Huiracocha (god)

Estela de Raimondi, one of the first representations of the god of the Oracles.

Huiracocha, (in Quechua Apu Qun Illa Tiqsi Wiraquchan Pachayachachiq Pachakamaq [3V], Apu Kon Illa Teqse Wiraqochan Pachayachachiq Pachakamaq [5V], in Spanish: Great Lord, eternal splendor, source of life, knowledge and maker of the world) also called the god of staffs or of the rods, is a divinity of the sky that encompasses the Andean idea of a general "creator god", which would originate from the Caral culture, is also a central figure of the Puerta del Sol of Tiahuanaco, later venerated as the supreme god within of the Inca Empire. He figures as the creator of the world, the sun and the moon. He is also credited with creating the substance from which all things originate or Kamaqen. According to the chronicles, Huiracocha "always was", however, after creating the world, "was born" from the depths of the Lake Titicaca on the shores of the island of the sun.

Viracocha created the universe, the sun, moon and stars, time (by commanding the sun to move across the sky) and civilization itself. Viracocha was worshiped as the god of the sun and storms. He was represented with the sun as a crown, with rays in his hands and tears that fell from his eyes in the form of rain. According to the Inca cosmogony, Viracocha can be assimilated to Saturn, the "old god", the maker of time or "deus faber" (god maker), corresponding to the visible planet with the longest revolution around the sun.

History

In Inca mythology, Huiracocha (in Quechua, Wiraqucha) was the invisible and abstract divinity that created the Andean worldview. He was considered the original splendor (in Quechua, Illa Teqse [5V]) or The Lord, Teacher of the World. It was actually the first divinity of the ancient Tiahuanacos, who came from Lake Titicaca. He arose from the waters, created heaven and earth. The cult of the creator god was a concept of the abstract and intellectual, and was intended for the nobility. This god or huaca is also apparently found in the iconography of the inhabitants of Caral, Chavín and Wari.

Huiracocha is considered the most outstanding among the Andean gods and his figure is the central figure of the Portada del Sol of Tiwanaku. It is possible that the great diffusion of it was due to the fact that the Catholic evangelizers were looking for a name to explain the concept of God to the indigenous people. In addition, they added other words to his name in order to emphasize his supreme quality, and in this way the name in Quechua of Apu Qun Tiksi Wiraqucha was formed.

He is believed to intervene in times of crisis but is also seen as a culture hero. The overlapping aspects of the higher pantheon consisting of Wiracocha, Punchao, Inti, and Illapa, could derive from a single entity of the god of the sky and the storm. Sometimes the aspects have enough differences to worship them in a separate way.

Cosmogony according to the Spanish chronicles

According to a myth recorded by Juan de Betanzos, Viracocha rose from Lake Titicaca (or sometimes from the Paqariq Tampu cave) during the time of darkness to bring light. He made the sun, the moon, and the stars. He made humanity by breathing on stones, but his first creation was brainless giants that he disliked. So, he destroyed them with a flood and made humans, beings that were better than giants, out of smaller stones. After creating them, he spread them all over the world.

Viracocha eventually disappeared across the Pacific Ocean (walking on water) and never returned. He roamed the earth disguised as a beggar, teaching his new creations the basics of civilization, as well as performing numerous miracles. Many, however, refused to follow his teachings, becoming warriors and criminals; Viracocha cried when he saw the plight of the creatures he had created, it was thought that Viracocha would reappear in times of trouble. Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa wrote that Viracocha was described as "a man of medium height, white and dressed in a white tunic like dawn cinched at the waist and carrying a cane and a book in his hands."

In a legend he had a son, Inti, and two daughters, Mama Killa and Pachamama. In this legend, she destroyed the people around Lake Titicaca with a Great Flood called Unu Pachakutiq, which lasted 60 days and 60 nights, saving two to bring civilization to the rest of the world. These two beings are Manco Cápac, son of Inti (sometimes taken as the son of Viracocha), whose name means "splendid foundation", and Mama Ocllo, which means "mother fertility". These two founded the Inca civilization carrying a golden staff, called 'tapac-yauri'. In another legend, he was the father of the first eight civilized humans. In some stories, he has a wife named Mama Qucha.

