For a better understanding of the skymaps in any place on the planet, download the following freeware, created by the prestigious Patrick Chevalley: Cartes Du ciel.

Available in differents languages with wide documentation as support and imaging facilities. An excelent information source with skill to do sky maps

Portable Planetariums Home Company is proud introducing the Inca Constellations Cylinder. If well this cylinder does not include all the Inca Constellations that could have existed, it has the principal ones. The most important feature of Inca Astronomy was the study of the Milk Way and the "black clouds"( interstellar dark dust) . Almost the Andean Constellations are configured with such dark regions There are not at the moment Inca Constellations Maps. We believe it is a good contribution to the Andean Culture.

Our Mayan Constellations and Inca Constellations Cylinders are a very good starting point to study the Astronomy in these Pre Columbian Cultures.

Of course, we accept all the additional contributions and corrections that could happen to this first version. (write to: info@planetarios.com).

This english version is not so completed like the spanish version

Chacana (or Inca Cross, Chakana) is the three-stepped cross representing the southern cross and symbolising the three tiers of Inca life. The lower world, this world and the higher world. The three levels also represent the snake, puma and condor.

This however is but just but one connection to the Chakana.

This cross, the Chakana also employs a triangle with the ▒all seeing eye▓ at its center.

The Cruz Andean Square Cross as it is also known, then encircles this triangle with a white circle and encompassing both the circle and the

triangle is a red square.

All three are enclosed or overlapping I suspect a square cross.

Here follows the interpretation of the symbolism of the Chakana by Dionicio Atau Meza.

Quote:

The four arms represent the four suyo or states.

1/ Anitsuyo

2/ Contisuyo

3/ Chinchaysuyo

4/ Collasuyo

The red square represents the 4 natural elements. Water, air, earth and fire.

The white circle represents the eternity and the world.

The green triangle represents the three harmonized worlds.

1/ Hanan Pacha symbolized by the condor, it is the spiritual realm, it is the future

2/ Kay Pacha the puma; it is the physical or earthly realm, the present

3/ Uju Pacha the serpent; it is the mental or pscychological, your past

The small circle at the center of the Chakana represents the balance point or harmonization.

All these gathered elements mean that to arrive to a happiness in all sense, it is necessary to harmonize the three worlds using the four natural elements wisely we will arrive this way to be guided eternally by the Chakana.

Sounds like an abbreviated version of Christianity but not with the reincarnation part omitted.

Why would the church fear the concept of reincarnation?

Say goodbye to the ▒Power and the Glory▓.

But when we consider that the serpent or Uja Pacha represents perhaps our lower nature of past experience or the fall of a man recorded by HIStorical behaviors thus documented and the condor, Hanan Pacha represents our spiritual ascension therein lies our future, can we conclude the reconciliation of a division between past and future which is the present actually takes place in the physical earthly realm known as Kay Pacha.

It is where we take command of the power of the puma.

In other myths the various birds and various snakes and serpents combine to become winged serpents or dragons. Dragons and pumas reside at the small circle at the center of the Chakana representing the balance point or harmonization of the microcosmic individual.

The Yakana.

Yakana - Catachillay - LLama - extended crossing the Milky way dark zones. Since Scorpius until Southern Cross

Near of Dark zone of Austral triangle

Hantapu. The Toad

Between Southern Cross, Carina and Musca

There are 2: One in the Coal Sack near Southern Cross and the other near Scutum

Very Long Constelation. From Southern Cross to Canis Major

Near Scorpius and Sagitarius

In the dark zone of the Aquila Constellation

Kuntur - Condor - Superior Part of Scorpius

Collca - Corral - There are lot of them. The most importants, following the oral traditions are in: Tail of Scorpion, in the Hiadas and in the Pleiades.

