In the Incan settlement of Vitcos, pollen from maize and quinoa was found in several soil samples which date back as early as the Incan period. [1]
For this article, I would like my group to add more information about the different deities in the Inca religion. If we are able to incorporate a table with a detailed section about each, I believe it would help the article grow. I also want to use several reliable sources to find this information.
My group is editing Religion in the Inca Empire. No sources were used in the deities section, so we are going to completely rewrite that section and include all sources and information found.
The Inca approached religion in a different manner by allowing the tribes they conquered, to remain practicing their native religion while adopting Inca views. Religion in the Inca Empire was very diverse among the different groups within the empire.
In the heterogeneous Inca Empire, polytheistic religions were practiced. Some deities, such as Pachamama and Viracocha, were known throughout the empire, while others were localized.
The high priests and the ruler of the Inca people oversaw everything that was relevant to the Official Pantheon. Priests managed the rituals and temples with the assistance of mamacona (virgin women). [2]
- Viracocha [3]: He was typically seen as a white male human and known as the creator of humanity and everything else in the world. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) In Inca Water Worship and Religion, it states, "He created humanity on an island in Lake Titicaca on the border between modern Peru and Bolivia and taught people how to live, assigning them tribal dress and customs and determining where they should live." After this occurred, Viracocha gave control over humanity to lower gods then disappeared. When the Spaniards came to the Inca territory, the Inca thought they were god like because of their similarities in appearance with Viracocha. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
- Inti: Inti was one of the most important gods to the Inca people and known as the sun god. He is typically viewed as a boy from the Inca society and was also known as a golden disk with fire like rays coming and a face in the middle. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) The Inca believed the sun was a key element for agriculture by protecting and helping with the growth of their crops. The temple dedicated to Inti was the Coricancha (aka The Golden Enclosure), which was one of the most important temples for the Inca people. [2] Inside Coricancha was a miniature field of corn and the corn was made out of gold. Annually, the emperor would "farm" this as a tradition. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) Viracocha did not start out as the top deity in Inca religion, Inti was the first original and most powerful god. The transition from Inti to Virachocha has a couple of theories including: 1. The Inca society and people developed intellectually and started to question Inti's power. They questioned why an all powerful god did the same thing everyday. [4] 2. The society moved forward and they started going more towards monotheism (one god ruled over everything else, not that there was only one god). Since Viracocha was seen as a human, they saw this as being more powerful. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
- Illapa (Inti-Illapa): The name of this god means thunder and controls things like weather, rain, and lightning. [5] The Inca valued this god because Illapa was in control of the weather and the growth of their crops. [4] Many of the Inca society saw the image of this deity as a man wearing a sling. [5] Every time that Illapa would use the sling it would create the thunder heard by the Inca people. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
- Mamaquilla (Kilyamama [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC):The name of this god in the Inca language can be translated into Mother Moon. [5] All of the Inca society recognized this deity as female and was also seen as a silver disk with a face in the middle. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) 23:30, 18 October 2017 (UTC) She was the wife of the deity Inti and was also in control of calendars. [5] This god was in charge of calendars because of the moons cycle which the Inca could track. [5] All the temples that worshiped Mamaquilla were worked on by priestesses. [5] Rcm3b ( talk) 16:54, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
- Pachamama: The name of this god translates to Earth Mother and is known as a female among the Inca society. [5] The Inca saw her as a protector of their crops/fields and a god of fertility to help their crops grow. [5] Rcm3b ( talk) 16:38, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
- Mamacocha: The meaning of this gods name from the Inca language is Mother of Lakes and is widely known as a female. [5] The job of this deity is to keep the world strong and provide sources of water. [5] Rcm3b ( talk) 16:54, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
- Stella Deities: These are deities formed using constellations or other cosmology features and are mostly believed to be of animals or activities. [2] In the book Inca Water Worship and Religion, an example would be "Urcuchillay, which is known to western astronomers as Lira, [who] was thought to protect llamas and alpacas." [2]
- Huacas: Anything, including people, places, and objects, in the world that the Inca believed had a supernatural spirit, were called Huacas. The size of the Huaca determined how much power it had. For example, mountains were considered some of the more powerful Huacas. The Inca worshiped and cared for them similar to the other deities. [2]
Peer Review by Cmunchycrunch ( talk) 16:44, 20 October 2017 (UTC)
The succinct summaries very efficiently describe and differentiate the different deities without getting too bogged up in details. One modification that I think would help the flow of the article is switching the order of Viracocha and Inti since the Viracocha description mentions Inti. Beyond that, the only things I might change are changing up the syntax so that it’s not all simple sentences and avoiding too much passive voice. I would also like to soapbox a personal pet peeve for hierarchal lists that for every 1 there must be a 2 and every A there must be a B, but I don’t know if you’ve already started planning to add complementary points. I really appreciated that you included examples for the more abstract concepts like stella deities and huacas.
