Inca religion

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The Sun Temple complex at Písac. The stone surrounded by the building at the right is called the "hitching post" of the Sun.

The belief system of the Incas was polytheistic, with Inti, the Sun God, was the most important god, and believed to be the direct ancestor of the Sapa Inca, the title of the hereditary rulers of the empire.

[edit] Temples

The Inca civilization built many temples to their deities. The best-known Inca temples include the Sun Temple in Cuzco, the temple at Vilcashuaman, the Aconcagua (the highest mountain in South America) and the Temple of the Sun at Isla del Sol. The Inca built the Sun Temple in Cuzco from exquisitely matched and joined stones. It had a circumference of over 1200 feet, and housed a great image of the sun. One part of the temple, the Qoricancha ("Golden Enclosure"), held gold models of cornstalks, llamas and lumps of earth. Portions of the Incas' land were allotted to the sun and administered for the priests.

[edit] Pantheon

see Inca mythology

[edit] Sacred sites

Huacas, or sacred sites, were widespread around the Inca Empire. Huacas were deific entities that resided in natural objects such as mountains, boulders, streams, battle fields, other meeting places, and any type of place that was connected with past Incan rulers. Spiritual leaders in a community would use prayer and offerings to communicate with a huaca for advice or assistance.

[edit] Priesthood

Priests lived at all of the important shrines . They functioned as diviners of the lungs and as sorcerers, confessors and healers. The chief priest in Cuzco held the title Willaq uma, and wielded power over all shrines and temples and could appoint and remove priests.

Young girls of the nobility or of exceptional beauty had the option of becoming acllas who spent four years in the provincial capitals brewing chicha or weaving textiles used by the Inca and the priests. Some learned these skills at Aqllawasis (feminine schools). They then had the privilege of becoming mamaconas, dedicated to a life of chastity serving the sun god, or of becoming the wives of Inca nobles.

[edit] Divination

The Incans also used Divination. They used it to inform people in the city of Social events, predict battle outcomes, and drive away demons. They also used it to figure out what to sacrifice to what god.

[edit] Sacrifice

Animal sacrifices accompanied many important Inca occasions. Each day witnessed many sacrifices to celebrate the sun's appearance.
Human sacrifice occurred in times of natural disaster, and other great times of distress. In these important and rare occasions, children were often chosen to be sacrificed. In order for a child to be designated, he had to be perfect, and be free of any blemishes. Usually the finest young children were taken from each village to Cuzco to meet the emperor, and were then taken to the highest mountains and then sacrificed, most often with a blow to the head. The children were elaborately adorned with fine clothing, and jewelry. This process left some mummies, the most known being "Juanita" which is now kept in a museum at Arequipa, Peru.
While most of these victims died violently, scientists have occasionally found some who died slowly due to the freezing temperature.
The Spanish missionaries often reported child sacrifice, called "capacocha", but until the 1980's there was no physical evidence to support this.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Festivals

The Inca calendar had 12 months of 30 days, with each month having its own festival. (The Incan year began in December, and began with Capac Raymi, the magnificent festival.)

(Von Hagen, p. 93)

[edit] Inca religion and socialism

Inca religion is one of the main counter arguments in the debate regarding the notion that the Inca state was an early 'Socialist Empire' (Baudin, 1928). These facts, however, have little to do with the Inca economy, which, with its large-scale central planning; vast system of grain-houses; and mandatory work periods, does closely resemble many features of modern socialism, although there were markets, catus, where barter was practiced without any regulation. (Von Hagen, p. 91)

[edit] References

• Inca Religion

• 'Victor W. Von Hagen' (1961). "Realm of the Incas, Revised Edition". "Mentor (New American Library)".