Religion in the Inca Empire

Asymmetrical dualism is the idea that reality is built by forces that are different and compromised but need each other to be complete.

Throughout Andean thought, this asymmetrical dualism can be seen in the dispersion of life force or vitality throughout the land.

Human sacrifice was part of Incan rituals in which they usually sacrificed a child (qhapaq hucha) or a slave.

[6] Archaeological remains confirm such human sacrificial practices, according to Reinhard and Ceruti: "Archaeological evidence found on distant mountain summits has established that the burial of offerings was a common practice among the Incas and that human sacrifice took place at several of the sites.

The excellent preservation of the bodies and other material in the cold and dry environment of the high Andes provides revealing details about the rituals that were performed at these ceremonial complexes.

[18][19] The Incas had an immense number of origin stories that historians and scholars have trouble deciphering and sorting out.

The story has the Creator god Wiraqocha Pachayachachic form giants to see if humans would work well at that size.

The Creator then spread out with two servants to call forth the people of every nation, from every mountain, crevice, cave and lake before walking over the water into the west.

Divination was used to inform people in the city of social events, predict battle outcomes, and ask for metaphysical intervention.

Apachetas, coca and the sun were major elements in pre-Conquest religion, and divination, the worship of sacred mountains and the bringing retribution against enemies were important ritual practices.

These worshipping events were intercepted by the Spaniards under Polo de Ondegardo, who was newly appointed as Corregidor (Chief Magistrate) of Cuzco in 1559, when it was under Spanish control.

The Inca used to mummify their kings and several times a year they would be aligned in accordance to when they chronologically ruled in Cuzco's plaza for the public to pay their respects.

[23] The kings were thought to have been able to speak back to the worshippers through the use of oracles, and even gave advice to the protection and ruling of the land.

Originally kept on royal estates, the descendants eventually thought that by staying in his own house, a mummy could be better served and watched over.

One such story is that Washkar had his mother marry his father's mummy in order for him to receive a legitimate ruling claim.

[11] Upon the arrival of the Spanish, the Inca started to hide the bodies of the kings and become more secretive with their worship, as stated by Juan de Betanzos.

After being appointed, Polo do Ondegardo and his men found most of the mummified kings and took their bodies along with other ritualistic items such as their huaques, or their statues.

With the combination of all three of these ancestral societies’ religions, the Incas were able to create a religious system that dominated almost every aspect of life in the empire.

Within Cusco, a highly complicated and organized calendar controlled the state religion's festivals and holy days.

These fives gods or entities that received the majority of sacrifices in Cusco represent the most vital aspects of Incan life.

All ten groups of nobilities had the responsibility to explain and account for all the occurrences of the natural world in and outside of the Incan empire.

Additionally, public events of drinking, dancing, and eating llama blood cakes occurred to venerate the Sun god.

The festival lasted eight or nine days and was filled with offerings of chicha, coca, and other items that venerated the Sun god.

In the month of Qoya Raymi the Situa, a ceremony of purification, was performed that started in Cuzco and expanded out in the four directions.

Performed in the rainy season, due to a higher number of illnesses, residents of Cuzco beat each other with torches and shook clothing outside to rid themselves of disease.

The runners took the ashes along these roads and passed them off to people of lesser social status who continued the carrying of the burden.