The Inca Creation
Story
"The Inca myths can be divided in two groups - the creation myths
and the origin myths.
1.
Briefly about creation myths
The world was created by Viracocha near Lake Titicaca. After the
great deluge or the receding of chaotic floodwaters Viracocha
descended to earth and created plants, animals and men to the empty
land; he built the city of Tiahuanaco and appointed 4 world rulers
of whom Manco Capak became the superior of the Ursa Major world,
i.e. the north horizon (Busto II 1981: 7).
2.
Briefly about origin myths
2.1. Myths about the Ayar brothers
Four pairs of brothers-sisters created by Viracocha to rule the
world left the cave of Mountain Pacaritambo. The whole world was
living in an uncivilised and ignorant manner. The newcomers began
with organising the mankind and divided people into ten large
communities. Leading the tribes the brothers set off in search of
enough fertile land to sustain themselves. They carried Sunturpaucar,
a long staff adorned with colourful feathers, a cage with a sun-bird
who could give good advice and other sacred objects in front of
them. Making shorter and longer stops they moved towards Cuzco. In
the course of the long journey the group became smaller: the
rivalling brothers confined one of their companions to a cave, two
others wished to break away but were turned into stones. The only
surviving brother Ayar Manco a.k.a. Manco Capak accompanied by his
sister and wife Mama Ocllo and his brothers' wives, founded the city
of World Pole in the name of Viracocha the Creator and Inti the Sun
God, and settled there with his people.
2.2. A myth of Manco Capak and Mama Ocllo
A long time ago when the world was filled with savages, misery and
poverty, a brother and a sister, a married couple Manco Capak and
Mama Ocllo left Lake Titicaca. Inti, the sun god had sent them to
refine the surrounding peoples, and gave them a golden stick for
testing the land for cultivation and then settling in the suitable
place. Having found such a place they had to found the state, teach
the people how to live proper lives and advocate the worship of the
sun god. The journey took a long time. Eventually, in the Cuzco
Valley the golden stick disappeared into the ground, and they could
start with their mission. Manco Capak taught his people the
cultivation and irrigation of land and handicraft, Mama Ocllo taught
women spinning, weaving and sewing. The tribe of Manco Capak became
to be called by the name of Hanan Cuzco (High Cuzco) and the
relatives of Mama Ocllo by the name of Hurin Cuzco (Lower Cuzco).
The city and the state was founded in the name of Viracocha and Inti
the sun god, also the Sun Temple was built in Cuzco (Busto II 1981:
10-17).
How to
interpret the myths?
María Rostworowski de Díez Canseco argues that the creation of the
Inca state is introduced already in the creation myths (Rostworowski
1988: 31-34). Although originally they seemed to function as
creation stories about Tiahuanaco culture, they were later
apparently customised by the Inca for ideological purposes. The
origin of the Inca from the cultural centre around Lake Titicaca has
been supported by archaeological data. Editing seems most apparent
in accounts of introducing the first legendary ruler Manco Capak, on
the one hand, and in dividing the world in four parts, on the other.
The Inca state Tahuantinsuyu was also divided into four large
provinces ruled by governors.
Recent customisation is even more apparent in the origin myths.
Today's scholars argue that both the myth of the Ayar brothers as
well as the myth about Manco Capak comes from the same source,
whereas the former is older and less edited, the latter more recent
and also more edited.
Both versions say that the main character Ayar Manco or Manco Capak
had arrived from south and settled in the Cuzco Valley. The part of
the story suggests the Tiahuanaco origin of the Inca as well as the
flight of the Quechuan elite from the Aymaran invaders.
Leaving Lake Titicaca could serve as a hypothesis that the home of
the Inca was located on the Isle of Sun (La Isla del Sol) in Lake
Titicaca - according to archaeologists it might have been one of the
residences of the upper class Tiahuanaco people. The hypothesis
would also explain why Manco Capak was sent by the sun god, as the
island became to be called the Isle of Sun only after the sun
worship had become the Inca state religion.
In the original version the brothers are sent to refine people by
Viracocha, which suggests even the earlier modification of the story
from the time when Viracocha was revered as the main god.
The four pairs of brothers-sisters in the original version refers to
the four Quechuan tribes who left Tiahuanaco. The married couple
consisting of a brother and a sister, in its turn, could be
explained by the fact that the Quechuan tribe was exogamous and
consisted of two fraterias: in exogamous societies men belong to one
frateria and women to another. This could be inferred also from the
myth version concerning the division of Cuzco in two - the High and
Lower fraterias.
The disposing of all the other Ayar brothers on the journey in the
original version refers either to their settling to different places
or the feud between the tribes of Manco and the rest of his
brothers.
Different accounts confirm that the Inca led to the Cuzco Valley by
Manco Capak had to drive local tribes from the land in order to
establish themselves there. People from the droughty Altiplano had
to search for humid soils necessary for cultivating corn. Therefore,
Manco's golden stick was supposed to point to the land where corn
could be grown. For settling in the new place a fight was put up,
and we all know the outcome of the attack. In fact, chronicler
Sarmiento do Gamboa's expression «gloomy and fertile» might refer to
the gory battles fought for the fertile valley.