-
^ Meseth, Enrique; et al. (July 2015). "Reconstructing Agriculture in Vitcos Inca Settlement, Peru". Irrigation and Drainage. 64: 340–352 – via Database.
{{ cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|displayauthors=( help); Explicit use of et al. in:|first=( help) - ^
a
b
c
d
e Gibaja Oviedo, Arminda M.; et al. (2016). Inca Water Worship and Religion. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers. pp. 11–17.
ISBN
9780784414163.
{{ cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|first=( help) - ^ Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; Trans. by Smith-Oka, Vania; Bauer, Brian S (2007). The History of the Incas. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292714137.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Gods, goddesses, and mythology. Littleton, C. Scott. New York: Marshall Cavendish. 2005.
ISBN
0761475656.
OCLC
708564500.
{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: others ( link) - ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j N.,, D'Altroy, Terence (2002).
The Incas. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.
ISBN
1405116765.
OCLC
46449340.
{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation ( link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link)
In the Incan settlement of Vitcos, pollen from maize and quinoa was found in several soil samples which date back as early as the Incan period. [1]
For this article, I would like my group to add more information about the different deities in the Inca religion. If we are able to incorporate a table with a detailed section about each, I believe it would help the article grow. I also want to use several reliable sources to find this information.
My group is editing Religion in the Inca Empire. No sources were used in the deities section, so we are going to completely rewrite that section and include all sources and information found.
The Inca approached religion in a different manner by allowing the tribes they conquered, to remain practicing their native religion while adopting Inca views. Religion in the Inca Empire was very diverse among the different groups within the empire.
In the heterogeneous Inca Empire, polytheistic religions were practiced. Some deities, such as Pachamama and Viracocha, were known throughout the empire, while others were localized.
The high priests and the ruler of the Inca people oversaw everything that was relevant to the Official Pantheon. Priests managed the rituals and temples with the assistance of mamacona (virgin women). [2]
- Viracocha [3]: He was typically seen as a white male human and known as the creator of humanity and everything else in the world. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) In Inca Water Worship and Religion, it states, "He created humanity on an island in Lake Titicaca on the border between modern Peru and Bolivia and taught people how to live, assigning them tribal dress and customs and determining where they should live." After this occurred, Viracocha gave control over humanity to lower gods then disappeared. When the Spaniards came to the Inca territory, the Inca thought they were god like because of their similarities in appearance with Viracocha. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
- Inti: Inti was one of the most important gods to the Inca people and known as the sun god. He is typically viewed as a boy from the Inca society and was also known as a golden disk with fire like rays coming and a face in the middle. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) The Inca believed the sun was a key element for agriculture by protecting and helping with the growth of their crops. The temple dedicated to Inti was the Coricancha (aka The Golden Enclosure), which was one of the most important temples for the Inca people. [2] Inside Coricancha was a miniature field of corn and the corn was made out of gold. Annually, the emperor would "farm" this as a tradition. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) Viracocha did not start out as the top deity in Inca religion, Inti was the first original and most powerful god. The transition from Inti to Virachocha has a couple of theories including: 1. The Inca society and people developed intellectually and started to question Inti's power. They questioned why an all powerful god did the same thing everyday. [4] 2. The society moved forward and they started going more towards monotheism (one god ruled over everything else, not that there was only one god). Since Viracocha was seen as a human, they saw this as being more powerful. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
