The legend of the origin of the Incas and the founding of Cusco. The history of the Incas originates in myths and continues in legends Mythology of Peru

From the ancient inhabitants of America, the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas, amazing monuments have come down to us. And although only a few books from the time of the Spanish conquerors - conquistadors have information about these peoples, their history is preserved by the ruins of temples, frescoes, paintings and sculptures, bas-reliefs, steles - archaeological documents of disappeared civilizations.

Maya and their gods

In the era of the ancient state - III-X centuries - the Mayans erected large religious centers: wide squares, pyramids, temples, palaces ... In them, the priests develop the Mayan script and calendar, and obedient residents gather here in order to honor their gods as good , and cruel: Hunab-Ku - "the only one", the father of all gods,

Itzamna- the lord of the world and heaven, the founder of the priesthood, Ish-Chel - the wife of Itzamna, the mother goddess,

Chuck- the god of rain (it is he who makes the corn stretch up), the most beloved of all gods,

Yum Kaash- the god of corn, Ah-Puch - the god of death.

Aztec gods

Beginning in the 13th century, the Aztecs conquered a vast territory inhabited by agricultural peoples. Their role models are the warlike Tol-Teks, who also created a civilization of warriors. The gods of the Aztecs were both their primordial and "trophy", inherited from the conquered peoples:

Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli god of the sun and war

Ometeotl- the supreme god, who could not be depicted,

Tlaloc- god of rain, thunder and vegetation,

Chicomecoatl- goddess of corn,

Xipe-Totec- god of spring blossoms,

Tonacin- mother goddess

Inke, son of the sun

Around 1200, the founder of the Inca dynasty, Manco Capac, had a vision of the sun god. Since then, the state was ruled by a god, and the leaders of the Incas began to call themselves the "sons" of the Sun. Religion was taken to the service of the state. In the capital of the empire, the city of Cusco, the gods of the conquered peoples were considered minor idols. Honored their gods:

Inti- sun-god, ancestor, dynasties of emperors,

Viracocha- "god", the beginning of the worship of which was laid by the reign of his son Pachacutec (1438-1471).

Mayan

They owned part of the current territories of Guatemala and Mexico. This ancient civilization developed especially rapidly in the III-X centuries. AD, and it existed together with the Toltecs who conquered it until the 15th century.

inca

They founded a state that stretched during its heyday (1438-1532) from Quito (Ecuador) to Valparaiso (Chile), i.e. vastly larger than present-day Peru.

Aztecs

They came from the high plains of the northwestern regions of Mexico and founded the capital of their state Tenochtitlan in 1325 or in 1345 in a high-mountainous swampy valley, in the place where the city of Mexico is now located. The last leader of the Aztecs, Montezuma, ruled the country from 1502 to 1520. And in 1521, the Aztec state was completely destroyed by the Spanish conquerors.

Toltecs

Since the 10th century, the importance of this people in the history of the continent has been increasing. He participates in the establishment of the New Mayan Empire and settles in the cities of Chichen Itza and U Shmal. The successes of the Toltecs had a great influence on the Aztecs. It was this warlike people, who so easily shed other people's blood, who first introduced the rites of human sacrifice, which then took root among both the Mayans and the Aztecs.

"Smoking Mirror", or Tezcatlipoca

This is the Toltec god of the night, the night sky, the underground of the Sun, cold, winter and death. $,1 In addition, he ® was the god of war and ^ patronized | young warriors called "eagles" or "jaguars".

"Feathered Serpent", or Quetzalcoatl

He is the god of light and the sun, the patron of the priesthood. Defeated by the god of the night Tezcatlipoca, he was forced to leave his homeland, but promised to return and bring peace and prosperity to the Aztec state. That is why many Indians mistook the Spanish conquerors for envoys
Quetzalcoatl.

Tenochtitlan

Reconstruction of the religious center of the Aztec capital.

Capital of the Aztecs

Protected from all sides by water, Tenochtitlan was the cultural and religious center of the Aztec state. In his schools, future priests studied writing, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Later, they were allowed to preside over the festivities and sacrificial rituals. On the main pyramid are two temples: the god of lightning and rain Tlaloc and the ancient god Huitzilopochtli. Opposite is the rounded pyramid of the Moon. At a distance there are ball courts, palaces, squares, where on trading days it was always noisy and lively.