Honda Incaica - Inca Sling - is a special case. It follow the stars of gemini, not dark zones

in Lyra Constellation

One source of the well-regulated order of the Inca empire was its calendar system. Based on a complex integration of solar, lunar, stellar and even biologycal cycles, the Inca calendar provided an orderly basis for all aspects of inca life. Agricultural and herding activities, the celebration of state and provincial rituals and the performance of public works for the Inca, well all coordinated with clockwork precision by calendar specialists in Cusco and in other administrative centers throughout the empire

The astronomibal knowledge of the Incas derived from regular, naked-eye observations of celestial events. Astronomical cycles were probably preserved on the knotted-string recording devices called quipus. The center for the collection, storage and interpretation of the astronomical information, and for the coordination of provincial calendars throughout the empire, was Cusco. Stone towers, or pillars (called sucanca), were set up at the appropiate places on the horizon around Cusco to mark the points of sunrise and sunset on the days of the solstices, the equinoxes and days when in Cusco the sun stood straight overhead, in the zenith, at noon (october 30 and february 13). Observations of moonrise and moonset at the horizon (solar) pillars, as well as the recording of the phases of the moon, combined with the solar observations to provide month-like units of time and an overall greater precision in the annual calendar.

The inca knowledge of the stars and constellations was as rich (and as complex) as that of any other ancient civilization. The morning and evening stars (venus) were recognized and named and were accorded a special room for their worship in the Coricancha. The principal stars and constallations of the incas were located within or near the Milky Way; the inca called this bright path of stars mayu ("river"). In Inca cosmology, the "river" of the sky had its earthly counterpart in the Urubamba river, along which are located Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Machupicchu. According to their vision, the two great rivers of the inca universe, the Milky Way and the Urubamba, were joined at the edge of the known universe in the waters of a great cosmic sea which encircled the earth. The Milky Way was thought to have its source in the cosmic sea, from which it took water into th sky. As the Milky Way passed through the sky at night, it deposited moisture in the sky which fell to the earth in the form of rain, replenishing the waters of the Urubamba river.

The Celestial Andes

The Incas recognized two major types of constellations along the Mayu, the celestial river. One type, similar to the constellation western Europe, traced familiar shapes in the sky by conceptually joining together neighboring bright stars. These constellations included such shapes and objects as bridges, storehouses, crosses, and animals. One of the most important constellations of the incas was the cluster of stars known to us as the Pleiades, in the constellation of centaurus. The pleiades were considered to be a "storehouse" (colca), and they were observed regularly to help determine the times of planting and harvesting the crops.

For example, the constellation which we know as scorpious was considered by the incas to represent a great serpent (the tail of scorpious) which was changing into a condor (the head of scorpius.)

The Inca empire probably surpassed Ming China and the Ottoman Empire as the largest nation on earth. Stretching down the Andean backbone of south American for more than 5,500 km, it was the larbest native state to arise in the western hemisphere, and the largest ever to develop south of the equator. Marvin Harris labels it the land of the Pharoahs of the Andes. The following is designed to guide you through some basic information on the Inca Empire. As you explore this Inca world, try to compare it with American civilization as it exists today. What is different and what is similar about the Inca state and how they politically economically structured their society? How do you feel about these differences and similarities? Are there some advantages in how Incan or American cultures operated or operate?

Time and space

Long ago people observed that changes in terrestrial conditions correlated with changes in celestial conditions and the movement of heavenly bodies. Western calendars have proceeded from the movement of close heavenly bodies, the sun in particular. Andean societies proceeded from a different starting point - the largest of heavenly bodies - the Milky Way. This celestial body is called Mayu, or 'celestial river', by Quechua speakers and its use in organizing time and space by a traditional community 25 km from Cuzco has been investigated by the ethnographer Gary Urton of Colgate University. To observe the Milky Way is to observe the course of galactic rotation. Urton notes that this provides a very encompassing way to organize change in celestial and terrestrial conditions. The plane of galactic rotation is noticeably inclined from the plane of the earth's rotation by 26 to 30 degrees. Observed from the southern hemisphere the vast star - stream not only divides the heavens, but also and more importantly pursues a wobbly course slanting left to right half the year, and right to left the other half. During the 24 hours that it crosses zenith, Mayu forms two intersecting, intercardinal axes (NE - SW and SE - NW). These great luminous axial lines create a grid for the entire celestial sphere, dividing it into four quarters, called sayu. All other astronomical phenomena can then be plotted and characterized by the quarters in which they occur or travel across.