Both versions end with the account of building the city by Manco in
the name of Viracocha the Creator and Inti the sun god. The former
was originally the sky god of the ancient Tiahuanaco people, whose
cult was later abandoned. Inti, on the other hand, was the tribal
deity of the Inca who later became the highest ranking god in the
pantheon. The fact that in the later version the instigator of
refining people was Inti, and also that a temple to the sun god was
first erected in Cuzco suggests that the journey from Altiplano to
the Cuzco Valley must have taken a long time, at least a couple of
centuries (archaeological data supports the fact that Tiachuanaco
was destroyed by the Aymarans in the 10th century, and the Inca
reached the Cuzco Valley at the end of the 12th century). Thus,
during this period one deity was substituted for another: Viracocha
became deus otiosus, Inti, on the other hand became so
popular that the first temple was built for him.
As I mentioned before, the supreme god was given a new name -
Pachacamak. From then on, Viracocha was associated with the myth of
a culture hero, because:
- the fact that
the Tiachuanaco people had spread the cult of Viracocha widely
in Peru was never forgotten;
- the sc.
civilisational emigration of the Inca really did take place;
- the abandoning
of the sky god's cult is reflected by the account of Viracocha's
set-off to the ocean;
- Viracocha's
promise to return refers to the fact that the sky god's cult
never really disappeared, and in greatest troubles the Inca
still addressed their sky god, as is common for deus otiosus
(Kulmar 1999: 101-109).
Thus,
Manco Capak who supposedly ruled the Inca at the time of their
arrival at the Cuzco Valley, became the first half-legendary ruler
of the country and started the official Inca dynasty. Certainly, he
was nothing more than a tribal chief - it took another two centuries
for the Inca civilisation to reach its golden era under the rule of
the first emperor Pachacutek Yupanqui (Busto II 1981: 22).
The founding of city in the name of two gods could be interpreted in
a manner uniquely provident and theocratic for the history of the
Andean state Tahuantinsuyu: the supreme god Viracocha had provided
that Manco's tribe will rule the world, and Manco started to carry
it out at the will and guidance of Inti, the sun god. Thus, the
civilisational mission of the Inca found a theological explanation
as well (see also Soriano 1990: 483-499).
Finally, these origin myths also reveal the ethnocentric world-view
of the Quechuans: the Inca believed in the inherent superiority and
wisdom of their own people, thinking they were destined to refine
the mankind whether other peoples accepted it or not. That could be
inferred also from the names of the country and its capital. The
name of the Inca empire Tahuantinsuyu stands for «the country of
four points of compass» (Vega 1988: 17). Most chroniclers (except
for Sarmiento) argue that Cuzco means «pole» (Busto II 1981: 8),
i.e. the centre of the world or the world pole.
The analysis of the history and society of the Inca state has
confirmed that it was the first and only totalitarian state on the
American continent and Pre-Columbian America (Kulmar 1989: 74-76;
Soriano 1990: 483-499). The ethnocentric and imperialist origin myth
formed the ideological foundation for establishing such a scheme of
society, determining also the mentality of its nation by education
and in everyday life.
Thus, the Inca built their historical studies and regulations on the
ancient Tiahuanaco myths, having customised them according to their
own need.
The chronicle records describe the citizens of Tiahuanaco as «the
Viracochas», who were fair-skinned and wore white long robes.
Viracocha is also described as a man with fair skin and white beard,
attired in a long robe and sandals, wearing a staff, with a cougar
lying at his feet. He was a kind and peace-loving god who had also
subjected the dreadful jaguar-god to his power. The idea might refer
to the Tiahuanaco's peaceful mission among the distant warrior
cultures of Peru. According to the legend, however, evil people in
short clothes came to the sacred lake and forced Viracocha to leave
to north. On his departure they mocked and taunted him for his long
robe and lenient disposition. Eventually, he had descended from the
highlands to the coast and left over the ocean, promising to return
some day (Séjourné 1992: 215, 258).
In 1921 one of the leading researchers of Peruvian cultures from the
first part of this century José de la Riva Agüero y Osma, who had
also studied the chronicle records as well as linguistic and
archaeological data for nearly 25 years, published his «theory of
the paleo-Quechuan empire». The theory focused on the hypothesis
that Tiahuanaco was originally the cradle and home of the Inca
Empire, and the Inca themselves the upper class of the once
emigrated Tiahuanaco people. He also argued that the Quechuans,
Aymarans and Araucanians had to originate from the same ancient and
anthropologically close ancestral nation who spoke a language
related to theirs, and was developed to a degree that could
influence them, the younger peoples. Riva-Agüero's term for such
ancestors was 'paleo-Quechuans' (Busto I s.a.: 186-194).
Even today the Aymarans inhabit the surroundings of Lake Titicaca.