Games and human sacrifice

For the Maya of the New Empire period and for the Aztecs, ball games and human sacrifice seemed necessary conditions for survival. In order for the Sun to appear every morning in the sky, it needs energy. Here the Aztecs go to war for prisoners destined for such ritual murders. The sacrificial ceremony could be very different: people were shot with a bow, burned at the stake, their heads were cut off... Often, the ceremony turned into a truly grandiose performance. The motorcade that accompanied the unfortunate victims slowly climbed the narrow steps of the temple. After the last of the captives breathed his last, their bodies were thrown down to the foot of the temple... Now there was no need to fear that the sparkling luminary of the day and the night star would stop their run, giving life.

The blood is dripping

on the steps of the high pyramids of the Aztecs and Mayans. A bloody heart, torn from the chest of another victim, turns into a star.

creepy games

The area for the iconic ball game is depicted in the form of a cross. Circles are a kind of "gate". In real cases, these were rings fortified high above the ground, into which the ball had to be hit. The losing players sit before the god Tezcatlipoca, to whom they will now be sacrificed.

And on a small square in front of the terminal, all passengers immediately fell into a dense noisy ring of grimy rags. All of them persistently begged, and even demanded, to give them a few American cents or, at worst, at least a Peruvian inti coin. Local "gavroshes" were ready to render any small service for this bribe: to bring a suitcase, to lead to a taxi stand, to shine on shoes.

Photographers fussed a little apart. They clicked the shutters every time as soon as one of the visitors fell into the field of view of their lens. The thought flashed: did they confuse us with some celebrities. It turned out not. The solution to this simple trick came the next day, when the tourist program began. Yesterday's photographers were already waiting for us at the key points of the route worked out over the years. They had freshly printed seductive photographs in their hands, and rarely, having seen themselves captured against the backdrop of the airport terminal, and even on a vignette with views of the city, refused to get a photo that was not bad at all as a keepsake.

Even in Lima, the current capital of Peru, I was warned: the first day it is desirable to move more slowly, breathe "slowly", constantly remember that Cusco is located at an altitude of 3,400 meters above sea level and the air here is rarefied. The same was recommended to us at the hotel where we stayed: first to rest and in no case to rush into the city.

But a tourist is a tourist. By nature, he is obsessed with the desire to plunge into someone else's life as quickly as possible, about which he has heard so much. This passion did not pass me by, especially since at first I felt fine. And, neglecting the advice and recommendations, a bullet flew out into the street. But soon, due to severe shortness of breath, I had to admit that it was really bad jokes with height.

Cuzco is more than one thousand years old. In some of its areas, ruins dating back to the third century BC have been found. However, neither archaeologists nor historians have been able to establish at least an approximate date of its foundation, as well as the circumstances under which it appeared. It is also called an open-air museum city and the "archaeological capital of South America" ​​- there are so many ancient temples here (though often dilapidated), various historical monuments dating back to the Inca era, ancient Indian tribes that once inhabited these places.

The very name of the city is believed to come from the word "cosco", which in the Inca language means "the center of the four districts." Indeed, Cuzco was the capital of the vast state of the Tauntinsuyu Indians (or "four interconnected cardinal points"), which in size exceeded the Roman Empire during its heyday. It covered the territory that occupied most of the modern Latin American countries: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and some parts of Colombia. Paths converged in Cuzco from all the vast areas conquered by the same Incas.

Cuzco was finally the religious center of Tauntinsuyu. It was decorated with Coricancha, which in Indian means "Golden Court". This is a grandiose ensemble of majestic temples dedicated to the Sun, Moon, Thunder, and other Indian deities. The gigantic size of the ensemble can be judged at least by the preserved semicircular wall, striking in its power.

And not only. The wall gives an idea of ​​the perfection of the construction technique of the ancient masters, which to this day is surprising. The wall was built of slabs loosely laid one on top of the other and not fastened in any way. Individual stones were given a complex geometric shape. Their front side formed polyhedrons, up to dodecagons. The stones are processed with such precision that neither a needle nor the thinnest sheet of paper can be squeezed between them.

With the same perfection, the other buildings of the Incas were erected, which will be discussed below. In the courtyard of one of the temples, we were shown a stone, the length of which did not exceed forty centimeters. A regular cylindrical hole, six centimeters in diameter, was drilled along the entire stone. Its walls were completely smooth. One can only guess how this was achieved, if it is known that the Incas did not know what iron or steel was.

