Inca creation mythology

The Inca's creation legends concern the origin of the royal line and how Cuzco was settled. Different narratives give different versions of the creation myth, but the main legend described Manqo Qhapaq and his kin emerging from the House of Windows in ancient times.

The Legend of Pacariqtambo

At the Inn of Dawn, Pacariqtambo, there was a cave called Tampu T'oqo, the House of Windows. There, the creator God Viracocha summoned four brothers and four sisters who were to become the first of the Inca from Qhapaq T'oqo, the Rich Window. At the same time, the Maras and Tambos peoples were called forth from adjoining caves, and the eight Inca ancestors were paired off, with husband preceding wife as they emerged from the caves.

The Incas searched for fertile lands to settle, and the principal couple, Manqo Qhapaq and his wife Mama Oqllu, found an ally with the Tambos who they grouped into two sets of five ayllu. During their search, Mama Oqllu gave birth to Zinchi Roq'a, the future second ruler of the Inca. A troublesome brother called Ayar Kachi quarelled with people they met on the road so his siblings tricked him into re-entering the origin cave, and sealed him back inside forever.

Eventually the wandering company found a bountiful valley, with a rainbow above signalling this was their promised land. As the Inca entered Cuzco, another of the brothers, named Ayar Awka, turned himself into a stone pillar to mark the Incas' claim upon the land. The indigenous Guayllas people were rooted out of the valley, and the Inca built the first house of the Sun at Indicancha.

The narratives then continue to describe the early life and times of the first Inca rulers.

The shrine at Puma Orqo

Anthropological archaeologist Brian Bauer studied the remains of two sites in the Paruro region, south of Cuzco, where imperial Inca components fit elements of the Pacariqtambo legend. At the stone outcrop of Puma Orqo, "Puma Mountain", several boulders form a cave, and the summit boasts Inca-era carvings of horizontal planes along with two puma figures. Nearby Maukallaqta, "Old City", contains more than 200 finely constructed inperial-style structures, including excellent examples of Inca stonemasonry. Excavations at Maukallaqta recovered Wari-era and imperial Inca materials, such as a human skeleton, a gold llama, a silver tumi knife and two silver tupu pins. Bauer infers the construction at this location enshrined the earliest Inca wak'a, bonding royal history to the land.

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