They have preserved heritage on their ancient migration and the
subjugation of the town people who were driven from the city. Also,
the archaeological data supports the idea of the late arrival of the
Aymarans. Riva-Agüero speculates that the paleo-Quechuans were now
forced to leave among other places for the Cuzco Valley, the later
settlement of the Inca. A chronicler informs us that the first king
of the Inca Manco Capac came from Tiahuanaco (Vega 1988: 34-37). We
also know that the relationship between the Quechuans and the
Aymarans could be characterised by a constant feud which might have
been caused by the fugitives' anger towards the invaders. Agüero
also argues that the affinity of the Quechuan and Aymaran languages
is due to the existence of a common primal language, possibly the
paleo-Quechuan. The archaeological data also confirms the Aymaran
immigration. The chullpa's, or the burial towers around
Titicaca belonged supposedly to the Aymarans; still, the earliest
settlers of Tiahuanaco mummified their dead similarly to the Inca,
similarities could be found also between the pottery from the golden
age of Tiahuanaco and that of the Inca - the ceramic ware of
Aymarans is considerably different. The clothing of the Aymarans
differed as well, being shorter than the Quechuan dress, which once
again supports the legend about the departure of the long-robed
Tiahuanacos. Montesinos, the chronicler, informs us that the priest
kings of Tiahuanaco, or los amautas as they were called, fled
the country trying to save the cult of their own gods (Busto I s.a.:
191). This is another evidence proving that the Inca originated from
the upper class who were forced to leave Tiahuanaco by the militant
Aymarans, or los piruas. The idea of the Inca having been
militant aroused from the new circumstances. The Inca regarded the
surroundings of Titicaca as their former home and revered Viracocha
as a god who had told them to build the city of Cuzco. Later, the
mythology related to Viracocha acquired an important role in the
Inca religion.
Thus, we might reason that the founders of the Tiahuanaco culture
were the common ancestors of the Quechuans and Aymarans, i.e. the
paleo-Quechuans. Presumably, the militant Aymarans crushed
Tiahuanaco in the 10th-11th century and forced the majority of the
upper class flee northward to the mountain valleys inhabited by
other Quechuan kin tribes. The Aymarans could not destroy the
powerful civilisation all at once and founded the kingdom of Colla,
which in the 15th century was incorporated into the state of the
same Inca who were once driven from their homeland by the Collas.
Thus, the hypothesis of Riva-Agüero expanded to a theory which is
acknowledged by most of the historians in Peru.
Consequently, the Inca were the genetic and cultural successors of
the Tiahuanaco people. According to the archaeological data these
Quechuan emigrants arrived at their kin tribes in the Cuzco Valley
at the beginning of the 12th century and founded their city-state on
the spot. Since 1538 the Inca ruler Pachacutek Yupanqui employed the
necessity of defeating the militant Chancas, subjugated other
Quechuan city-states and merged them into the empire that reigned
the whole of Peru, northern Chile, northern Bolivia and southern
Ecuador until the invasion of Spanish conquistadors. The
archaeological material for the religion of this period is abundant,
and can be compared to the detailed accounts of the 16th-17th
century Spanish chronicles (Kauffmann Doig 1991: 78).
The highest ranking deity of the Inca was a celestial supreme being
who was first known under the name Viracocha, later also as
Pachacamak. Originally, Pachacamak was a sky god of the Lurín Valley
in central Peru whose name was later given to the sky god of the
Inca. The main god of the Inca state religion was the sun god Inti,
who might have been a nature totem of the Quechua or a god of a
certain tribe. Another significant deity in the Inca pantheon was
the thunder god Illapu who was apparently distinctive from the
Tiahuanaco sky god, but was named after a thunder god of the central
Peruvian tribes. Viracocha became the culture hero of the Inca who
was said to have brought culture to people, then set off to the
Pacific and promised to return. (Kulmar 1999: 101-109)."
Translated by Kait
Realo
References
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Lima: Editorial Universo S.A.
Busto II = Busto Duthurburu, José Antonio del II. Perú
Incaico. Lima: Libreria Studium S.A., 1981
Kauffmann Doig, Federico. Introducción al Perú antiguo.
Lima: Editores Kompaktos, 1991
Kelm, Antje. Grundzüge der Religionen des zentralen Andenraumes,
1990
Altamerikanistik: Eine Einführung in die Hochkulturen Mittel- und
Südamerikas. Herausgegeben von Ulrich Köhler. Berlin: Dietrich
Reimer Verlag.
Kulmar, Tarmo. Märkmeid totalitaarsest riigist. Vikerkaar,
nr. 2, 1989
Kulmar, Tarmo. Zum Problem des Kulturheros in der Inka-Religion,
1999
Mitteilungen für Anthropologie und Religionsgeschichte. B. 12. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag,
1997
Rostworowski de Díez Canseco, María. História del
Tahuantinsuyu. Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 1988
Séjourné, Laurette. Altamerikanische Kulturen. Frankfurt
am Main: Fischer Verlag, 1992
Soriano, Waldemar Espinoza. Los Incas. Economía, sociedad y
Estado en la era del Tahuantinsuyo. Lima: Amaru Editores, 1990
Vega, Inca Garcilaso de la 1988. Comentarios reales de los Incas.
T. 1. Lima: Editorial Mercurio S.A, 1988
Source:
http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol12/inca.htm
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