It is also not clear how the Incas could cut, transport, assemble and adjust, almost to millimeter accuracy, the joints of stone blocks of incredible hardness and truly cyclopean dimensions. I can testify that one such slab-block was fifteen meters long, four meters wide, and three meters high. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that the Incas did not use not only steel or iron, but also cement and other fastening materials.

By the way, having captured Cusco, the Spaniards destroyed pagan temples and erected their churches in their place. A kind of cry was even thrown: "How many palaces and temples the pagan Indians have, as many Catholic cathedrals" - a clear claim to their spiritual superiority over the people of the conquered country. The first victim of this arrogance was Coricancha, in particular the Temple of the Sun. Having withstood more than one earthquake, he could not resist the blows of overseas vandals, giving way to the Cathedral of Santo Domingo.

Meanwhile, the temple of the Sun was the highest achievement of Inca architecture and fine arts. Only legends and rare records of a monk who accompanied the Spanish conquerors give some idea of ​​the majestic stone structure with gilded walls and a roof covered with gold plates. Under the pretext that the temple of the Sun is the offspring of the devil, the vandals, led by Francisco Pizarro, plundered the shrine, in the spacious courtyard of which five main temple rooms opened. The walls of one of them were lined with thick slabs of gold, and the facade was decorated with a huge disk of pure gold, a symbol of the highest deity and the rulers of the empire.

But time played a cruel joke with the conquistadors. In 1950, Cusco experienced an insignificant earthquake by local standards - only two or three magnitudes. Nevertheless, the Cathedral of Santo Domingo collapsed. All that remained of it was the wall of Koricancha. The "miracle" was easy to explain. As it turned out later, the Spaniards were never able to destroy the structure of the Incas to the ground. Convinced of the futility of the idea, they resorted to a trick - they built the walls of the future cathedral on the ruins, plastered them and painted them over. In those days when we were in Cusco, work continued, but not on the restoration of Santo Domingo, but on the revival of Coricancha. Having visited the construction site, we saw its individual components - the Temple of Thunder, the Temple of the Rainbow. The restoration of the premises for sacrifices was completed.

The history of the ancient capital of the Incas is told by the stones of the ruins and other temples and fortresses both in the city itself and in its environs, which we examined accompanied by a guide, Mario Gonzalez, who devoted several years to studying Cusco and who knows it perfectly. In love with this city, he spoke with such rapture and emotionality about each sight that they seemed to come to life in front of us in all their splendor, although only ruins remained of some.

During the heyday of the Inca Empire, two hundred thousand people lived in its capital. So Cusco, even by today's standards, was a large city. In those days, its main square Plaza de dioses (Square of the Gods) was a sacred place. Fertile land was brought to it from all over the country. Thus, the unity and equality of all regions and people of the vast empire were symbolically affirmed.

It is characteristic that the same square still serves as a kind of symbol today. True, it is diametrically opposed, as can be judged by its current name - Plaza de armas (Square of weapons), glorifying the militancy of the conquerors of the continent. It is noteworthy that the main squares of almost all Latin American cities are called this way.

During the day, we examined almost all the ancient structures located within a radius of several kilometers. Fortunately, we had a Dodge at our disposal, allocated by a local travel agency. The first historical monument on our way was Colcampata - "High granary" (or more simply - "Granary"), founded, according to legend, by Manco Capac, the very first Supreme Inca, the ruler of the empire. To be more precise, we had to get acquainted with what was left of Kolkampata. The impressive ruins were located not far from the observation deck, from which the entire city was viewed. There is also a huge amphitheater Kheneku, where ceremonies were held in honor of the goddess of the Night.

We climb even higher up the mountain, and Tampumachai appears before us, where the Supreme Inca came with his court to take baths. Once there was a temple of Water. The Incas deified water and attached great importance to everything connected with it. In particular, they believed that, washing the body, they simultaneously cleanse the soul. Local residents still take drinking water from the water pipe laid here, built eight centuries ago.

To the northwest of Cuzco and three hundred meters above it is the monumental archaeological complex of Saksayuman. It consists of three parallel zigzag walls around the stone "throne of the Inca" guarded by 21 bastions. Powerful towers rise above them, each of which is capable of sheltering up to a thousand soldiers. According to legend, during the siege of the city, the Indian leader Cahuide rushed down from one of the towers, preferring death to Spanish captivity.

