Mom keel

Mama Quilla or Mamaquilla (from Quechua mama "mother" and killa & #34;luna", "Mother Moon") in Inca mythology and religion, she was the third power and the lunar goddess. She was the sister and wife of Inti, daughter of Viracocha and Mama Cocha, and mother of Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo, mythical founders of the Inca empire and culture. She was the goddess of marriage and the menstrual cycle, and considered a champion of women. She was also important to the Inca calendar.

This goddess, represented by the Moon, accompanied Inti in equal rank in the celestial court. She is the mother of the firmament, she marks the times of the harvests, she assumed the protection of the entire feminine universe.

Myths surrounding Mama Killa include that she cried silver tears and that lunar eclipses were caused when she was attacked by an animal. She was conceived in the form of a beautiful woman and her temples were tended by dedicated priestesses. The religious fervor of women was attached to the goddess Mama Quilla, who formed the nucleus of her faithful followers, since no one better than she could understand her desires and fears, and give them the protection sought. Silver was linked to the Moon, and in her temples there were objects made of that metal.

It is possible that the word quilla is a loanword from the Puquina language which explains why genetically unrelated languages such as Quechua, Aymara and Mapuche have similar words for the moon. They are not only linguistic, but also symbolic, since in Mapuche and Central Andean cosmology, the moon (Quilla/Cuyen) and the sun (Inti/Antu) are spouses.

Beliefs

Mama Quilla was known as "Mother Moon," and was the goddess of the moon. 34;admirable beauty" and the 'benefits she bestows upon the world' was important in calculating the passage of time and the calendar, because many rituals were based on the lunar calendar and adjusted to coincide with the solar year. She also supervised marriage, women's menstrual cycles, and was considered the protector of women in general and of the feminine world. In the tenth month of the Inca calendar Coya Raymi (September), she wore hold a celebration in her honor, a women's party.

Myths about Mama Quilla

She was the supreme goddess she created all the Incas. A fox fell in love with Mama Quilla because of her beauty, but when he rose into the sky, she held him close to her body, producing the patches. The Incas feared lunar eclipses as they believed that during the eclipse, an animal (possibly a cougar or snake) was attacking Mama Quilla. Consequently, people would try to scare the animal away by throwing weapons, gesturing, and making as much noise as possible. They believed that if the animal achieved its goal, then the world would be left in darkness. This tradition continued after the Incas were converted to Catholicism by the conquistadors, which the Spanish used to their advantage. The natives showed great respect for the Spanish when they discovered that they could predict when eclipses would occur. Mama Killa was also believed to weep silver tears.

Relationships

Mama Quilla was generally the third deity in the Inca pantheon, after Inti (sun god) and Illapa (thunder god), but some coastal communities, including the Chimú, considered her more important than Inti. Mama Quilla's relatives include her husband Inti, and their children Manco Cápac, the first ruler of the Incas, and Mama Ocllo, his sister and wife. After Ichma, nominal of the Chimú Empire, joined the Inca empire, he also she became the mother of their deity and oracle Pachacámac. Mama Killa's mother was said to be Mama Cocha and her father Viracocha.

Symbols and temples

Mama Quilla had her own temple in the empire's capital, Cusco, attended by priestesses. She was imagined as a woman and her images included a silver disk that covered an entire wall.