Inca mythology was a system of beliefs and rites related to a way of life that evolved from pre-Inka times to the Inca Empire with the Sun as the Empire's God. The Inca's religion strived to be in harmony with nature, and they defied every aspect of their surroundings. Initially, Inca beliefs were simple; they only worshiped the Sun god, Inti, and the Earth goddess, Pachamama, to whom they offered rites and sacrifices. Some deities were known by different names in different provinces of the Inca Empire, but all of them were eventually unified to form the true Inca Pantheon of divinities. The Incas absorbed the myths and legends of the cultures they conquered as their empire grew. Although the Inca allowed their subjects to continue worshiping their own deities, they expected everyone in the Empire to participate in the state religion and worship the Inca Pantheon. They crafted their mythology to glorify their own culture and reinforce the notion that they were a Superior people destined to rule over others. Since the Incas had no written language at the time, they did not record their myths in writing. Instead, a group of storytellers recited these tales, which included both fact and myth, to prevent them from being lost to time. Let us travel to the Andes Mountains, home of the Inca civilization, and learn more about their extraordinary divine beings in this new chapter of Inca mythology.

Inti • Deity of the Sun:
Inti was the Sun and the supreme deity of the Inca Pantheon. In Inca mythology, according to popular belief, he is the son of Wirakacha, the Creator God of civilization. The Sun was so important in this religion that Manco Kapac, the Inca Empire's founder, began building his Empire by calling himself the Sun and instrument of the Sun, and laying the foundations of the temple for the worship of his father, whose riches gave it the name "Coricancha," the golden temple, or "Inticancha," the Temple of the Sun. Also known as "The Golden House" in Cusco, a temple or sanctuary to worship the Sun was built in each province or territory, and next to the Empire, there was a veritable army of priests tasked with the care and administration of these temples. The heads of the cult and all of the Empire's temples descended from the same family. Lower priests and servants were either nobility or common people. Inti was commonly depicted by the Incas as a golden disc with a human face, surrounded by sun rays and flames. Images of the deity were frequently made of gold, which was referred to as the "sweat of the Sun." Inti, as a solar deity, is closely associated with agriculture since the Sun, as a celestial body, provides the fields with the light and heat required to grow crops. Although Inti was generally a benevolent and generous deity, he was also capable of becoming extremely enraged, and solar eclipses were thought to be a manifestation of his anger.

Mama Pacha • Divinity of the Earth:
Pachamama, also known as Mamapacha in the Indigenous Quechua language, which translates to "Mother Earth" or "Mother Cosmos," is a South American deity who presides over planting and harvesting, embodies mountains, and causes earthquakes when she is disrespected. She is also an ever-present and self-sufficient deity with her own creative power to sustain life on Earth. Artists depict her as an adult female carrying crops of potatoes and coca leaves, and her sanctuaries are sacred rocks or the trunks of legendary trees. Pachamama is the primary source of the four Quechua cosmological principles, which are water, Earth, Sun, and the Moon. Pachamama is the mother of the Sandia, Tinti, and the Moon Divinity Mama Killa. It is also said that she is the wife of her son, Inti. Following the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the Conquistadors forced the natives to convert to Roman Catholicism. For many indigenous people, the figure of the Virgin Mary was associated with that of Pachamama due to religious syncretism. As Andean cultures shaped modern nations, the Pachamama figure remained revered as benevolent and generous with her gifts, as well as a local name for mother nature. Many indigenous South American peoples based their environmental worries on these old beliefs, claiming that issues develop when people take too much from nature. Pachamama is commonly translated as "Mother Earth," but a more literal translation would be "Mother of the World." In the Aymara and Quechua languages, she represents the Earth as a whole, not just the soil or the geological Earth or nature. She is an immediate and daily deity who acts by presence and with whom she converses, either asking for help or apologizing for some offense committed against the Earth and all that it provides us. She is not a Creator deity but rather a protector and provider. She shelters humans, makes life possible, and promotes fecundity and infertility.