As Mario Gonzalez explained, Sacsayuman is a Quechua Indian word meaning "Gray Stone-Colored Bird of Prey." And indeed, having climbed higher into the mountains, I was convinced that the outlines of Saksayuman resembled the outline of a bird. For a long time it was considered a fortress, where the Supreme ruler of the empire held a review of his troops. However, now scientists have begun to lean towards the idea that this complex had primarily a cult purpose. There are many passages and rooms underground, which, apparently, were used for sacrifices. It is possible that in these transitions the Incas hid part of their wealth. But, regardless of what Saksayuman was in ancient times, it is a wonderful architectural monument of the pre-Columbian era.

There is another meaning of the word "kosko". In the language of the Indian tribe, the Callavoyo is the richest person. It seems that such an origin of the name of the capital of the Incas has the right to exist. It is difficult to even imagine what riches, mainly gold, the rulers of the Inca empire possessed. Gold is also mentioned in one of the legends about the origin of Cuzco. Appearing from the foam of Lake Titicaca and after long wanderings in search of the land indicated by the god of the Sun (Inti), his children - brother and sister Manca Capac and Mama Oklio - went to Mount Huanakaure and stuck a golden staff at its foot, announcing that it was here that they settle down.

There is also an ancient legend associated with gold, which tells of a secret entrance to a vast labyrinth of underground galleries under the collapsed building of the Santo Domingo Cathedral. As evidenced by the Spanish magazine Mas Alla, which specializes in describing all kinds of historical mysteries, this legend, in particular, tells that there are gigantic tunnels in length that cross the vast mountainous territory of Peru and reach Brazil and Ecuador. In the language of the Quechua Indians, they are called "chinkana", which literally means "maze". In these tunnels, the Incas, allegedly deceiving the Spanish conquistadors, hid a significant part of the gold wealth of their empire in the form of large art objects. Even a specific point in Cusco was indicated, where this labyrinth began and where the temple of the Sun once stood.

It was gold that glorified Cusco (there is still the only museum in the world dedicated to this noble metal). But it also destroyed him. The Spanish conquistadors, who conquered the city, plundered the temple of the Sun, and all its riches, including the golden statues in the garden, were loaded onto ships and sent to Spain. At the same time, there was also a rumor about the existence of underground halls and galleries, where the Incas allegedly hid part of the ritual gold items. This rumor is indirectly confirmed by the chronicle of the Spanish missionary Felipe de Pomares, who told in the 17th century about the fate of the Inca prince, who confessed to his Spanish wife Maria de Esquivel about the mission "sent down to him by the gods": to preserve the most valuable treasures of his ancestors.

Blindfolding his wife, the prince led her through one of the palaces into the dungeon. After a long journey, they ended up in a huge hall. The prince removed the bandage from his wife's eyes, and by the weak light of the torch she saw the golden statues of all the twelve kings of the Incas, reaching the height of a teenager; a lot of gold and silver dishes, figurines of birds and animals made of gold. As a loyal subject of the king and a devout Catholic, Maria de Esquivel denounced her husband to the Spanish authorities, describing her journey in detail. But the prince, sensing something unkind, disappeared. The last thread that could lead to the underground labyrinth of the Incas was cut off.

In Cusco, I often heard the phrase "The clock of the city stopped in 1533." It was then, or rather in November of that year, that the capital of the Incas fell and was plundered. At the same time, not only those temples and buildings that were discussed above were destroyed, but also Intipampa, or the “Sunny Field”, the inner square of Koricancha. In Intipampa, life-sized figures of cougars, jaguars, llamas, deer, snakes, cast in gold and silver, were installed. In the branches of golden trees sat golden birds, and on the flowers - butterflies.

All this was melted down, exported in ingots to Spain and turned into hard currency there. In the 16th century, the Spaniards accumulated about 200 tons of gold and 16 thousand tons of silver, exported from South America after the discovery of the continent by Christopher Columbus. This was eight times more than the reserves of gold and silver that were at the disposal of the rest of the European states. It is characteristic that the profitability of the first trip of Columbus (and he made four in total) was 17 thousand percent. That is, according to the calculations of contemporaries, the income of the expedition exceeded its expenses by 170 times. Which is not surprising, given that the ships of the Genoese returned from America loaded with precious metal, which, as we saw, was more than enough on the continent he discovered. The subsequent expeditions, which were carried out after the death of the Grand Admiral, were also fantastically profitable.

