Religion and the Role of Human Sacrifice in Incan Culture

To me, The Incan life has always been a topic of fascination, in this blog we will explore more on their way of living with an emphasis on their religion and practice of Capacocha, human sacrifice. Why were children chosen as the ultimate form of sacrifice? What did the sacrifice symbolize and mean to their culture? In this blog let’s explore those ideas and values of the Inca empire. 

Origin

The Incan culture is believed to have originated from a system of beliefs and rites practiced in the Pre Incan times. There are many stories of their origin and often contradict each other. What is common in most stories is that Inca life started at Lake Titicaca. The story highlights the Creator god Wiraqocha Pachayachachic.The creator god is often called as Viracocha. The story talks about how Viracocha created humans in the form of giants to see if they would work well at that size; seeing that it wasn’t the case, he made humans his size. These humans were seen as greedy and arrogant, seeing this he turned them to stone, another form or they were taken away by the ocean. Later on, he summoned a flood to destroy all life leaving only three men who would reform life. The creator god has been believed to create the universe, sun, moon and the civilization itself. The creator then called people from every corner of the world before moving west and walking over the water. There are numerous versions of the origin of Inca culture and they are quite different from those from the Pre-Inca times. 

Religion

Moreover, the Incan’s were considered to be polytheists. Their religion was formed from a duality of the cosmos, which means that they considered the realms of the world as separate. The most significant of these realms was the upper house (Hanan pacha), it consisted of the deities of the sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning. ukhu pachaand urin pacha were the lower realms, they were the realms of the Pachamama (earth mother), heroes and ancestors of the Incan empire. Finally, kay pacha, it was the realm that was the outer world. It was the intermediary realm between Hanan pacha and urin pacha, humans resided in this realm. It was represented by the puma. 

The Incas followed asymmetrical dualism which meant that reality was built by two separate forces that needed each other to be complete. 

Wak’as or Huacas were considered to be revered objects or monuments spread all across the Incan empire, it was an entity that resided in natural and inanimate objects like mountains, streams, pottery and other sacred places. Spiritual leaders used wak’as to communicate for advice or help. 

Human sacrifice was another very important part of their religion. They usually sacrificed children or slaves. They believed it was an honour to die as an offering. It took place at several sites and most of the bodies preserved in cold and dry environments were excellently preserved. 

Apart from that, the Incan’s believed that deities were present in the three realms. Officially, they had nine deities. But, it is also fascinating to know that as the Inca empire grew and expanded they took local deities from places of conquest into account as well. Few inca families also worshipped the household or their local gods. The main deities include Viracocha, Inti, Lllapa, kon, Mamaquilla, Mama cocha, Pachamama, Huacas and stellar deities. 

Capacocha

One of the most important part of the Inca culture was Incan human sacrifice. It was known as Capacocha. It typically involved the sacrifice of human children. Children were selected from across the Inca empire for sacrifice in this ritual, these sacrifices were performed at the huacas. Capacocha ceremonies took place under various different situations such as natural calamities or key events in the life of the Sapa Inca( Incan emperor). They were performed in special events, festivals and processions at ceremonial sites. The reason that children were chosen for this was because they were the purest form of life, they also believed that they were sending humanities best to join the deities. 

Children selected for these ceremonies were from both sexes, they were given by the state in the form of a tribute on an yearly basis, it could be from anywhere in the empire. The children selected would have to be perfect in every sense, no freckles or blemishes, and males could be only till the age of ten while females till the age of sixteen. They believed these children in the afterlife would be representatives of the people. Often, the selected children were from wealthy and powerful families to gain political favour. It was considered a great honor for one’s child to be selected in this ceremony. 

The selection of victims could range from a year to a few months in prepared sacrifices or even within a few weeks for unprepared ones. 

Before the ceremony, the victims diet and lifestyle was completely changed. These changes lasted from the year before sacrifice to a couple of months. They started eating corn as it was considered to be a royal food. It was a symbol of nobility. Children drank small quantities of Chicha and coca leaves, though it was meant mostly for adults in order to sedate them for the ritual. They were given better quality protein through meat which was mostly reserved for the elites. After selection, these children were treated as holy beings or living gods. They were dressed in fine garments and ritual jewelry. Often, they were subject to purification through smoke, prayers, fasting and other methods. Their bodies were prepared with extreme care from grooming to being surrounded by sacred goods. They were emotionally prepared, and this is the reason Chicha and coca leaves were used, since they sedate fear. 

The capacocha sacrifice started in Cuzco by Pachacuti, the first Sapa Inca. During these festivities, type and quantity of offerings each shrine would get was decided, Incas maintained a clear record. The tributes were fed well, to ensure they were happy on reaching gods. The children were dressed well like nobility and paraded around the four statues that were worshipped in the Incan empire, after which, the Sapa Inca ordered the priest to make their sacrifice at the main wak'akuna. 

After the ceremony at Cuzco, the children went back to their communities. They did not follow the route they had used earlier, the route for their return was almost like a straight line that went from Cuzco to wak'akuna. It was a long and tedious journey, often taking a few months.

At the summit, the sacrifice was carried out in different ways. The four most common ways were strangulation, suffocation, blow on the head or being buried while alive but unconscious. If the ceremony was at a cold place, the victim could die from hypothermia. They were administered intoxicants before the ceremony to ensure that the final ritual went smoothly. 

The Ritual, its locations and meanings

The sacrifice had different meanings at different times. It could be a method to appease the gods in times of natural calamities, or for children to become the servants of god, or even after the death of an emperor to become his servants. They became guardians of the area they were sacrificed in. Families often volunteered for their children to be sacrificed. 

Its interesting to note that many of the ritual sites were in high altitude locations, especially on the Andes mountains. This was due to their religious and political function. They were viewed as places of origin or home to several mountain deities. Shrines on these mountains functioned as homage to the deities. Till date, many shrines have remains of the mummified children. Incan priests often visited these sites to check if the location maintained its power or lost it. 

The burial sites were prepared with lavish items such as miniature figures of gold, silver and other materials, food offerings, feather, shells, textiles, ceramic vessels - each offering had a meaning to the ritual. 

Examples

It is fascinating to understand more in this context by learning about the different sacrifices done. One very famous example is that of the Aconcagua child, a seven year old boy dating back to the year 1500. The mummy is well preserved due to the cold and dry weather conditions. The mummy was located in the piramide Mountain, southwest portion of the Aconcagua mountain. It was buried inside a semi circular structure. From the isotopic analysis of this mummy, we understand that before an year and a half of his death, the child mainly had a marine based diet. It was believed he was from the pacific region, given that ethnicity could not be identified. He was likely to have been executed by a blow on the head. 

The second and very popular example is that of la Doncella( the maiden), a fifteen year old female victim. She was left to die as an offering in the extreme cold. She was dressed in a ceremonial tunic with a hood and symbols of her new status. Her hair was braided and upon being found she had a huge leave of coca in her mouth. Isotopic analysis also showed that within the last six months of her sacrifice, her intake of coca had significantly increased. 

The final example to look at is that of Juanita the Ampato. She was discovered in 1995 on Mount Ampato. Her age was estimated to be twelve or fourteen years. Her body was well preserved and she died either from freezing or a blow. 

Conclusion

All in all, we can understand that religion and culture knit the inca culture together. It was a method of communication with the divine connecting different regions of the empire together. They believed they existed only because they gave something important in return. They were one empire, one people with connected lives.