In the Old World, the XII century was marked by the successful development of religion, and its inhabitants long ago abandoned polytheism. In Western Europe, the church was then divided into Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. A dozen Crusades were waged for the capture of Palestine, the ancestral home of Jesus Christ.
At this time, on the American continent, they still believed in totems, fetishes and mummies and worshiped dozens of deities. There were more than ten thousand metal, stone and wooden idols on the territory of the Peruvian tribes. One and a half thousand of them are mummies of the deceased creators of clans and tribes. The Incas continued to worship them all. At the same time, two unique human civilizations were created - the Incas and the Aztecs.
Who interrupted the history of the pre-Columbian Inca civilization?
Unfortunately, the uniquely developed cities and vast cultural landscapes of the Incas lasted only five centuries before being destroyed by the Spanish conquerors. These civilizations sank into oblivion in the 15th century. Following the colonialists, Catholic missionaries came to the Andes mountains. The “Enlighteners” did their best to ensure that future generations knew little about the Incas and their history.
The Indians in the Andes mountains in South America did not call themselves Incas. Ink they had only the emperor, and the name of the tribe sounded like "kapak-kuna" (translated from their language - "great", "glorified"). In turn, the Great Inca existed as a son of the Sun and descended from the main god of the Incas.
The main god of the Incas is the Sun
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The religions of each country had national or other differences, but there were similarities, regardless of the continent. All ancient people went through periods of worship of cults - a form of pre-Christian early religion. This is fetishism and totemism, which have experienced various changes. The Incas also showed this. But their religion was called solar.
An image of the Sun God cast in gold
As in Greece or Babylon, the Incas deified natural phenomena that they could not understand. For example, thunder, lightning, earthquakes, eclipses of the Sun or Moon. The Incas had their own god, similar to Zeus the Thunderer, as in Ancient Hellas. In the Andes, there was nothing more dear to people than the sun. But in the peculiarities of worshiping this deity, the Incas bypassed all peoples, even the neighboring Aztecs. They considered themselves children of the Sun.
Image of the Sun God on the chest of the Supreme Inca
The images of the chief god of these tribes in the form of a golden disk with a human face have reached humanity. Having examined this Indian artifact, one is convinced of the cult significance attached to it. An archaeological discovery proves how the Incas treated their deity. Found a stone at the top of the Andean rock. From the Quechua language, its name is translated as the place to which the Sun was tied at the time of the winter solstice.
Inti, the Sun God
As in the Greek Olympus of the gods, there was a pantheon here. The religious policy of the ancient Incas was tolerant. Capturing other peoples, they did not forbid their gods and beliefs. And the gods were transferred to their pantheon.
The main god of the Incas - Planet
In the religion of this people, the beginning of the beginnings was clearly visible: the universe, the planet. They are represented in beliefs in the form of separate Pacha worlds (with Quechua - "time" or "space"): Hanan, Kai and Uku. Each of them was ruled by its own gods. To put it simply, these were three territories or entities - underground, earthly and higher.
Therefore, according to myths, the Incas considered saints both rocks and mountains and caves in them. This is what their cosmogonic views look like. When the world was created, celestial bodies first went underground, then came out of rocks, springs and gave life to peoples. Ancient Inca astronomers on the movement of the Milky Way drew four squares in lines on the earthly world. Like the seasons - winter, spring, summer and autumn. At the same angles, two main streets and their extensions in the form of roads, as well as irrigation canals, intersect in each settlement.