Inca Beliefs

While reading the section on the Incas, I became very interested in what exactly their religious beliefs were. I decided to research further on their spiritual beliefs. The Incas worshiped their dead ancestors, founders of their culture, and their king who they regarded as divine, as well as nature and the cycles of nature. Because of the importance of the cycles, time was considered sacred and each month had its own festival. The most important cult of the Inca religion was that of the sun god Inti, who's feast was the most important of all festivals. To celebrate this festival, offerings were made, as well as sacrifices of animals or children. Though offerings were made daily, the sacrifices of children or animals were only made in times of great importance, such as when an Inca king took the throan or when there was an epidemic or famine. The god of the earth was also heavily worshiped. ANother part of the Inca religion was divination. Everything was done by consulting an oracle. Finally, they belived that after a person died, their two souls would travel on seperate paths, and like the Egyptians, the Incas mummified their dead and burried them with their worldly possessions.

One section of the reading focuses on the relationship between men and woman. Though woman were not necessarily treated horribly, they certainly werent equal to men. As I researched the Inca religion, I noticed why this was the case. The Incas believed in polarity in the universe. This notion was expressed by the words hanan and hurin. Hanan referred to the high, superior, right, masculine, and hurin to the low, inferior, left, feminine. This polarity was noticeable in the cult to the Quilla, the moon, considered as the female counterpart to the all-important sun. From doing this research, I can now understand why their is an inequality and hierarchy in the Inca society.