This galactic systematization allows tracking not only of heavenly luminaries but also of great stellar voids. These voids, called 'dark clouds', are still thought of as animal constellations. They include an adult and a baby llama, a fox, a partridge, a toad, and a serpent. The movement of the dark cloud constellations across the sky is used to predict zoological cycles on earth and to time fauna related activity. The solstices of Mayu coincide with wet and dry seasons, and the celestial river is used to predict water cycles. To predict botanical cycles and schedule flora - related activity, celestial luminaries are employed. Solar movement is central to planning the agricultural cycle, but lunar phases dictate planting, and the Pleiades, other constellations and planets time crop development needs.

Systematizing astronomical observation on the basis of galactic rotation opens the orderly movements of multitudes of heavenly phenomena to potential correlations with multitudes of natural cycles. Keeping track of relevant corollary cycles is not difficult given the saw - tooth skyline of the Cordillera. All that is required are two fixed points. One is where the observer stands (today Urton has found that this point is some agreed - upon station in a community plaza); and the other is a fixed point on the horizon. Many mountain peaks are regularly employed as sighting references for the appearance and disappearance, zenith and antizenith, or equinoxes of relevant heavenly bodies.

Long ago it was realized that keeping track of corollary data was aided by spatial associations, such that a celestial cycle in one area of the night - time skyline corresponded with a terrestrial cycle in the same region of the daytime horizon. In so far as the heavenly landscape was divided into four quadrants' a parallel division of the terrestrial landscape into four aligned quadrants provided an efficient means of systematizing predictive knowledge. Today the settlement and land holdings of certain traditional Quechua ayllu are not simply divided into hanan and hurin moieties. Rather, from some point such as the center of the village plaza, there is a quadrapartite division of the community and of its territory that corresponds to and physically aligns with the four great suyu of Mayu. The very name Tahuantinsuyu implies that the Inca played out these principles on an imperial scale.

Responsibility for scheduling economic tasks probably led local karakas to develop calendars appropriate to local conditions which varied between one ayllu and another. Because karakas held this fundamental knowledge in their heads, the Inca and earlier Andean polities found it incumbent to rule through local lords. Larger parcialidades, senorios, kingdoms, and empires must have had more comprehensive systems for predicting natural cycles in different settings. In addition, although the quarters of the Milky Way structured the Inca cosmos, solar cycles also figured prominently in the calendrics of Cuzco where Inti, the sun, was venerated.

Curicancha-Intihuasi following to Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacutic Yamqui Salcamayhua Book: "Relaciуn de Antigьedades deste Reyno de Perъ", published in 1613.

Imperial heartland by Michael Mosley - The Incas and Their Ancestors

Thames and Hudson Publishing 1992. The capital of Tahuantinsuyu was not large because the Inca royal families were the only people who resided in the metropolis. The chronicler Cristobal de Molina says that when the Spanish

first entered the area Cuzco may have contained up to 40,000 souls, whereas some 200,000 resided within 10 to 12 leagues. Large numbers

of technical personnel, artisans, and other people who worked for the government, but were not Inca by birth, lived in suburban communities near the capital. Great labor was expended upon agrarian reclamation and transformation of the imperial heartland into a park-like landscape. Magnificent terraces sculpted the hillsides, which irrigation kept verdant and luxurious. Here the nobility had sumptuous estates, and hundreds of huacas and shrines graced the scenery.

