, god of death, as interpreted in a carnival festival The Incas permitted the cultures they integrated into their empire to keep their individual religions. Some of the various gods worshiped by the peoples of the Incan empire had overlapping responsibilities and domains. These were worshipped by different
ayllus or worshipped in particular former states. •
Apu (
Great lord) was a god or spirit of mountains. All of the important mountains have their own Apu, and some of them receive sacrifices to bring out certain aspects of their being. Some rocks and caves also are credited as having their own apu. •
Amaru (
Sacred serpent) was a
serpentine,
chimerical or
draconic deity associated with wisdom, water, earth, and the underworld. It represented both destructive and benevolent aspects of nature, associated with both earthquakes and the irrigating rivers upon which the Aymara people depended for their harvest. •
Ataguchu (a.k.a.
Atagujo, Ataguju) was a god who assisted in
creation myth. The legend says Ataguchu, tired due to the
Cosmos loneliness, created some divine beings to be his servants. At the same time, he created Guamansuri and sent him to
earth (more precisely, the Huamanchuco province). The province was inhabited by an ethnic group called Guachemines. Guamansuri, as a foreigner, was at service of the group. Guachemines leaders had a sister called Cautaguan, due to her beautifulness, she was confined. However, one day Guamansuri seduced and got Cautaguan pregnant. When the leaders realized their sister was pregnant, they instantly knew Guamansuri was the culprit, so they captured and burned Guamansuri and scattered his ashes. Guamansuri's ashes went up to the
sky and stayed there with Ataguchu. The leaders put Cautaguan under strict surveillance and, in a few days, she gave birth to two eggs, and died in childbirth. They took the eggs and put them in a dunghill where two screaming children came out of them. A servant took care of the children, who were named Catequil and Piguerao (in one version, it is stated that Piguerao was born with a weak condition and hence he died shortly after. In another version, he supports his brother in order to defeat the Guachemines). Catequil went to where his mother had died and brought her back to life. She gave him the
slings that Guamansuri had left for him, so that he could kill the Guachemines. Catequil killed many Guachemines and expelled from the country those he did not kill. So he went to
heaven and informed Ataguchu that the land was already free of the Guachemines and asked him to create the people to inhabit and work it. Ataguchu told him to go to the hill and to the high pasture lands called Guacat, upstream from the actual city of La Parilla de Santa. Once there, both brothers pulled the Indians out of the land using gold and silver tools. •
Auquis were deities that watched over each populated region. •
Axomamma (
Mother of potatoes) was a goddess of
potatoes. •
Catequil (A.k.a.
Apocatequil, Apu Catequil) was the tutelar god of
day and
good. He's also the god of
thunder and
lightning in northern Peruvian highlands. Catequil and his twin brother Piguerao were born from hatched eggs. It's believed that Catequil was another name or representation of god Illapa. •
Cavillace was a virgin goddess who ate a fruit, which was actually the sperm of Coniraya, the
moon god and mother of the
Coya, who raised the
ñusta of the empire. When she gave birth to a son, she demanded that the father step forward. No one did, so she put the baby on the ground and it crawled towards Coniraya. She was ashamed because of Coniraya's low stature among the gods, and ran to the coast of Peru, where she changed herself and her son into rocks. • ''Ch'aska
(Morning star
; a.k.a. Ch'aska Quyllur
or Chasca'') was the goddess of
dawn, the
twilight and
dusk, as well as the goddess of
beauty, virgin women and the
flowers. She was considered as the "Venus star" due to her similarities shared with the Roman goddess
Venus as well as her luminosity equated to the
homologous planet, which is, after the Sun and the Moon, the brightest celestial object in the night sky. •
Chaupiñamca is a divinity considered the feminine counterpart of the god Paryaqaqa. Like the latter, Chaupiñamca had five sisters, she being the eldest of all. She's represented as a rigid stone with five wings. •
Chuychu (
Rainbow; a.k.a. ''K'uychi'') is the beautiful
rainbow that was below both great gods (
Punchaw and Ch'aska) and that was later elevated to the god of the nobles because it represented the beauty that was reserved for the nobles. •
Coniraya was the
moon deity who fashioned his sperm into a fruit, which Cavillaca then ate. •
Conopa is a small, particularly shaped object worshiped at the domestic level in communities in the Andes of
Peru. •
Copacati was a
lake goddess. • Coquena, sometimes called Pachamama's
husband, is the protector deity of
llama,
vicuña, and other
camelids among the
Diaguita-
Calchaquí. •
Puñuy (A.k.a. Puñui) was a divinity personifying with
dreams and the act of
sleeping. There was a sanctuary dedicated to this deity in Cusco. In it, rituals were executed with the purpose of obtaining a good sleep and not dying while sleeping. •
Qhaxra-kamayuq (
The one who takes care of sowing) was a guardian deity who made an effort to prevent thieves from entering houses. •
Qhoa (A.k.a. ''Qoa, Coa, Ccoa, K'oa, Khoa, Cahua, Caua, Qowa, Quwa'') was a big feline deity that lives in
sky and was able to bring the
rain, the
storms, the
rainbow and
hail. Qhoa was depicted as a large winged flying feline (that can be a
puma, a
jaguar or an
oscollo). As a deity considered to be the bringer of rain and storms that help the growth of
crops and fertilization of the
earth (similar to god Illapa), Incas worshiped it fervently. The Qhoa was a benevolent deity to whom they asked for rain, and it was granted. But like all sacred beings, Qhoa also launched its punishments through hail or storms. It's believed this deity jumped from
cloud to cloud, dropping
lightning bolts that come out of its eyes to the earth, its loud roar was the
thunder, its urine was the rain and the flapping of its large wings would be hail. In some andean communities they still say that Qhoa plays in the heights, entering and leaving the
lagoons. •
Qoyllur (
Star; a.k.a.
