Seven things to know about Inca beliefs

Much of the Inca religion was forgotten in the second half of the 16th century, and much about it is still unclear due to the lack of written sources. Anthropologist Alfred Matro describes their beliefs as a mixture of naturalistic cults, animistic traditions, elaborate rituals and magic. The practice of divination was important: no significant undertaking began without predictions based on observations of natural phenomena.

Inca priests fulfilled the roles of soothsayers, sorcerers and physicians, and their spirituality went beyond the simple worship of the sun, which served as the state religion. In Cuzco, the sun was personified by a ruler considered to be the son of a star, but there were many local beliefs alongside the official liturgy. Such a rich spirituality has given rise to many modern interpretations, although these often only touch superficially on the underlying Inca beliefs. We will, however, attempt to provide some keys to understanding this vanished religion.

1. The pantheon of gods

The Inca pantheon included about twenty gods, among whom three main figures stood out. Viracocha, the supreme deity, depicted as a bearded old man, was the creator of all the other gods, including the Sun. His cult existed in the Andes long before the Incas, and he was considered the patron of the valley's inhabitants, controlling underground water and irrigation.

Inti, the sun god, was symbolised by a golden disc. After the ruler Pachacutec proclaimed himself ‘son of the sun,’ Inti became the official deity of the empire. Illapa, the lord of lightning and thunder, was personified as a man roaming the sky with a club and a slingshot. He summoned rain from the Milky Way, represented as a great river in the sky. Illapa was a revered god of the highlands, saving from droughts and causing floods.

2. First Inca Emperor

The origin of Manco Capac, the first Inca emperor, remains unclear. Some authors claim that he emerged from the cave of Pacaritambo in Peru with three brothers and four sisters. Others say he was born from the foam of Lake Titicaca at the command of the creator god Viracocha. It is important to note that Lake Titicaca, located on the border of Peru and Bolivia, was the cradle of the Tiahuanaco civilisation, the forerunner of the Inca Empire.

However, both versions agree that Manco Capac, along with his sister-wife Mama Oclio, founded the imperial city of Cuzco where his golden staff, thrown from Mount Huánacavri, struck the ground. In the valley of the Huatanay River they united the neighbouring tribes, teaching the men agriculture and crafts, and the women the art of weaving. Thus began the reign of the ‘sons of the Sun’. This legend was propagated by Emperor Pachacutec to unify the empire.

3. Sacred Places

No palace could match the splendour of the Coricancha in Cuzco. During Pachacutec's reign, all roads leading to the four corners of the empire emanated from this sanctuary. Behind its high stone walls was a golden field of maize with a herd of llamas moulded of the same metal. In the courtyard were shrines dedicated to the chief deities of the pantheon. In the largest of them, dedicated to the sun god, was kept a golden disc decorated with jewels, the location of which remained unknown to the Spaniards.

On Lake Titicaca was a huge religious complex where a thousand ‘Sun Virgins’ served. Pilgrims from all over the empire flocked to the Copacabana Peninsula to travel to the Isle of the Moon and the Isle of the Sun. The way to the sacred place where, according to legend, the day star first appeared, passed through three gates. Ordinary people were only allowed to go to the third gate, where they brought their offerings, while only nobles could go further.

4. Offerings and sacrifices

Inca deities were usually content with modest offerings: shells, small ceramic objects, and small clay statuettes. However, for more significant occasions, such as agrarian rituals, propitiation ceremonies, or the death of prominent persons, fresh blood was required. Peasants sacrificed guinea pigs and nobles sacrificed llamas, preferably in white robes, as this sacred animal accompanied the souls of the deceased to the underworld.

In case of calamities, the death of an Inca or cataclysms, a rare ritual of kapokacha, which included human sacrifice, was performed. The victims were minors from noble families with perfect bodies, often from among the aklla kuna, young girls given to the cult of the Sun. Under the influence of psychotropic drugs such as corn beer or coca leaves, they were put on public display before being buried alive.

5. Vestals

The aklia-kuna, or ‘chosen women,’ were selected from childhood and sequestered in temples under the care of older Inca women. When they reached maturity, their fates varied: some became concubines of the ruler or his retainers, others married a huaca, a supernatural being who guarded the wife's primogeniture, and some were sacrificed to the gods during the Kapakocha ritual.

Most of the Aklia-kuna dedicated their lives to the service of the sun, observing strict vows of chastity and living in total isolation. They made chicha, a corn beer used in rituals, and also played an important economic role by spinning and weaving vicuna wool for the emperor and the nobility. The monasteries where they lived were large textile workshops specialising in the production of high quality cloth.

6. The Cult of the Morgue

The Incas worshipped not only gods, but also clan founders and former monarchs. These illustrious dead, in turn, ensured the fertility of the fields and the well-being of the people. Some of them had mineral doubles - monoliths that marked the territory of their influence. For example, the stone twin of the legendary ancestor Manco Capac was located in Cuzco's main sanctuary, Coricancha.

Many of these revered ancestors were preserved in the form of mummies. The Incas, like the Egyptians, mastered the art of mummification, although embalming was rare in the Andes, even for rulers. Usually the bodies were dehydrated with a mixture of pepper resin and lime, and a dry climate completed the process. Royal mummies were periodically retrieved from their tombs to participate in festivities and even to decide political issues, confirming their continued influence in the world of the living.

7. Inti Raymi Festival

Inti Raymi, the most famous Inca festival, was held on 21 or 22 June, the day of the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, to mark the end of the agricultural year and bring the sun back to earth. At dawn, the Inca would make a libation of corn beer before the people of Cuzco, dressed in their finest attire, after which llamas would be sacrificed on a fire lit by the sun's rays.

The Spanish banned this pagan festival in 1572, replacing it with the feast of St John, which coincided in time. In 1944, Peruvian actor and writer Faustino Espinosa revived Inti Raymi in Cusco. Although llamas are no longer sacrificed and the rituals have taken on a folkloric character, the festival attracts thousands of tourists, and the role of the Inca is played by a supposed descendant of the ‘sons of the Sun’.

Conclusion

The Inca religion, despite the loss of many aspects of it, remains one of the most mysterious and impressive ancient belief systems. These traditions, though covered in the dust of centuries, continue to inspire and amaze, revealing to us the spiritual heritage of one of the great civilisations. Inca beliefs remind us of how closely connected ancient peoples' lives were to their worldviews, and how these beliefs shaped their daily reality.