In another legend, Viracocha had two sons, Imahmana Viracocha and Tocapo Viracocha. After the Great Flood and Creation, Viracocha sent his sons to visit the northeast and northwest tribes to determine if they still obeyed his commandments. Viracocha traveled north. During his journey, Imaymana and Tocapo gave names to all the trees, flowers, fruits and herbs. They also taught the tribes which were edible, which had medicinal properties, and which were poisonous. Finally, Viracocha, Tocapo and Imahmana reached Cusco (in present-day Peru) and the Pacific coast, where they drifted away through the water until they disappeared. The word "Viracocha" literally means "sea foam".

Etymology

Apu Kon Teqse Wiraqocha.

The meaning of Wiracocha is still a matter of debate. However, the connotation of the full invocation of this deity is known. Apu Kon Illa Teqse Wiraqochan Pachayachacheq Pachakamaq (Apu Kon, "Great Lord"; Illa Teqse, frast. "eternal light"; Wirakocha, ¿?; Pachayachachiq, lit. &# 34;knowledge of the earth"; Pachakamaq, lit. "maker of the world").

They believed and said that the world, heaven and earth, the sun and moon were created by another greater than them. This was called ILLA TEQSE, which means LUZ ETERNA

Blas Valera Jiménez, Western History and History of the Incas

When the first chroniclers arrived in America, Spanish was in full evolution and its alphabet still lacked regulations. In such cases, the use of both the "v" as of the "u" to represent the vowel [u] and the semiconsonant [w], today represented as u or hu. For this reason it was transcribed by the Spanish as Viracocha, although some also wrote, Huiracocha and Wiracocha. Other versions were Ticci, Teqse or Tiksi.

According to Titu Cusi Yupanqui

The third of the Incas of Vilcabamba explains that "Wiracochan" is composed of two words "Wira" and "Qocha".

...analyzing the word Wira, it's fat and Wira is all she lives.

Titu Cusi Yupanqui, Instrucción del Inga don Diego de Castro Titu Cusi Yupangui1570 (p. 63).

...and qucha is lagoon and source.

Titu Cusi Yupanqui, Instrucción del Inga don Diego de Castro Titu Cusi Yupangui1570 (p. 64).

It should be noted that Titu Cusi always transcribes the name as "Wiraquchan", which has the "n" possessive in the third person and whose meaning is lit. "Your source of life".

Although Titu Cusi mentions him as Wiraquchan, he proclaims on countless occasions that this is not his name, since such Apu have no name. In this sense, Wiraqochan would be one more of the qualities of this Apu, whose complete invocation —translated phrastically into Spanish— is: "Great Lord, eternal splendor, source of life Kamaqen, knowledge and making of the world".

According to Sarmiento de Gamboa

According to the Spanish chronicler Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, Wiracocha means “fat or sea foam” because when the God left Lake Titicaca with his servants, they were walking on the water like foam. This supports the hypothesis that "Wiracocha" It results from the combination of wira and qucha. In Quechua, qucha is 'extension of water' while wira means "greasy, greasy".

Linguistic, historical, and archaeological data indicate that the term Wiraqucha corresponds to the Quechuanization of the Aymara term Wilaquta (from wila: blood and quta: lake), due to camelid sacrifices that were celebrated by Aymara-speaking pre-Inca societies around Titicaca. In such sacrifices the lake was stained with the blood of the sacrificed animals.

According to Alfredo Torero

Peruvian linguist Alfredo Torero argues that 'wira' is metathesis of 'wari' = Sun on cloth; on the other hand, 'qucha' It is lake in any variant of Quechua. So Wira qucha means "Sun of the lake".

Visions of Huiracocha

Image of the Huiracocha God at the Gate of the Sun of Tiahuanaco.