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Supay • Deity of Death:
According to Inca mythology, Supay was the Supreme Lord of death and a powerful ruler of the underworld and of a race of Abyssal Warriors. The domains of this deity were located deep within the Earth, and his underworld was known as the inner world. As a result, Supay was the inventor of metals such as gold and silver, and he is still revered by traditional miners today. The worship of this deity has not been completely altered, and while there is some syncretism, the essence has been preserved. According to Inca mythology, the kingdom of Supay was located in the Yukupacha, one of the Three Kingdoms that divided the cosmos, the other two being the Uku Pacha and the Kay Pacha. When the Spanish invaders arrived, these kingdoms were divided into Catholic hell, Earth, and Heaven. Garcilazo de la Vega, son of a Spaniard and an Inca noblewoman, was born in the early days of the conquest and became well-known for his stories about Inca culture, people, and society. De la Vega compared the Yukupacha of Supay to hell, a place of pain and suffering. It was the lowest Earth where the corrupt and wicked were sent. To describe it more clearly, he gave it the name of "Supaywasan," which means "home of the devil." However, Yukupacha was not always regarded as a completely negative concept. The natives, unlike the Europeans, did not reject this deity or regard him as an enemy. They revered and worshiped him, and he did not harm them in return. Supay became the devil after the Spanish conquered the area, and the Catholic Church became the dominant religious power in Peru. Nonetheless, ancient Supay beliefs are still practiced today by small minority groups in Andean communities. Such practices include "ladia vlada," a popular dance in which dancers wear brightly colored costumes and masks with Andean demonic features as a reference to this deity.

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Mama Quilla • Divinity of the Moon:
In Inca mythology and religion, the third power and moon divinity was known as Mamakia, also known as the Mother Moon. She was the daughter of Virakacha and Mamakocha, the wife and sister of Inti, and the mother of Manco Capac, the legendary Inca Empire and culture's founder. She was a feminist as well as the divinity of marriage and the menstrual cycle, since they both had equal status. This divinity, represented by the moon, was the one who balanced the male might of the Sun, Inti. She represented everything feminine, was beautiful and intelligent, protected women and girls, and assisted in the delivery of babies. She is the firmament's mother, announcing harvest seasons and defending the entire feminine universe. One of the most significant myths concerns lunar eclipses. The Incas were terrified of eclipses because they believed they were caused by an animal, usually a puma or a snake, attacking the moon. If the moon was attacked and the animal succeeded, total darkness would devastate the entire world. To avoid this terrible evil, the Incas planned to confront the animal before it accomplished its goal. They used loud noises and objects such as rocks to scare the creature away. Another myth says that it was believed that Mamakia cried silver tears, so everything that was in her temples that resembled her was sculpted in silver, this being the material with which most of the graphic representations of the moon were created. She had her own temples that were tended by priestesses who were completely dedicated to spreading the knowledge of the Mother Moon. The most important temples of the moon were erected throughout the Inca territory, with the most important being in Cusco.

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Illapa • Deity of the Weather:
The deity of thunder, rain, and lightning was a prominent Inca deity in Inca mythology. After the Sun Divinity and the creation deity, Wiraqocha, who were the ancestors of the Inca Pantheon, Illapa was the most important Inca deity, since he is the one in charge of eliminating drought and enriching the land. Many cultures revered lightning and thunder as divine beings; for example, the deity "Coyolxauhqui" is revered in Aztec mythology, while the deity "Chaac" is revered in Maya mythology. Illapa was highly worshipped for his association with fertility, considering rain is the source of all life. He was portrayed as a brilliantly dressed man with a club and a sling, who could summon rain, hail, and thunder with the help of the sling, which represented thunder. He was a deity that people feared because of the potential harm his incarnations could cause since it was believed that this deity was in control of all weather phenomena. People attempted to avoid areas where lightning struck because they were thought to be evil and dangerous. In order to bring rain, human and animal sacrifices were made in his honor during times of drought. The Incas performed a number of rituals, one of which involved tying black dogs and not providing them with food or water for several days. When the animals cried out in pain, the Incas believed that the deity Illapa would be moved to compassion and send rain to provide them with water, thus preventing their deaths. He was honored with pilgrimages to gold-encrusted temples in the highest mountains, and when the drought persisted, human sacrifices were made in his honor. These Inca sacrifices were always accompanied by dances and celebrations in order to please the divinity and thus end the imposing drought that devastated the entire region.