Incan Mythology
Written by Tristan Anderson
Amidst the rugged and beautiful Andes mountains in western South America lived a deeply religious society that called themselves the Incas. The height of Incan culture lasted only one hundred years until the mid 1500’s. During this time they created an elaborate mythological system that described the workings of the universe. Included in this was a pantheon of Goddesses and Gods who each had a specific function. Pachamama, Goddess of the Earth, is a deity of great importance in this mythology. Much of Incan life is related to this Goddess, such as during worship and rituals. Pachamama is a living spiritual force that the Incas, as well as several other spiritual traditions, have revered for millenia. Today, high atop the Andes Mountains, two groups of people known as the Quechua and Aymara, who claim to be descendents of the Inca, still practice the worship of Pachamama. She is still alive among them.
The Andes Mountains were formed by the Pacific Plate crashing into the continental plate. This collision created one of the most majestic and fierce mountain ranges in the world. It stretches almost entirely across western South America. People who have lived here call this the land of fire and ice. Numerous volcanoes destroy and rebuild the landscape, gigantic mountain tops house glaciers that stream rivers all throughout the land, and earthquakes and tornadoes rise out of the earth and influence the powerless humans on the surface. It was immersed in this rugged land that the Incas built their society and mythology.
Tracking the history of the Incas has been an arduous task for scholars because they didn’t keep any written records. To maintain order and understanding in their society they had an elaborate and detailed oral tradition that was presented to the children at a young age and continued all the way until death. They also kept records of their history and mythology on knotted strings called quipu. The study of the quipus has been extremely valuable for our modern understanding of the Incas.
The major period of Inca religion and dynasty was from 1438, when Pachacuti Inca became the first emperor, to 1572 when the Spanish conquest came through and nearly wiped out all the Incas. For the Incas mythology and religion were living realities that enlivened their lives and gave meaning to life and death. Nearly all functions within the society had a religious context. One of the most important aspects of the society was the divine status of their emperors. Through myths and rituals the emperors would prove their divine status by speaking to the Gods and Goddesses and relaying the information to the people. Of the several books I read, it was clear that modern understanding does not have one definitive Inca myth. The common thread between all the different stories however, was the story of Viracocha, the creator God, who birthed the universe, made humans out of the earth, and blew divine breath into beings, giving them life. He then ordered humans to create civilizations. Viracocha also created all the Gods and Goddesses, which are his children. To each God and Goddess he gave a specific function in the universe. Once this was done Viracocha withdrew from the universe and let it go on as it may.
In Incan religion, humans have a very important role to play. They must channel the wisdom of the deities and bring it to earth. The major deity was the sun God Inti, yet close behind was Pachamama, the Goddess of the Earth. Being that humans were immersed in the energy of Pachamama on earth, she became a focal point for their worship and rituals. Pachamama is the mother of the Incas. She birthed the humans and nurtures them with her spiritual and material force. In the Incan stories, they tell of how from her subterranean depths all the animals and beings rose and took form. All life is revered by the Incas because they realize that all life has come from the same source, the mother. Pachamama is also known as the Goddess of planting and harvesting. She revealed this sacred knowledge to the humans so that they could thrive and be sustained. The Incas see her as a very generous deity who is constantly giving of herself to sustain life. Through prayers and supplications Pachamama can be called upon and she will respond to sincere wishes. The sense here is that she is a living cosmic being that can be talked to, felt, and who wishes to live in harmony with her children.
Pachamama’s surface was a harsh world of shifting natural forces. This seems to have been very humbling to the Incas because they felt powerless against the supernatural power of Pachamama. This power was one of the driving factors in shaping their mythology and helping them believe in the spiritual forces of the universe. The Incas had deep respect for their mother earth because to them it was a living spiritual force that gave humans nourishment, a home, and profound wisdom. Also in their mythology it was believed that Viracocha made humans out of the clay of the earth. So, in a sense, humans were the earth. They were infused with her energy. This reverence for the earth can be seen throughout the stories of the Incas.
Many practices were done in Incan society to honor and receive knowledge from Pachamama. Worship and rituals were performed by all members of the society, men, women, and children. The Incas were clearly a partnership society. Not only were Gods and Goddesses given equal importance, but within the society there were priestesses and priests. Both males and females contributed to the functioning of their religion. The Incas valued the different ways that the sexes could relate to the world and spirits and combined this into their way of life. One of the major factors that related to worship and ritual was the idea of sacred places known as huacas. Pachamama revealed to the humans places on her surface that held potent spiritual force. These huacas became the focal points of religious activity, including rituals and worship.
