Inca Mythology
Inca Mythology differs slightly from other Mesoamerican and South American mythologies in the fact that the belief system revolved around the sky and the cosmos. The Incas observed the milky Way and made interpretations based on its movements when observed from their capital city of Cuzco. These movements of stars, planets etc. were all connected to their agricultural practices and the stories tend to revolve around them. This was especially important for the Inca, as they relied on cyclical agricultural seasons, which were not only connected to annual cycles, but to a much wider cycle of time (every 800 years at a time).
During the Spanish inquisition, almost all of the few records maintained by the Inca were destroyed as their religious beliefs were considered to be pagan in nature by the staunchly Catholic Spanish army. The stories from the Inca mythology that are told and retold today have been passed down from generation to generation.
The most important element of the Inca mythology and worship was the sun. The religious practices revolved around the sun as the Incas themselves belied that they were descendants of it. The Incas tailored their mythology to glorify their own culture and to reinforce the idea that they were a superior people destined to rule others.
The Inca’s started out to the south of the Andes but later spread out and at its peak had conquered the region from Columbia to Chile. They built roads, and networks within the region and were instrumental in growing the influence of their faith in the whole of the area. As the empire grew, they absorbed the cultures and beliefs of the areas that they conquered and also added to the local customs albeit giving them all a superior Inca angle. Without a written language, the role of the story teller became very important in spreading the mythology and stories around the empire.
