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Viracocha

Viracocha was the supreme god of the Incas. He is also known as Huiracocha, Wiraqoca and Wiro Qocha. Considered the creator god he was the father of all other Inca gods and it was he who formed the earth, heavens, sun, moon and all living beings. When he finished his work he was believed to have travelled far and wide teaching humanity and bringing the civilised arts before he headed west across the Pacific, never to be seen again but promising one day to return. In his absence lesser deities were assigned the duty of looking after the interests of the human race but Viracocha was, nevertheless, always watching from afar the progress of his children.

Alternative Names

As the supreme pan-Andean creator god, omnipresent Viracocha was most often referred to by the Inca using descriptions of his various functions rather than his more general name which may signify lake, foam, or sea-fat. These other names, perhaps used because the god's real name was too sacred to be spoken, included Ilya (light), Ticci (beginning), and Wiraqoca Pacayacaciq (instructor).

Viracocha

Viracocha was the supreme god of the Incas. He is also known as Huiracocha, Wiraqoca and Wiro Qocha. Considered the creator god he was the father of all other Inca gods and it was he who formed the earth, heavens, sun, moon and all living beings. When he finished his work he was believed to have travelled far and wide teaching humanity and bringing the civilised arts before he headed west across the Pacific, never to be seen again but promising one day to return. In his absence lesser deities were assigned the duty of looking after the interests of the human race but Viracocha was, nevertheless, always watching from afar the progress of his children.

Alternative Names

As the supreme pan-Andean creator god, omnipresent Viracocha was most often referred to by the Inca using descriptions of his various functions rather than his more general name which may signify lake, foam, or sea-fat. These other names, perhaps used because the god's real name was too sacred to be spoken, included Ilya (light), Ticci (beginning), and Wiraqoca Pacayacaciq (instructor).

Viracocha

Viracocha was the supreme god of the Incas. He is also known as Huiracocha, Wiraqoca and Wiro Qocha. Considered the creator god he was the father of all other Inca gods and it was he who formed the earth, heavens, sun, moon and all living beings. When he finished his work he was believed to have travelled far and wide teaching humanity and bringing the civilised arts before he headed west across the Pacific, never to be seen again but promising one day to return. In his absence lesser deities were assigned the duty of looking after the interests of the human race but Viracocha was, nevertheless, always watching from afar the progress of his children.

Alternative Names

As the supreme pan-Andean creator god, omnipresent Viracocha was most often referred to by the Inca using descriptions of his various functions rather than his more general name which may signify lake, foam, or sea-fat. These other names, perhaps used because the god's real name was too sacred to be spoken, included Ilya (light), Ticci (beginning), and Wiraqoca Pacayacaciq (instructor).

Cusco

Cuzco (also Cusco or Qosqo) was the religious and administrative capital of the Inca Empire which flourished in ancient Peru between c. 1400 and 1534 CE. The Incas controlled territory from Quito to Santiago, making theirs the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the largest in the world at that time. Cuzco, which had a population of up to 150,000 at its peak, was laid out in the form of a puma and was dominated by fine buildings and palaces, the richest of all being the sacred gold-covered and emerald-studded Coricancha complex which included a temple to the Inca sun god Inti. Cuzco is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Cuzco in Mythology

In mythology the Inca race was created by the great god Viracocha who caused them to be born from the sun god Inti. The first eight Incas were thus born at Tiwanaku or, in an alternative version, they emerged from the sacred Pacaritambo cave, and then they migrated down to the Cuzco valley. Led by Manco Capac (or Manko Qhapaq) and Mama Ocllo, the group fulfilled the earlier prophecy whereby they should settle where their golden staff could be easily driven into the ground. Before the Incas could prosper, though, they first had to defeat their local rivals, the Chanca, a feat they achieved with the help of stone giants, the pururaucas. This event did have a basis in reality, as the Incas did indeed defeat the Chanca in 1438 CE. Thus the Inca capital was established. The name Cuzco may derive from either qosqo, meaning 'dried-up lake bed' or cozco, a particular stone marker in the city.