Coyllur, Quyllur) was the goddess of the
stars. Qoyllur also had an important position as a deity of
light. She was the companion of
Mama Killa. They were always together, since without Qoyllur's company, the nights would not have the same luminosity. The stars were a perfect complement. •
Rímac and Chaclla were two brother gods who sacrificed themselves to end a drought that plagued the coast in ancient times. Rímac became a river and Chaclla became the rain. •
Runacoto was a divinity associated with masculine virility. Due to this, people with a short penis went to ask him for help to grow their penises. •
Sorimana (A.k.a.
Solimana) was a pre-inca god of volcanoes and earthquakes. Solimana also shares the name of a
volcano located in
Arequipa, Peru. •
Supay was both the god of
death and ruler of the
Uku Pacha as well as a race of
demons. Supay was also the personification of all evilness. However, he was considered an ambivalent god that could be considered both
evil and
good. Supay was represented as a human figure with a strong resemblance to demons, having long
horns and ears, a felinic head, very perceptive eyes and sharp teeth. Supay also has the ability to turn into a beautiful Inca woman as well as a very attractive Inca man. These abilities turned him into a danger for those who did not show respect or who tried to make fun of him. Despite this, there were people who believed in his great power, thus reaching the point of worshiping him, so that he would grant them favors for evil or good through
rituals,
offerings and the creation of
altars. The ancient legends told that Supay went beyond that evil that he evoked, since they described him as the protector of the path that will be traveled when dying. Likewise, the Incas believed that after
dying, the
soul passes into the background. This background for them meant a new beginning with the Inca gods. Despite the description of the Supay as an evil being, he was good at the end of days for those who awaited his death, which made the Incas believe that since ancient times, the god Supay was a being that equilibrated the balance between the good and evil. In addition to giving them the feeling that there will always be evil, but not enough. •
Temenduare and Arikute were brother gods who, with their clashes, caused a flood. This as a result of conjuring a bestial being provided with a hundred legs of water. Temenduare and Arikute are thought to be other names for the gods Vichama and Mallko. •
Tumayricapac and Tumayhanampa were pre-inca twin gods from a region called Chinchaycocha. These two are associated with the
lightning and are considered as civilizing heroes as well. • was the aymara god of volcanoes as well as lightning and water. According to Collasuyo's myths, Tunupa put order in the world and is often confused with
Viracocha. •
Tulumanya (A.k.a.
Turumanyay) was the first
rainbow (rainbow of the ancients), who was born from the
Amaru's chest on Viracocha's orders. •
Urcaguary was the inca deity of
metals,
jewels and other underground items of great value. The gender of this deity is ambiguous, so it can be a feminine or masculine divinity. Urcaguary lives beneath mountains protecting
treasures and jewels from evil people who dare to steal them. Urcaguary was represented with a snake body and a
taruka head, gold chains and precious stones were linked in its snake tail. It's believed that the taruka or deer head is due to its way of thinking. •
Urquchillay was the god of
cattle and domestic animals. Urquchillay was worshipped mainly by Inca herders because he watched over animals and maintained the welfare of the herds and multiply their offspring. Urquchillay was represented as a strong man with a
llama head as well as a multicoloured llama or ram. •
Urpihuachay (
The one that gives birth to pigeons; a.k.a.
