Inca high priest

The Villaq Umu (from Quechua: Willaq Umu 'the one who has the word/advice''main priest'), was the high priest or chief priest of the Inca Empire, called Vila Oma by the Spanish. There is, however, some divergence among chroniclers about its nature and functions. Father Bernabé Cobo translates his name as the soothsayer who says, and Cristóbal de Molina & # 34;the Chilean & # 34; identifies him as the second person of the Inca and calls him a servant or slave of the Sun. Not to be confused with the villca uma (from Quechua: Willka Uma 'holy, sacred/head''Sacred Head'), his acting subordinates. The Sapa Inca sometimes exchanged roles and functions with the Willaq Umu, keeping the balance between hurin and hanan.

Attributes and functions

• He was a close relative of the Sapa Inca, either a brother or uncle of him, and he served until his death.
• He presided over the religious ceremonies dedicated to the Sun, clothed with the Hummingbird chucu or triangular shaped helmet. According to some testimonies, he contemplated the movements of the stars to decide the celebration of the holidays
• He supervised the religious organization of the Inca Empire, appointing its immediate subordinates, ten villcas or priests who resided in the main centers of worship that existed in the Empire, who at the same time had command over local priests,
• He had a very relevant political role in exercising as advisor to the Sapa Inca. In his absence, he replaced him as interim ruler. He was also the only person in the entire Empire with the power to crown the auqui (prince heir) as new Inca, when the predecessor died.
• One version states that he had a life of a lot of abstinence: he never ate meat, but herbs and roots, accompanied by corn bread; in his daily life he wore a common dress, plain, which reached him to the ankles, and on top a very long blanket, black, brown or purple; he could not be married or have a suspicious woman with him. He had colossal rents in all the provinces, but he only used what was necessary for his subsistence and the rest was destined to help the needy.
• Based on the assumption that the political system of the Inca Empire was either a dearchic or a dual one (or two rulers who held the command at once, belonging to the Hanan and Hurin Cuzco, respectively) and that the rulers of Hurin Cuzco dwell in the Temple of the Sun or Coricancha, Maria Rostworowski has raised the possibility that the high priest belonged to one of the Huracas.
• His death gave rise to a day of mourning.

Participation in the conquest

The most notable of the Inca high priests that history singles out, but whose name unfortunately has not been preserved, is the one who accompanied Manco Inca during the reconquest war against the Spanish invaders, between the years 1536 and 1540. It was called by the Spaniards Vila Oma, castilianizing what they believed to be a proper name.

This Willaq Umu was present at Manco Inca's coronation ceremony, and was not in favor of the young Inca allying with the Spanish to crush the Atahualpista generals, but in the end he accepted, hoping that once Once the imperial authority was consolidated, it would be easy to put an end to the invading foreigners, who were quick to demonstrate their malevolent entrails, thus confirming their fears. While Manco meticulously planned the uprising, the high priest was commissioned to accompany, along with Paullu Inca, Diego de Almagro's expedition to Chile, which ended in failure, possibly because the high priest was secretly ordering the rebellion where it will happen. In the middle of the desolate southern desert, he managed to flee from Almagro and appeared before Manco Inca in Cuzco, with whom he carried out the reconquest project, being named captain general of the imperial army.

He participated in the siege of the city of Cuzco, which was defended by a handful of Spaniards, Incas traitors to Manco Inca, and numerous indigenous allies (Chachapoyas, Cañaris, and others). After the loss of the Sacsayhuamán fortress, the siege of Cuzco loosened until Manco and his supporters withdrew towards Vilcabamba, which became a bastion of the Inca resistance. From there, the Inca organized new expeditions aimed at diminishing the enemy and reviving resistance in various regions; The Willaq Umu left for Contisuyo, that is, the region to the west of Cuzco, in the direction of the sea. All these expeditions were finally defeated by the Spanish, and the Willaq Umu is known to have capitulated around 1539; Captured with other Inca captains, such as Tisú Yupanqui, Taypi, Tanki Walpa and Urco Waranqa, he was executed with all of them in the Yucay Valley, at the beginning of 1540.