"Return to New Life - The Face and Spirit of Latin American Culture"

Author: Wang Songxia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features:
1. The Legend of the Sun God and the Establishment of Cusco
"Inca" in ancient Indian language means "son of the sun." The Incas claimed to be descendants of the sun, and the origins of the Inca Empire were intricately linked with the legend of the sun god. In Inca mythology, Lake Titicaca, the world's highest freshwater lake located in present-day Peru within the towering Andes Mountains, was said to be formed by the tears of the sun god. These tears were shed in grief over the loss of his child. Later, the sun god created a man and a woman on the sun island in the lake—his son Manco Capac and his daughter Mama Ocllo—and made them husband and wife. Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo had children, and their descendants became the Inca people. To ensure the happiness of the Incas living around the lake, the sun god ordered Manco Capac to teach the Inca men how to fish and hunt, while Mama Ocllo taught the women how to weave rafts and textiles. One day, the sun god instructed his children to take the new race he had created to another place with great potential for development. Following his father's command, they carried a golden staff and kept walking until the staff sank into the ground and disappeared. They settled there, and this place became the fertile Andean valley of Cusco. The Incas established the city of Cusco as the capital of their empire. Cusco was divided into 12 districts, with a large plaza at its center, where religious ceremonies and festive celebrations were held. The main buildings of the city, such as the "Royal Palace," the Temple of the Sun, the Convent of the Sun Virgins, and noble residences, were all concentrated in one district. The area was surrounded by rivers and offered beautiful scenery. The Temple of the Sun was a magnificent structure adorned with gold and precious stones. It was said that the temple was dazzlingly golden, with walls inlaid with gold and silver plates. One of the temple's gardens was called the "Golden Garden" because all the plants, flowers, and birds in it were made of gold and silver. Due to the luxurious and opulent nature of the Inca capital, the Spanish colonizers called it "a treasure trove of gold." To express their gratitude and reverence for the sun god, the Incas made worship of the sun their faith and expressed this devotion through architecture, as well as painting and sculpture. The Incas believed that the sun god was the creator of all things and that the Incas were his descendants. To show their reverence for the sun god, the Incas not only built the Temple of the Sun and the Sun Gate but also held grand festivals and performed sacred child sacrifices to demonstrate their devout worship and prayers to the sun god. The Inca child sacrifice referred to the selection of noble boys and girls by Inca priests and worshipers to be offered to the gods, serving as messengers between the human world and the divine realm. The Incas believed that sacrificing children to the sun god would ensure favorable weather and bountiful harvests for the year.