Cuzco and its environs were the quintessence of Inca corporate construction and architecture. Only the finest stonework was used, employing precisely carved blocks that fitted together without the need of cement. There were two styles: one consisted of fine ashlars laid in even horizontal courses; the other was of bold polygonal blocks. Each multi-sided stone was a unique work laboriously cut to a special size and faceted shape that would fit the angles of adjoining blocks. The two styles of masonry were used for two different classes of structures: polygonal blocks for solid structures, such as terraces and platforms; and ashlar blocks for buildings with freestanding walls and open interior space, often surmounting solid structures. The doors, windows, and niches of Inca buildings were distinctly trapezoidal, being wider at the bottom than at the top. Roofs were gabled and of thatch. Typical of the Andes, roofed buildings were usually one-room structures. If two or more rooms shared a roof, they were treated as separate structures, each room having an outside entrance but no interior doorways between compartments. Covered buildings ranged from vast assembly halls, or kallana, to small rectangular quarters called masma and was'. The masma form was U-shaped with one side of the building left open. They were rare, but perpetuated an ancient tradition of erecting U-shaped ceremonial buildings.

The most common form of quarters was the one-room wasi, with a single entry. Wasi were the houses of people and the lodges of idols and gods. They were erected alone, in clusters, or in groups within large cancha - enclosures built of stone blocks. A principal door led to the open interior of the cancha where a number of wasi were grouped around patios and courts. People generally worked out of doors near their small dwellings, and the surrounding enclosure defined their private space. The cancha-wasi architectural pattern was an ancient one that still persists among llama and alpaca herders today.

Although Inca architecture and masonry drew on earlier traditions, the lords of Cuzco added their own corporate stamp, transforming their imperial heartland into a majestic parkland.

Navel of the universe

Cuzco was among the greatest wonders of the ancient New World. For the Inca it was literally the sacred center of the universe. Accordingly they lavished enormous resources on opulent construction and extravagant embellishment. From each of the distant four quarters of Tahuantinsuyu a great highway converged on the central plaza. The navel of the universe, the

capac usnu, was a multifaceted dais of finely hewn rock with a vertical pillar and a carved seat, which stood within the plaza. The jutting pillar was a celestial sighting point for tracking heavenly luminaries and dark constellations in the quarters of the universe. The sculpted seat was a stone throne where the emperor, the 'son of the sun', maintained terrestrial order. The lord of the realm ascended the dais to review processions, to toast the gods, and to placate the ancestors. Copious libations of chicha were poured into the 'gullet of the sun', a regal basin of stone sheathed in gold resting at the foot of the usnu. Nearby towered the tallest of all edifices, a grand spire of exquisite masonry that cast no noontime shadow at zenith. The coming of zenith was precisely foretold from a tower window by observing sunrise over a marked point on the distant horizon.

The center of the imperial universe was intimately connected to a marvelously complex cosmos that has long defied western decipherment. The organizing principles of Cuzco were largely misunderstood by the conquistadores who left but five short, eye-witness records of the capital before it was consumed by flames during the native rebellion of 1535. These accounts are often contradictory and scholars differ in their interpretations of them. The Spanish thought native rule was similar to the Castilian monarchy, and that the Inca crown passed from father to son in dynastic manner. They recorded a list of ten Inca emperors and considered it a ten-generation succession of rulers. In a monarchy the great hero Pachacuti would have been crowned in 1438 before retiring in 1471, when son Topa Inca inherited the reins of state. Yet, with its hanan and hurin divisions, Cuzco was clearly structured by principles of dual organization. Rather than monarchy, diarchy or dual rule prevailed: hanan Cuzco was no doubt headed by a lord similar to a karaka principale while a counterpart or segunda persona led the hurin moiety. Therefore the Spanish list of emperors is subject to several very different interpretations. One is that figures such as Pachacuti and Topa Inca were not father and son, but senior and junior co-regents. If this was the case, the king list spanned but five generations, and dynastic history is truncated and compressed. Another interpretation holds that the list is not of individuals, but of imperial offices that operated concurrently and were held by the heads of royal kin groups. Split between the hanan and hurin moieties, ten royal clans, or panaqa, resided at Cuzco. Therefore, what the Spanish construed as dynastic history is likely to have been little more than a fictional kinship charter, which allowed ten ayllu to form a ruling alliance.