- Illapa (Inti-Illapa): The name of this god means thunder and controls things like weather, rain, and lightning. [5] The Inca valued this god because Illapa was in control of the weather and the growth of their crops. [4] Many of the Inca society saw the image of this deity as a man wearing a sling. [5] Every time that Illapa would use the sling it would create the thunder heard by the Inca people. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
- Mamaquilla (Kilyamama [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC):The name of this god in the Inca language can be translated into Mother Moon. [5] All of the Inca society recognized this deity as female and was also seen as a silver disk with a face in the middle. [4] 64.251.155.81 Rcm3b ( talk) 23:35, 18 October 2017 (UTC) 23:30, 18 October 2017 (UTC) She was the wife of the deity Inti and was also in control of calendars. [5] This god was in charge of calendars because of the moons cycle which the Inca could track. [5] All the temples that worshiped Mamaquilla were worked on by priestesses. [5] Rcm3b ( talk) 16:54, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
- Pachamama: The name of this god translates to Earth Mother and is known as a female among the Inca society. [5] The Inca saw her as a protector of their crops/fields and a god of fertility to help their crops grow. [5] Rcm3b ( talk) 16:38, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
- Mamacocha: The meaning of this gods name from the Inca language is Mother of Lakes and is widely known as a female. [5] The job of this deity is to keep the world strong and provide sources of water. [5] Rcm3b ( talk) 16:54, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
- Stella Deities: These are deities formed using constellations or other cosmology features and are mostly believed to be of animals or activities. [2] In the book Inca Water Worship and Religion, an example would be "Urcuchillay, which is known to western astronomers as Lira, [who] was thought to protect llamas and alpacas." [2]
- Huacas: Anything, including people, places, and objects, in the world that the Inca believed had a supernatural spirit, were called Huacas. The size of the Huaca determined how much power it had. For example, mountains were considered some of the more powerful Huacas. The Inca worshiped and cared for them similar to the other deities. [2]
Peer Review by Cmunchycrunch ( talk) 16:44, 20 October 2017 (UTC)
The succinct summaries very efficiently describe and differentiate the different deities without getting too bogged up in details. One modification that I think would help the flow of the article is switching the order of Viracocha and Inti since the Viracocha description mentions Inti. Beyond that, the only things I might change are changing up the syntax so that it’s not all simple sentences and avoiding too much passive voice. I would also like to soapbox a personal pet peeve for hierarchal lists that for every 1 there must be a 2 and every A there must be a B, but I don’t know if you’ve already started planning to add complementary points. I really appreciated that you included examples for the more abstract concepts like stella deities and huacas.
-
^ Meseth, Enrique; et al. (July 2015). "Reconstructing Agriculture in Vitcos Inca Settlement, Peru". Irrigation and Drainage. 64: 340–352 – via Database.
{{ cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|displayauthors=( help); Explicit use of et al. in:|first=( help) - ^
a
b
c
d
e Gibaja Oviedo, Arminda M.; et al. (2016). Inca Water Worship and Religion. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers. pp. 11–17.
ISBN
9780784414163.
{{ cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|first=( help) - ^ Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; Trans. by Smith-Oka, Vania; Bauer, Brian S (2007). The History of the Incas. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292714137.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Gods, goddesses, and mythology. Littleton, C. Scott. New York: Marshall Cavendish. 2005.
ISBN
0761475656.
OCLC
708564500.
{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: others ( link) - ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j N.,, D'Altroy, Terence (2002).
The Incas. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.
ISBN
1405116765.
OCLC
46449340.
{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation ( link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link)