CREATION BELIEFS

A decorated drinking
vessel, dating from around
A.D. 1650, depicts an Inca
creation myth. The figure
in the boat is thought to
represent Mama Ocllo
(MAH mah OHK loh)
crossing Lake Titicaca.
Mama Ocllo is one of the
eight founding ancestors in
the Inca creation myth.

e know little about the Incan religion before the establishment of

the empire. Most of what we know concerns the state religion that
was approved by the Sapa Inca and that centered on Cusco. The Inca had
many myths to explain their origin. Perhaps the large number of origin
myths told by the Inca arose because of the empires attempt to bring many
different religious practices under one religious system over time.
In one creation myth, the Inca traced their beginning to Pacaritambo
(pah kah ree TAHM boh), an area south of Cusco. A mountain at
Pacaritambo had three caves. The myth relates that the founders of
the Inca people emerged one day from the central cave. These eight
ancestorsfour brothers and four sistersmoved across the land
ooking for a place to settle. They carried a long golden pole that they
used to test the soil in their search for fertile land. When they reached
a hill called Huanacauri (hwahn ah KAW ree), their leader, Manco Capac,
heaved the golden pole into the valley below. When it sank into the rich
earth, they knew they had found a place to live.

C R E AT I O N B E L I E F S

In another part of the myth, two of the brothers

turned to stone. One did so on the hill Huanacauri.
The other did so at a place called Huanaypata (hwahn
ay PAH tah), which became the very center of Cusco.
These two spots became sacred to the Inca.
A second Incan origin myth connected the Inca to Lake
Titicaca, which many Andean peoples believed was the
birthplace of the world. In this myth, Viracocha, the
creator god, left the sacred lake and began walking
northwest. After meeting several human beings along
the way, he stopped in the Cusco valley. There he
ordered that the Inca should appear.

SACRED NETWORK
The Inca had several hundred
huaca, or sacred sites. Some were
linked to springs or mountains.
Others were sacred because they
were connected to the royal family.
Still others became sacred because
they were the first spot from which
a traveler coming from a certain
direction could see Cusco. All the
Incas sacred sites were carefully
arranged along about 40 lines that
fanned out from Cuscos center.
Each ayllu was assigned one of
these lines and had to maintain all
the huaca along its length. The
system of lines and sacred places
was so complex that one expert
estimates that nearly 1,000 people
in Cusco had the job of memorizing
the system.

The travelers then told the people already living in the

valley that they had been sent to take control of that
place. In some versions of the story, the inhabitants
agreed to give the land to them. In other versions, the
travelers had to fight and overcome the people living
in the valley. Once the Inca were in charge, Manco
Capac cast corn seeds onto the land, introducing the
crop that would become so important to the Inca.

The Island of the Sun

is the largest of the 40 or
so islands found in Lake
Titicaca. The Inca built a
temple to the sun and a
palace complex on the island,
reflecting the importance
of Lake Titicaca in Incan
mythology.

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