In total, during the time of domination over the South American colonies, the Spanish treasury received about two trillion dollars at the current rate. The amount is astronomical, if we keep in mind the volume of the economy of that period. Spain had so much gold that one of the advisers to King Carlos V (1516-1555) suggested that the monarch establish a single currency for all of Europe. However, this idea was not implemented due to various reasons.

But back to Cusco. Its history did not stop in 1533, although the city was never able to rise and become what it was during the Inca Empire. The only thing in which it caught up with Cuzco of the 16th century was the population. And now it is the second largest city in Peru, in which 200 thousand people live, as before.

Currently, Cusco, once the administrative, cultural and religious center of the country with its majestic temples, has turned into a city of small shops, street stalls, impromptu fairs. Most of them are crammed with all kinds of church utensils, prayer books, rosaries, candlesticks, cheap figurines, artesania - handicrafts of local artisans. Especially popular in Cusco are Sunday markets, arranged near the railway station or in the squares. Mountains of yuca or camote (sweet potatoes), vegetables, fruits, sheep's cheese are laid out right on the ground. There are also woven blankets made of llama or vicuña wool, all kinds of belts, harnesses, pointed highlander hats with Inca decorations, ponchos (traditional Indian outfit) made of the finest or coarse wool. Barkers beg tourists to buy souvenirs, wicker baskets, pottery, pichinchi (shepherd's pipe) and many other colorful handicrafts.

It seems that the city does not calm down for a minute: both day and night, not only tourists, but also Indians descended from the mountains from the surrounding villages flaunt its streets. Barefoot or in sandals with soles made from old tires, in short canvas trousers or woolen trousers, with indispensable ponchos thrown over their shoulders, in narrow-brimmed black hats, they leisurely and importantly stroll through the city. Some Indians have babies sleeping peacefully behind their backs, comfortably nestled in special "kangaroo" bags.

Perhaps the most interesting and impressive sight in Cusco is the concerts held on Saturday and Sunday evenings. These days, as soon as the sun disappears behind the mountains, locals and tourists pull up to the Square of Arms to listen to the performance of either the municipal brass band, "" or the musical group of the police or the local military unit. As a matter of fact, for the Indians this concert is the only free entertainment, and it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that many of them come to the city just to listen to the music. They form a tight circle around a small podium on which the artists are located, and with all the attention they are capable of, they listen to the melody, trying not to miss a single sound.

Indeed, I have never met such grateful music lovers. Usually tired and indifferent to everything that surrounds them, concentrated and deepened in themselves, the Indians are transformed in the square. Without taking their eyes off the orchestra, some are closely watching the waving of the conductor's baton, others move their lips to the beat of the music, and some almost dance to the beat of a folk song being performed.

The concert usually ends at midnight. But even after the departure of the musicians, a revival reigns in the square: everyone exchanges impressions.

Many have probably heard more than once about the Inca Empire, which once existed in South America and which fell victim to the greed of the Spanish conquistadors. We will consider the history of the Inca civilization itself a little later, but for now we will get acquainted with the religion of the Inca empire. So, what did the ancient Incas believe in and what religious rituals did they perform.

The deification of the Sun is a phenomenon common in many parts of the globe, but the Incas surpassed all tribes and peoples in this, calling themselves "sons of the Sun." The image of the luminary in the form of a golden disk with a human face served as the subject of an official cult. The name of the Sun is also associated with the two most famous legends about the founding of the Inca empire.
Once, the spouses (they are also brother and sister) Manco Capac and Mama Oklio came out of Lake Titicaca. From their father Sun, they received a magic golden rod. This wand was supposed to show them where to found a city, which was later destined to become the capital of a great power. Their search was long and difficult. The rod did not react either to the mountains or to the valleys, but one fine day, near the Wanankaure hill, it suddenly went into the ground. This is how the capital of the Inca empire arose - the city of Cuzco (which means "navel" or "heart"), and Manco Capac erected the palace of Kelkkampata, the ruins of which can still be seen today.
Another legend tells how four pairs of men and women came out of a cave that had four windows. The men were the Ayar brothers. They all decided to follow the Sun. The difficulties of the unknown path did not frighten them, just like the battles with the warlike tribes they met along the way. However, after another battle, only Ayar Manco and his wife Mama Oklio survived; the rest either perished or turned to stone. This single couple reached Cuzco and founded an empire there.
Lake Titicaca is directly related to the birth of the Sun. The Aymara Indians, who lived from ancient times in the vicinity of this lake, believed that the creator god Viracocha (or Tonapa) appeared on earth from the temples of the lake and created the Sun and other heavenly bodies. Viracocha - the mysterious "white" god - tall, strong, dressed in all white. He is determined and all-powerful. When this god first appeared in the Andes, people met him very hostilely, and he even had to call fire from the sky and “light the mountain” (hence, apparently, the name Viracocha comes from - Lava Lake) in order to be recognized as a god. It is no coincidence that the Temple of Viracocha was located at the foot of an extinct volcano, in the Huilcamayo Valley.
On the territory of the vast Inca empire, the Sun was known under various names, the most common and popular of them - Inpgi. In some areas of the empire, Viracocha and Inti were perceived as one and the same deity.