Many rituals were practiced in relation to Pachamama. One of the most important rituals is honoring Pachamama as the fertility Goddess. Her fertile soil produced all the food and energy needed to build and sustain their society. On all major agricultural occasions, such as during the spring equinox, which was precisely recorded by Incan astronomers, the whole society would gather in honor of Pachamama and thank her for providing their food, and ask for a successful crop. Another ritual was that of sacrifice of animals. The Incas believed that since they were constantly taking the lives of animals as food for themselves, they should also give the life energy of an animal to Pachamama. In this way a sacred relationship was formed where there was taking and giving. Pachamama told the humans that she would like them to sacrifice llamas for her. Elaborate rituals were performed by the Incas and in so doing they felt the Goddess thanking them for their willingness to maintain a relationship with her. This relationship was extremely important for the Incas.
Because the Incas had such deep love and respect for their mother, many forms of worship were developed to show the Goddess how thankful they were for her presence. One of the main forms of worship has to do with offerings. The Incas felt that the earth gave so much of herself to them, that they wanted to show they were willing to give as well. Offerings to the Goddess included coca leaf and chicha beer. These offerings would be laid in an alter like fashion at the huacas, and then the chicha beer would be poured on top. Another form of worship was creating little stone mounds all throughout the land in remembrance of Pachamama. The main form of worship in my opinion, however, was the worship that took place within the individual’s heart, body, and mind. The Incas seemed to have felt Pachamama living intimately within and without them. Their lives may have been a constant prayer to the beauty and majesty of life, which Pachamama created and was a part of. Those prayers continue on today.
The modern day Quechua and Aymara are fascinating groups of people who continue the tradition of the Incas. Their practice has evolved and changed since the time of the Incas yet the basic structure seems to be the same. In my studies, the most important aspect of these peoples spirituality is Pachamama. Through the Goddess of the Earth these people have found strength, wisdom, and hope for a better future. Many of the ancient practices are still performed in the same way by these people, such as the offerings of coca leaf and chicha beer, as well the planting and harvest rituals.
These groups consider themselves shamans. They have used the way of their ancestors to connect with Pachamama as well as created new ways to connect with her. One such way is by going into trance and having their spirit body descend into the earth. Once there, they meet with the spirit of the earth and receive teachings from her. The Quechua and Aymara both found that Pachamama had something very important to reveal to them and that they should relay this message to the rest of the world. Juan Carmego is a living Quechua Peruvian shaman who wishes to share the wisdom he has learned from Pachamama to the world, “The Earth Mother is a living, Cosmic Being and has a physical, astral and spiritual body. All matter as we know it comes from her and returns to her. Pachamama is much more than our nurturer, she is our true spiritual Mother and holds all the secrets of the Universe within her. With the help of her Tutelary Gods, or guardian spirits, she can point the spiritual seeker toward the truth. As a living Being, the Earth needs us to look after her, feed and love her with our hearts open to her. We are living in dangerous times as we seem to have forgotten how to contact her.” (www.sacredhoop.demom.co.uk/hoop-03/PACHAMAM.html)
Juan Carmego then goes on to describe how each one of us can connect with Pachamama by opening our hearts to her and creating a sacred relationship. These modern descendents of the Inca are saying that if we don’t take time to listen to our mother we are going to destroy ourselves. The earth will live on, but humans are in a very desperate time. Whether you are a scientist, atheist, or spiritualist a plain fact is that if we destroy the natural resources of the earth we destroy ourselves. We live off the earth, we are inherent parts of it. These shamans, as well as the Incas, knew very well that the earth needed to be cared for and nurtured, not destroyed for greed. I think it would be well for humans to start listening to what people like these have to say. We obviously have lost much of our connection to the earth, yet it is always there. A simple shift back into a life of caring for the earth and establishing sacred relatedness is right at our fingertips.. Mythologies such as that of the Incas might not fit today’s people. However, they do remind us of a special connection that can be made between ourselves and our surroundings.
Pachamama is our home, our nurturer and sustainer, and our future. The Incas built a religious system around it that all members of society could participate in. The Incas also were not the only ones. Several traditions throughout time have worshipped the earth as a Goddess or spiritual force. The Greeks and Gaea, the Pagans and their Earth Goddess, the Celts, Hindus, even modern physics is beginning to classify the earth as a living being. The list could go on and on. For the Incas and their modern descendents the earth was alive, just as any human were alive, even more so. She responded to them and taught them how to live in harmony with themselves and their surroundings. In this world today, so full of chaos, confusion, and destruction, it seems necessary for humans to re-evaluate how they are affecting themselves and the earth and try to establish a new way of being. It seems our ancestors have valuable insights into how we could do this.