Inca Religion

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Religion and Spirituality of the Inca Civilization Religion and spiritualities are some of the most important social aspects of any society. The Inca community's civilization is believed to have originated from highlands of Peru at the beginning of the thirteenth century. This discussion gives a detailed explanation of the spirituality of the people of the Inca society as well as their religion. The early Spanish colonialists recorded the Inca myths that were initially oral tradition (Beversluis, 2011). There were several polytheist religions among the different people of the heterogeneous Inca Empire. The majority of the religions had similar qualities, for example, the existence of Viracocha and Pachamama (Jenkins, 2015). The religion of…show more content…
The realms had separations that included the lower and upper realms, the Ukhu Pacha and Hanan Pacha and Hurin Pacha. The upper world, Hanan Pacha (Kolata, 2013), comprised of the deities of the moon, sun, stars, lightning, and rainbow while Hurin Pacha and Ukhu Pacha were the realms of the mother of the earth, and the heroes and the ancestors of the Inca and other ayllus. The Inca believed that the intermediary between Ukhu Pacha and Hanan Pacha was Kay Pacha, who was the realm of the outer earth, a place where humans lived. The realms were represented by the snake that signified the inner earth, puma (outer earth) and the condor (the upper…show more content…
Archeological evidence that have been established on outlying mountain crests has recognized that the practice of burying offerings was similar among the Incan people and that sacrifices of human beings also occurred at many of the locations. The arid and frosty surroundings of the Andes Mountains yields a perfect preservation of bodies and other materials that are revealing details regarding the rituals that were performed during these traditional complexes (Jenkins, 2015). There was a widespread use of divination by the Incas (Kolata, 2013). The diviners would predict battle outcomes, inform the city dwellers of the social events, and request metaphysical intervention. The deep belief in religion made the Incas very fearful that evil would befall anytime (Beversluis, 2011). Sorcerers served as protectors of the people from the spirit and therefore, they held high positions in the society. The Incas believed in reincarnation as well as saving their nail clippings and cutting their hair and teeth in case they were required by the returning spirits (Kolata,
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