Pantheon of the Incas

Pachacamac, the god of fire, was also highly revered, reviving everything that was created and then died for one reason or another. Among the main Inca gods, Chaska (Venus), Chukuilya (goddess of lightning), Ilyana (god of thunder), Pachamama (goddess of fertility), Kilya (goddess of the Moon, sister and wife of the Sun, patroness of married women) and Kon (god of noise) stand out. Some gods were triliks. So, the god of thunder had three incarnations: “spear of light” - lightning, “ray of light” - thunder and the Milky Way.
There was also an image of the devil in Inca mythology - the personification of everything that was despised by the Incas. The devil (Supai) tried to oppose the gods in everything and sought to cause as much harm as possible to people. And of course, he interfered with the fulfillment of the main covenants by which the Incas lived: “ama sua” - “do not steal”, “ama lyulya” - “do not be lazy” and “ama cella” - “do not lie”. But what could even the most sophisticated devil do against such a great god as Inti-Sun!
The Incas deified animals, birds, plants, worshiped some reptiles and amphibians. The sacred animals included the fox, bear, cougar, condor, dove, falcon, snake, toads, etc.
The Supreme Inca (emperor) was recognized as a descendant of the Sun and an intermediary between the divine and human worlds. He was considered immortal. And even if the Supreme Inca died, the Incas believed that he continues to influence people's lives. It is noteworthy that in addition to wives and children, the High Priest (Viljak Umu) was officially part of the imperial family. This emphasized the divine origin of the latter.

Like the priests of the famous Delphic oracle, the priests of the largest Inca temples played a huge role not only in the economic but also in the political life of the "empire". Often it was they who determined the next "emperor".
The priesthood was numerous and divided into several categories. Alqas - "virgins of the Sun", who lived in special temples - alkau-asis, made up a special one. They were recruited from the clan (kind) of the Supreme Inca from the age of nine. They became the keepers of the solar fire, and, in addition, their duties included sewing clothes for the Inca and his entourage, preparing food and drinks for the imperial family on holidays.

Inca ideas about the universe

According to the beliefs of the Incas, the universe - pacha - was created by the Supreme Creator of all things from water, earth and fire. It consisted of three worlds: the upper world (khanan pacha), where the heavenly gods lived; the inner world (uku pacha), where people, animals and plants lived; and the lower world (huRin pacha) - the kingdom of the dead, living in the afterlife (underworld) and those who were to be born. The symbolic connection between these three worlds was carried out by two giant snakes. In the lower world they lived in water. Crawling out into the inner world, one snake, moving vertically, took the form of a huge tree - from earth to sky, the other became the Ucayali River. In the upper world, one turned into a rainbow (Koiche), the other became lightning (Ilyapu). The lower world, according to some myths, was considered at the same time the place of origin of man. Many myths tell that all people came into the world from the bosom of mother earth Pachamama or Mama Pacha (Lady of the World), one of the main female deities - from lakes, springs, caves.
Unlike other Indian religions and cultures, the Incas did not have the concept of periodic renewal of the world, although they believed that the flood, having destroyed one generation of people - wild people, paved the way for the emergence of another generation - warriors.