Several chronicles and myths describe Huiracocha as “the Maker,” a distant and powerful god, but others speak of the appearance of the “mythical hero” and his adventures and pilgrimages.

According to the chroniclers

Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa

In the history of the explorer and historian Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, there are several descriptions of the creation of the world by Wiracocha. In the beginning, there is one called Wiracocha Pachayachachic. After creating the dark world, giant men are born. When these giants rebel and disobey his orders, Wiracocha Pachayachachic turns them into stone and causes a giant flood that covers the earth. Some of the nations, besides Cuzco, say that some people survived. In the fable of the second age, Wiracocha Pachayachachic saves three people, one of whom is named Taguapácac, and takes his new servants to a lake in Collao and Titicaca Island. He creates the moon, the sun and the stars. When Taguapaca disobeys him, he is dragged to the bottom of the lake and transformed into a pillar of salt. Afterwards, the two servants took two different paths, one through the mountains to the southern sea and the other through the Andes. Wiracocha takes the path among his servants. As they walk, they populate the earth and create the Andean nations. When Wiracocha arrives in the Charcas region, the people there try to kill him. He causes a fire to fall from the sky and many die. Wiracocha puts out the fire with his stick and then the people worship him. Sarmiento de Gamboa also describes that there are other stories about the creation of Wiracocha. Another says that Wiracocha was created near Titicaca and then he made men and giants in his likeness to populate the earth. They all have the same mother tongue, but after a while they can't communicate. After creating the world and the people, Wiracocha continues his journey to perform miracles and instruct his servants.

Juan de Betanzos

The story of Juan de Betanzos is very similar to the myth of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa. Huiracocha emerges from Lake Titicaca and creates a race of man. But his creatures enrage him and so he turns them into stone. Then he creates the sun, the stars, and the moon. Again, he makes men and creates the various provinces of Peru. He forms different lineages of humanity and gives each group a different clothing, language, song, agricultural system, and religion. He sends some men to the mountains, the rivers, and the caves. He commands that two of the men take a specific route to populate the earth. They take the same path as the servants in the story of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa. Huiracocha takes the Camino Real that goes to the mountains, towards a region called Caxamalca. He finds a group of people who don't recognize him and so they try to kill him. Huiracocha causes fire to fall from the sky and therefore people are afraid of dying. He tells them that he is their God, the creator, and they begin to worship him. He continues his journey, arriving in Cusco and joining the two men he sent earlier. Together they disappear over the sea.

More information

The chroniclers point out that Tiqsi Wiracocha came from Tiahuanaco and created beings in his likeness. Some versions mention that he made the world; that on his pilgrimage he arrived at Cacha where its inhabitants tried to kill him: he knelt down, raised his hands to heaven and made a fire come down from on high that scorched the region. He then went on his way and came to the sea, where he met his servants and embarked with them.

According to the Andean vision

Huarochirí Manuscript

The identity of Huiracocha is combined with that of the god Cuniraya in the first chapter of the Huarochirí Manuscript. The addition of the name of Huiracocha to worship that idol shows that he was invoked and respected.

The following myth explains the exploits of Cuniraya Viracocha and the way in which he deceives the huaca Cavillaca: All the huacos desired her, but she had never slept with any of them. One day, Cuniraya Huiracocha transformed into a bird and planted her male germ in a fruit. Cavillaca ate the fruit and became pregnant without having had sexual intercourse. When she tried to identify the father of her son, Cuniraya Wiracocha appeared as a poor beggar and tried to get her son back. Cavillaca did not believe her and ran towards the sea, where she and her son became islands. Cuniraya Wiracocha tried to find her and asked various animals for help, but she was too late. Upon reaching the sea, she raped the youngest daughter of Pachacámac, another deity. When her mother tried to punish him, he ran away from her. Wandering the earth, Wiracocha is known to deceive men.

