Inti

[3][4] The most common belief was that Inti was born of Viracocha, who had many titles, chief among them being the God of Creation.

[6] Borrowing from Puquina explains why historically unrelated languages such as Quechua, Aymara and Mapuche have similar words for the Sun.

[citation needed]Inti ordered his children to build the Inca capital where a divine golden bar or wedge they carried with them penetrated the earth.

[9] Spanish conquistadors captured a great golden disk representing Inti in 1571 and sent it to the pope via Spain.

Within this temple were wall niches in which the bodies of previous emperors and rulers were exhibited along with various statues of Inti in certain festivals.

Some figures of Inti also depicted him in human form with a hollowed out midsection that was filled with a concoction made of gold dust and the ashes of the Inca kings' hearts.

Many such disks were supposedly held in Cusco as well as in shrines throughout the empire, especially at Qurikancha, where the most significant image of Inti was discovered by anthropologists.

This representation, adorned with ear spools, a pectoral, and a royal headband, was known as punchaw (Quechua for day, also spelled punchao).

[17] The items offered in worship to Inti for which there is archeological evidence in include simple prayers, food, coca leaves and woven cloth, as well as animals, blood and human beings.

[20] The festival of Inti Raymi honors the sun god and was originally meant to celebrate the start of a new planting season.

Military captains, government officials, and the vassals who attended were dressed in their best costumes and carried their best weapons and instruments.

Preparation for the festival of Inti Raymi began with a fast of three days, where there were no fires lit and the people abstained from having sexual intercourse.

Corresponding with the three diurnal stages of the sun, Inti's identity is also divided into three primary subcomplexes, which are the father, son, and brother.

Inti Wawqi also represents the sun god in his specific position as the founding father of Inca reign and the center of the state's official ancestor cult.

This connection to the sun could be due to the heavy importance of agriculture in these societies, as without consistent sunlight, most crops do not fare well.

The impact of this can be seen that the buildings were done in relation to the understanding that they had toward the sun, and that they paid attention to the horizon at various important days of the year, that way they could make these connections.

On top of being used in the symbolism of the past, and the sun having an importance in the culture and religion there, the sun is still used on important symbolic figures within countries that were once part of the Inca Empire, proving that while this religion is no longer the foothold of these nations as it once was, the mythology and features are still present today.

While these are not guaranteed to have connections to the god, Inti, the cultural significance of the sun has clearly carried over throughout the changes of empires and through the colonization of the Andes.

The highest bestowed honor given by the Peruvian state, Order of the Sun, also invokes association with Inti.