Religious holidays of the Incas

During the year, the Incas celebrated several religious holidays. Especially solemn was the so-called Inti Raimi, when they honored their most important god, the Sun, on a grand scale. On the day of the Inti Raimi holiday, the sun's rays were collected by a concave mirror, and with its help the sacred fire was lit. The holiday ended with a general plentiful meal and wine libations for several (usually eight) days. In general, all the holidays of the Incas were painted in sunny colors.
In September, the harvest festival of Situa was celebrated, when the Moon and Koya, the main of the many wives of the Supreme Inca, were honored. These were the days of a kind of cleansing. Streets and houses were washed to a shine, crowds of people with idols and mummies (dried corpses) of their ancestors gathered near the temples and begged the gods to save them from all diseases, from all the misfortunes caused by the earth, wind, rainbow. They asked for help not only for them, but also for plants and llamas (the llama is the main economic animal of the Incas). This holiday was accompanied by noisy fun, because it was the cries of the audience that were supposed to frighten diseases and help the gods expel them forever.
Religious ideas and holidays of the Incas were also reflected in the names of the months: Capac Raimi - the holiday of the emperor (December); Koya Raimi - the feast of the Empress (September), etc. Very unusual, at least in the modern view, was Aya Sharkay Kilya - the month of retrieving the dead from the graves (November). During these days, the remains of the dead were brought to the surface. They were dressed in the best clothes, their skulls were decorated with feathers, and, along with the food and drink intended for them, were exhibited in the most crowded places. Songs sounded everywhere, ritual dances were performed, as the Incas believed that their ancestors were dancing and singing with them. Then the remains were placed on special stretchers and walked with them from house to house along all the streets and squares of the city. At the end of these ritual celebrations, before the dead were again buried in the earth, gold and silver dishes with food were placed in the burials of the noble dead, and more modest dishes were placed in the graves of the common people.

Inca sacrifices to the gods

The religious beliefs of the Incas are largely devoid of the chilling cruelty inherent in the Aztecs and Maya. Among the gifts brought to the ancestors and gods, the most common were corn, cornmeal, coca leaves, guinea pigs and llamas. However, on the days of celebrating the last month of the year and the first month of the new year (December), when it was necessary to especially sincerely thank Inti (the Sun) for everything he had already done for the Incas, and to earn his favor for the future, the Incas not only brought him a gift gold and silver jewelry, but also resorted to human sacrifice. For this purpose, 500 virgin boys and girls were selected annually, who were buried alive at the climax of the holiday.
The Incas believed that after death, each person will have his own destiny: the virtuous will find themselves together with the Sun in the sky, where abundance and life await them, practically no different from the earthly one. Sinners will fall underground, into the underworld, where it is hungry, cold and there is nothing but stones. And those young people who have the high honor of sacrificing themselves to the Sun for the welfare of all naturally belong to the most virtuous. They, having protected their fellow tribesmen from all evil, fall directly into the kingdom of the Sun. The cult of ancestors was no less important for the Incas. The custom of mummification of the deceased nobility was associated with him. Crypts were cut down in the rocks, in which mummies were buried in rich clothes with expensive jewelry. The cult of the mummies of the rulers was especially developed. Their mummies were placed in temples and carried out for solemn processions during great holidays. There is evidence that, due to the supernatural power attributed to them, they were even taken on campaigns and taken to the battlefields.

Inca temples

The Incas became famous for the beauty and majesty of their temples. The capital of the Incas, the city of Cusco, was at the same time the main religious center of the empire. On the Square of Joy there was a whole complex of shrines and temples. The most majestic among them was the Temple of the Sun - Coricancha. Its walls are lined from top to bottom with gold plates, but not only for the sake of beauty. Inca gold is a symbol of the Sun, and silver is a symbol of the Moon.
The Czech scientist Miloslav Stingl describes this temple as follows: “Inside the temple there was an altar with a huge image of the solar disk, from which golden rays emanated in all directions. To increase the brilliance of this divine temple even more, large gates were made in its eastern and western walls, through which the sun's rays penetrated into the shrine, which caused the massive golden disk of the altar to flare with thousands of lights ...
In addition to the huge image of the Sun, the mummies of deceased rulers were revered in the national shrine of Coricanche. They were placed along the walls of the temple. They sat here just as they had once sat on majestic thrones.

GIVEN TO THE SUN

Inca legend

Why do we Incas worship the Sun? the boy asked.

Didn't they teach you this in school? the priest replied irritably.

It's too early for me to go to school," the boy replied.

The priest softened.

Okay, he said. - I will tell you a story about how the Sun appeared in our life ...

