earth, the cult for the fertility of the crops was carried out to her, therefore, the offerings had to be large, because otherwise she could make the crops not important enough.

Although it corresponds to an edition of Viracocha, he is known as the god of tremors. He was also considered the creator of the world, therefore, he is usually associated with Viracocha.

An unscrupulous god is how he is represented in his mythology, even going so far as to kill one of his sons and his own wife, he would be dethroned by Wichama, another of his sons, who, thanks to his cunning, could deceive his father and thus finish him off.

We know that Pachacamac's wife was killed by her husband and sent to the earth cut into small pieces, which fertilized the earth. Goddess of the sea, fishermen were entrusted to her so that the waters remained calm, in addition to being able to fish in abundance. Represented everything feminine, it was also who calmed the waters and helped good fishing.

She was also highly revered by women, as she was the goddess of everything related to the female world. Venerated especially by fishermen to calm the waters and obtain the benefits of abundant fishing. An illustrated representation of the Sun god Inti. Conquered provinces were expected to dedicate a third of their resources, such as herds and crops, directly to the worship of Inti.

Each province also had a temple with male and female priests worshipping the Inti cult. Becoming a priest was considered one of the most honorable positions in society. The main temple in the Inca Empire, called Qurikancha, was built in Cusco. The temple housed the bodies of deceased emperors and also contained a vast array of physical representations of Inti, many of which were removed or destroyed when the Spanish arrived.

It represents the mythical origin of the Inca and the hope for good crops in the coming year as the winter sun returns from darkness. The festival of Inti Raymi. This festival is celebrated in late June in the capital of Cusco every year. Thousands of visitors arrive to see the procession and rituals. Religious life was centered in the Andes near Cusco, but as the Inca Empire expanded its sphere of influence, they had to incorporate a wide array of religious customs and traditions to avoid outright revolt.

Ayllus, or family clans, often worshipped very localized entities and gods. The ruling Inca often incorporated these deities into the Inti cosmos. For example, Pachamama, the Earth goddess, was a long-worshipped deity before the Inca Empire. The most important was Coricancha in the city of Cusco. This temple was restricted to the Cusco elite. Priests looked after these temples and made sacrifices to the gods. Young women called aclla served as priestesses, they wove the finest clothes for the Sapa Inca and prepared food for the gods, the most beautiful were sacrificed.

They built other temples known as ushnu, the most important one is Aucaypata located in what today is the central plaza in the city of Cusco. In the Aucaypata they celebrated massive ceremonies in honor of Inti where curacas from other regions were invited. Mama Quilla was believed to protect women and was worshiped along with Inti in the Coricancha temple, there were four smaller chapels devoted to her.

Mama Quilla was the daughter of Wiracocha and is the third reverence in Inca religion after Wiracocha and Inti. The god Viracocha was the creator, most powerful god, he created the sun, moon, sea, earth and people.

Viracocha emerged from the deep waters of Lake Titicaca to sort out the world. He placed the moon and the sun creating light and darkness, then he created the first human couple Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo.

When his job was completed he walked away getting lost in the ocean. Unlike the other Inca gods Viracocha was abstract, he was not represented in nature and lived in the heavens. Viracocha The creator, he created the Sun and the Moon. Inti The Sun and most important god in Inca religion, he ruled above all others. Sent to the earth by his father to verify people follow his commands. Mama Oello The mother goddess of the Incas, she taught the Incas spinning.

Holy places are known as huacas. These places were mostly natural resources such as rocks, water streams, mountains or trees. As a sign of respect people would usually leave small offerings such as maize beside them. Important huacas were larger and would be guarded by priests, sacrifices of llamas and children would take place in these huacas.

Shamans were spiritual leaders who cured people and predicted natural disasters. They were very well respected individuals in Inca society. For centuries shamans had passed the knowledge of animals and plants healing attributes and applied it on the sick. By inhaling a powder from a cactus through a hollowed animal bone they were able to put themselves in altered states of consciousness, able to interact with the spirit world and make prophecies about natural disasters.

According to some myths, he gave the Incas the gift of civilization through his son Manco Capac, who was the founder of the Inca Empire.

Inti was viewed as the patron of the empire and the divine ancestor of the Inca. The Inca emperors were believed to be his living representatives. Even in the 20th century, the Quechua people perceive him as part of the Christian trinity. One of the most important ceremonies where he is worshipped is the Inti Raymi festival, held every winter solstice if the southern hemisphere—the time when the sun is farthest from the earth.

Then, Inti is celebrated with ritual dances, lavish feasting, and animal sacrifice. The Inca god of rain, lightning, thunder , and storms, Apu Illapu had a significant role in a culture that depended on agriculture.

Also known as Ilyapa or Illapa, he was one of the everyday gods of the Inca. In times of drought, prayers, and sacrifices—sometimes humans—were offered to him.

There is a legend which states that in order to create a storm, the Inca tied up black dogs and left them to starve as an offering to Apu, in hopes that the weather god would send rain.

In many accounts, Apu Illapu is described wearing a shining garment representing lightning and holding a sling the sound of which symbolizes thunder and a war club symbolizing a lightning bolt. The wife and sister of the sun god, Mama Quilla was goddess of the moon. She was associated with silver, which symbolized the tears of the moon , and was portrayed as a silver disk with human features, wearing the moon as crown.

The Incas calculated time with the phases of the moon, implying that Mama Quilla governed the ceremonial calendar and guided the agricultural cycles. As a result, she was also the protector of married women. The Incas believed that lunar eclipses were caused by a mountain lion or a serpent trying to devour her, so they made all the noise and threw their weapons to the sky to protect her. Also known as Mama Allpa or Paca Mama, Pachamama was the Inca earth mother and the fertility goddess who watched over planting and harvesting.

She was depicted as a dragon who crawled and slithered under the earth, causing the plants to grow.