Urpihuachac, Urpayhuachac, Urpayhuachay) was the creator goddess of the
birds and
fishes, coming originally from
Chincha culture and later adopted by the Inca pantheon as wife of Pachakamaq in some legends. She's depicted as a woman with mixed fish and bird traits. In one legend, it's said after Cavillace and her son jumped into the sea and turned into two isles in front of the sanctuary of the god Pachakamaq, Coniraya decided to get revenge against Pachakamaq and sought Urpihuachay and her daughters with the attempt to rape them, the goddess wasn't there, she was visiting Cavillace already turned into an island, Coniraya took advantage and found the goddess daughters, fortunately, they could escape from the angered god by turning themselves into birds and flying far away. Coniraya still angered, threw all Urpihuachay's belongings to the
sea, among them, the fishes only Urpihuachay knew how to raise, these were thrown in
ponds near the temple, once in the sea, fishes multiplied since then and Urpihuachay was considered as the mother of all birds and fishes. •
Vichama (A.k.a.
Wichama, Atipa) was the son of the sun god (Wiracocha or Inti) in Vichama's myth. This established Vichama as the brother of Mallko and the half-brother of
Pachakamaq and
Kon. He was created by the sun god from the umbilical cord and navel of Mallko's, his brother, which were torn to pieces by Pachakamaq's wrath. In the aforementioned myth, Vichama was a divinity associated with
revenge,
death and, to a lesser extent, with
war. •
Viracocha (
Quechua: Apu Kon Illa Tiqsi Wiraqucha Pachayachachiq Pachakamaq; English: Great Lord, eternal light, source of life, knowledge and creator of the world) was the god of everything. It's said he came from the
sea and created the
sun, the
moon and the
stars to light up the world that was immersed in
darkness. Viracocha also created
time (ordering the sun to move itself in the
sky). Following the creation, he created the
humanity by blowing on the
stones. However, his first attempt to create humanity failed as they turned out to be strong and violent
giants with no intelligence. (In other legends, the first attempt was conceived before the creation of the sun and humanity turned out to be Ñawpa Machus, which means "the primordial old ones" , who are depicted as tall and skinny humans. Despite this fact, they had a brutal strength and were as violent as evil, and so Viracocha created the sun, creating the light that put an end to them). The giants didn't recognize Viracocha as their creator and they rebelled against him. Viracocha sent a
devastating flood that destroyed them, and from the remaining small stones, he created a better version of humanity. Viracocha had a lot of representations around the civilizations and cultures that worshiped him, the most known is that of a sun crown man or anthropomorphic man with two staffs or
lightning bolts in his hands on a platform. Viracocha's face had tears in the form of
rain. It's said he wept when he saw the suffering of the creatures he had created. Viracocha was also associated with the
puma. Another representation of him was a stone with egg's shape which is considered a
cosmic egg. Viracocha was present as the creator of everything in existence in several ancient civilizations and cultures around
South America like
Sechin culture,
Caral-Supe civilization,
Chavín culture,
Wari culture,
Tiwanaku, etc. Incas weren't the exception, they considered Viracocha as the creator of all the cosmos as well as the substance that gives rise to all of things. In the beginning he was the main god, but when Pachakuti became Inca emperor, he changed this god's importance to prioritize Inti as the most important god due to Inti's support against the
Chankas, which turned the Inca
Kingdom of Cusco into a great and prosperous empire. Despite this fact, Viracocha was still worshiped fervently, but just the
Sapa Incas or emperors were allowed to worship him, leaving Inti as the main god of the Inca people. •
Wasikamayuq (
The one who takes care of home) was the tutelary god of home. Wasikamayuq was supported by other deities like Qhaxra-kamayuq, as they both ensured security in Inca homes. •
Yanañamca and Tutañamca (
Huaca of the darkness and
Huaca of the night) were the twin gods of
darkness and
night. They ruled the world at the beginning of time, before the gods took care of the earth. Viracocha sent Huallallo Carhuincho, god of fire, to defeat them and, at the same time, illuminate the earth, although the latter stayed taking advantage of it and devouring his faithful ones. •
Yana Raman (A.k.a.
Libiac Cancharco, Libiac) was the pre-inca god of
lightning. He's considered as the main god and hence the creator of an ethnic group called Yaros or Llacuaces. Likewise, he's considered as the base of the cult of god Illapa. When the Incas assimilated Yaros within
Tahuantinsuyo, the god Yana Raman was renewed as the god Illapa. • Yastay or Llastay - Aymara protector of vicuña and other camelids as well as the condor. ==Important beliefs==