Once upon a time, darkness reigned over the whole earth. It was a desolate and rugged wilderness, with precipitous mountains stretching to the north and huge cliffs rising from the south. People then were hardly better than cattle, walked naked through the meadows and were not ashamed of their nakedness. They had neither houses nor settlements - they lived in caves, warmed themselves, clinging to each other, since they did not even know how to make a fire. They ate wild fruits, attacked all living creatures and, whether it was a wild rabbit or a fox, with animal passion tore the meat with their teeth and swallowed it raw. When times were especially hard, they ate wild plants and grass roots, and sometimes gladly devoured (horrible to think) human flesh.

Then came Inti. This is how we named the Sun, whose name only a true representative of the Inca dares to pronounce. Its radiance illuminated the world and revealed the sad plight of the people. And the Sun was kind, he felt sorry for them, and he decided to release one of his sons from heaven to earth. This son of the Sun taught men and women how to cultivate the land, sow seeds, build castles, and harvest crops. He also taught them to worship the Sun as their God, because without its light and warmth they were no more than just animals.

What was the name of the Sun's son? the boy asked.

His name was Manco Capac, the priest replied. - Okllo Huaco appeared with him. She was the daughter of the moon.

Were the sun and moon friends?

They were married,” the priest explained. - It turns out that the children were brother and sister.

Manco Capac and Ocllo Huaco settled on the two islands of Lake Titicaca, the highest in the world. Until today, they are known as the Islands of the Sun and the Moon. Then Manco Capac and Ocllo Huaco set off across the lake to ford. The water sparkled at their feet like diamonds, and they walked until they were on dry ground. There they set to work. Before they left the sky, the Sun gave them a golden rod. It was about two folded fingers thick and slightly shorter than a human hand. The sun told them:

Go where you please. But wherever you stop to eat or sleep, try to drive this rod into the ground. If it won't enter the soil or sinks into it just a little bit, move on. But as soon as you reach the place where with one push the rod will completely enter the ground, know that you are in a place sacred to me. And there you will have to stop. You will find yourself in the very place where you have to build a great city. And this city will become the center of my empire, such as has never existed in the world.

Manco Capac and Ocllo Huaco left Lake Titicaca and moved north. Every day they tried to stick the golden rod into the ground, but all to no avail. This went on for many weeks, until at last they reached the valley of Cuzco, which was then a wild mountainous desert. Here the rod went completely into the ground, and they realized that they had reached the place where they were to establish an empire.

Then each of them went his own way, talking to every savage he met and explaining why they had come here. It is difficult to describe the shock that the savages experienced when they saw strangers dressed in beautiful clothes. Gold rings hung from their ears, their hair was short and neat, their bodies were clean. Never met people like these two. Soon thousands of men and women descended into the valley to look at the two visitors and hear what they had to say.

From that moment on, Manco Capac began to build the city that his father demanded.

At the same time, she and her sister taught the people the knowledge they needed to become civilized.

Was it the same city we live in now? the boy asked.

Yes, the priest replied. - It was named Cuzco and divided into two halves: Upper Cuzco, built by the king, and Lower Cuzco, created by the queen.

Why were there two halves?

The city was built in the likeness of the human body with its right and left sides. All our cities are built in the same way. But the sun is rising, my boy. I'm afraid we need to finish quickly.

In a short time, savages ceased to be savages. They began to live in brick houses and dress neatly. Manco Capac taught the men to till the fields, and his sister taught the women to spin and weave. In Cuzco, even an entire army was formed, equipped with spears and bows and arrows. She was ready to fight those people who were still wild. Little by little, the territory of the empire expanded. Manco Capac became the first representative of the Inca and the first king of the Inca people.

Since then, the Incas have worshiped the Sun. They consider the ruling king to be a descendant of the great Manco Capac, and therefore a descendant of the Sun. The sun gives light and heat, so the harvest comes up. The sun gave the world his son, and since then people have ceased to behave like animals. In honor of the Sun, great temples were built, where its rays were reflected in canvases upholstered with gold.

And on the festival of Inti Raymi, on the day of the solstice, when the Sun is at the highest point of its journey to the south, there is a festival with music, dancing and feasting. On this day, a sacrifice is made, during which the lamas' throats are cut and burned on the altar. The smoke rises to reach the Sun. And if some special event happens, the celebration of a great victory, for example, not an animal is sacrificed, but a child.

And I have to be raised to the Sun ... - the boy whispered.

It does you credit, my child, said the priest.

The sun was already high above the horizon. The priest placed the boy with his back to the sacrificial altar and plunged the ceremonial knife deep into the child's heart. And soon the smoke of the sacrificial fire rose up to the shining sky.