Myths surrounding Mama Quilla include that she cried tears of silver and that lunar eclipses were caused when she was being attacked by an animal.
[2] Similitudes are not only linguistic but also symbolical as in Mapuche and Central Andean cosmology the Moon (Quilla/Cuyen) and the Sun (Inti/Antu) are spouses.
[4] According to Father Bernabé Cobo, writing in the mid-sixteenth century, the Moon was worshipped because of her "admirable beauty" and the "benefits she bestows upon the world".
[7] One myth surrounding the Moon was to account for the "dark spots"; it was believed that a fox fell in love with Mama Quilla because of her beauty, but when he rose into the sky, she squeezed him against her, producing the patches.
[4] She was imagined as a human female,[4] and images of her included a silver disc covering an entire wall.