Guaman Poma de Ayala

In the work Nueva Corónica by Guamán Poma de Ayala, the name of Huiracocha appears as Uari Uircocha runa to refer to the first generation of indigenous people. The text states that "these Indian sayings were called Uari Uiracocha runa because they descended from the Spanish sayings." The tale connects the lineage of the indigenous people with the lineage of the Spanish because they all descended from Adam, Eve, and Noah. They worshiped God, the creator, and not idols, demons or huacas. Through time, people lost "the faith and hope of God and the letter and commandment of everything they lost", but the tale states that they had "an umbrella and light of knowledge from the creator and maker of the world". people who followed did not have a variation of "Huiracocha" as a part of their name.

More information

In ancient Cusco, great importance was given to being "the one who sent Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo to found a city". Over the years, the cult of this god was forgotten, and more importance was given to the Sun god (Inti), until the reign of Yáhuar Huácac ('[the one who] cries blood'), who ordered the construction of the temple of Wiracocha in the city of Cusco, since Sinchi Roca in his reign baptized akamama as qosqo (Cusco).

The arrival of the Spanish

Representation of Wiracocha in a Chancay vase, preserved at the Walters Museum of Art.

The first Spanish chroniclers of the 16th century did not mention any identification with Viracocha. The first to do so was Pedro Cieza de León two decades after the fall of the Inca Empire. Pedro Cieza de León describes Huiracocha as "a white man with a grown body". Similar accounts by Spanish chroniclers state that Huiracocha had the appearance of a European.

1. Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa recounts that Huiracocha “was a man of medium stature, white and clothed in a white garment as a clay girded by the body, and brought a staff and book into his hands.”
2. John of Betanzos describes him as “a tall man of body and who had a white garment that gave him up to the feet that he brought girded; and that he brought short hair and a crown made in the head as a priest... he brought in his hands a certain thing that seems to them today as these breviaries that the priests brought in their hands.”
3. Titu Cusi Yupanqui Inca describes the colorful beards of the Spaniards, the animals with silver horses, the written language, and the noise of their arks that connects them with the god of Thunder, Illapa. Then suppose they were sent by Ticsi Wiracocha. With the discovery that the Spaniards were mortal, Titu Cusi reveals that they were commanded by the devil.

Arguments supporting these claims include:

1. The Spaniards came from the sea, as Huiracocha and his servants left according to examples in mythology. Huiracocha has a maritime origin.
2. According to Fioravanti, the direction of the Spanish road, which begins at sea and goes from north to south, is the reverse of the direction that Huiracocha and his servants (or children in some versions) took.
3. According to Garcilaso de la Vega, Huiracocha Inca, the leader of the Inca people who had this title of Huiracocha as a symbol of his power and relationship with the most high god, gave a prophecy in which it was stated that one day the Incas would lose their “idolatry and its empire” to the hands of a people from a distant land.

Conversion to Christianity

The chronicles reveal that the evangelization process caused the stories about the identity of Huiracocha to vary:

1. Bartolomé de las Casas says Viracocha means “creator of all things”
2. Juan de Betanzos confirms this when he says that “Wiracocha means and we can have to say god”
3. Polo, Sarmiento, Blas Valera and José de Acosta also see Huiracocha as a creator
4. Guamán Poma, the indigenous chronist, believes that “Wiracocha” means “creator”

Some authors such as Garcilaso de la Vega, Juan de Betanzos, and Pedro de Quiroga reveal that Huiracocha was not the original name of "god" and show a perplexity before the meaning. According to Garcilaso, the name of God in general language from Peru it was "Pachacamac" and not Wiracocha. But Spanish interpreters attributed the identity of the supreme creator to Wiracocha during the first decades of colonization.

According to Antoinette Molinié Fioravanti, the Spanish called Huiracocha the “creator god” to “fight against the polytheism represented by the cult of the Huacas, the multiple local divinities that the extirpaters of idolatry attacked. In addition, the Andean belief in a supreme god served to demonstrate that the revelation of a unique and universal god was "natural" for the human condition."

Christian intellectuals, Saint Augustine and also Thomas Aquinas, held that philosophers of all nations had obtained a knowledge of the existence of a supreme God. But, the medieval philosopher from Europe believed that without the aid of Revelation, people cannot achieve a wisdom of greater truths such as "The Trinity".

According to César Itier, the decision to use “Dios” for “Huiracocha” represents the first step in the evangelization of the Inca. There are several arguments in favor of this strategy:

1. It was ineffective to explain the Spanish “God” because indigenous people did not understand the concept.
2. To name Huiracocha as “God” facilitated the substitution of the indigenous conception of divinity by the Christian conception.

But there are also reasons why others, such as the indigenous chroniclers Garcilaso de la Vega and Guamán Poma, emphasized the monotheistic culture of the Incas. According to Itier, the authors wanted to show that the knowledge of a creator god represents a "frustrated pre-Hispanic evangelization" that had taken steps to the knowledge of the Christian God and also that the philosopher kings such as Inca Pachacuti had found God from "natural philosophy".

Doctrine

In Tahuantinsuyo, the cult of Huiracocha was very restricted, since apart from the temple of Kisoar Kancha there were few sanctuaries dedicated to her honor and all were located in the Cusco area. His image was also found in the Coricancha, and according to the chroniclers there was a certain rivalry between the cult of Huiracocha and the cult of Inti, the sun god.

Huiracocha had a winged companion, the bird Inti, a kind of magician bird, aware of the present and the future, represented in oral myths as a caracara with a golden beak ( Qori Chuk). The almighty god is given the power to direct the construction of everything visible and invisible. He begins his work in the world of the ancients (ñawpa pacha) carving in the stone the figures of the first two human beings, of the first men and women who are going to be the foundations of the work of him These statues are placed by Huiracocha in the corresponding places and, as he names them, they animate and come to life in the darkness of the primordial world (ñaupa pacha), because the god has not yet been occupied. to give light to the Earth, only illuminated by the glow of the Tití, a wild and fiery puma that lives on top of the world, surely the jaguar that mixes with other animals in the totemic representations of the Inca Empire and previous pre-Inca cultures. This world here or Kay Pacha, is still in darkness because Huiracocha postpones all his work of building a complete world, until the birth of human beings who are going to enjoy it. Satisfied with the humans, the god continued his project, now putting in their place his children the Sun (Inti), the Moon (Mama Quilla), and the infinite stars, until covering the entire celestial vault with their lights. Later, Huiracocha heads north to, from there, call to his side the creatures that he has just endowed with a life of their own.

Upon leaving Tiahuanaco, Tiqsi Huiracocha had delegated the secondary tasks of creation to his two assistants, Tocapu Huiracocha and Imaymana Huiracocha, who immediately set out on the routes to the east and west of the Andes, stopping on their way through such long paths give life and name to all the plants and all the animals that they make appear on the face of the earth, in a beautiful auxiliary and complementary mission to the one carried out before by their god and lord Huiracocha, a mission that ends next to the shore of the sea, to later get royally lost in its waters, once the task ordered by the main creator god of the universe of the Incas and pre-Incas has been completed, apparently since the time of Caral. Due to this main icon of Inca mythology, in Quechua modern, especially in the central Andes, is a treatment of respect (like sir).

About it

• Wiraqocha. Mit. Rel. Supreme God of Inca mythology, represented by a character of white race, of beard luengas.
• Wiracocha IVAwiraqucha. God who worshiped the Indians; and from there, by divine thing, they called the Spanish children of that God.
• Wiraqucha the creator and civilizing god of the Andean world. Spanish who came to Peru, who received this name, for believing them emissaries of the main divinity.
• Huiracocha /wiraqucha/, term aculturado that designated the Spaniards. Huiracocha, the southern deity assimilated by the incas and/or Spanish to the other Andean cultural heroes, probably for purposes of spiritual subjugation (cf. Cuniraya Huiracocha).