Inca lore associates the transformation of Cuzco into a monumental capital with the name of Pachacuti. Although the name could designate either a ruler or an office of rule, the lore outlines a three-fold succession of events that seems historically plausible. First, the Inca consolidated their homeland. Second, they expanded into the Titicaca Basin. And third, their sacred city was remade in imperial corporate style. The time span of this sequence is debatable. Initial political consolidation probably spanned a number of generations. The Inca homeland did not have a tradition of fine stonework, and architects and masons were therefore probably drawn from conquests in the Titicaca region. Thus, the Inca corporate architectural style emerged only after a political base was in place to support it.

As the Rios Huantanay and Tullamayo converge, they frame the triangle occupied by Cuzco. The narrowest section of the city, between the elongated confluence of the two rivers, was known as the Pumachupan, or puma's tail. Some scholars argue that the imperial metropolis was designed and laid out in plan as a vast puma. Others deny this. What the Inca had in mind is not clear, but the outline of a great cat seen from the side can be imposed over the architectural tracery of the Inca city. The main plaza creates an open space between the uphill front quarters of the cat, and its rear legs and down-hill tail. Forming entire city blocks, vast cancha-wasi compounds of the royal panaqa occupied the upper hanan and lower hurin sectors. Each sector apparently contained a palace compound appropriate for dual rule.

The head of the cat was formed by the largest and highest edifices, called Sacsahuaman. Perched atop a high hill, one side of the complex ran along a cliff with a commanding view of the city. The opposite side of the hill was relatively low and encased by three successively higher zigzag terraces. Each wall employed the finest and most impressive of Inca polygonal masonry, including individual stone blocks weighing from 90 to more than IZO metric tons. In plan Sacsahuaman is suggestive of an elongated animal head topped by the great terraces. A marvelous complex of fine ashlar buildings crowned a flattened hill, including tall towers, and circular and rectangular structures. Excavations have revealed a complex system of finely cut stone channels and drains suggesting ritual manipulation of water. Cieza de Leon says that Pachacuti intended Sacsahuaman to be a temple that would surpass all other edifices in splendor. Garcilaso de la Vega relates that only royalty could enter the sacrosanct complex because it was a house of the sun, of arms and war, and a temple of prayer and sacrifice. Construction supposedly employed 30,000 workers who labored for several generations.

Cuzco's most extraordinary temple, the Coricancha, was located in the puma's tail. It was a grand cancha with a single entry, enclosing six wasi-like chambers arranged around a square courtyard. One chamber, richly bedecked with gold, was dedicated to the sun and held Inti's image; a second, clad in silver, belonged to the moon and held her image. Other structures contained images or symbols of Viracocha, Illapa the lord ofthunder, Cuichu the rainbow, and various celestial bodies. In addition to the Inca pantheon, the Coricancha also housed sacred objects from conquered provinces. In an attempt to integrate their heterogeneous empire and to promote symbolic integration, the Lords of Tahuantinsuyu required kings and karakas of subject populations to spend several months a year in the Cuzco area. A hallowed huaca from each population was also required to be in perpetual residence, although the objects in it could be changed annually.

The Inca and other Andean societies employed a radial organization of space. Thus the boundary lines of the four quarters of Tahuantinsuyu radiated out of the main plaza of Cuzco and four grand highways departed along intercardinal routes approximating the intercardinal axes of Mayu. Within the plaza the pillar of the usnu and the towering Sunturwasi were used to sight outward to distant horizons where mountains and shrines provided points for tracking heavenly movements. The Inca also erected distant masonry pillars and stone pylons to sight upon the sun and to predict planting times at different elevations.

The Coricancha was the sighting center for a remarkable system of radial organization. A sun dial is perhaps the nearest analogy, but the grand temple was more akin to the hub of a cosmic dial for tracking multitudes of celestial phenomena and correlating them with terrestrial phenomena. Radiating out of the Coricancha, 4T sighting lines, called ceques, stretched to the horizon or beyond. Along these rays, or adjacent to them some 328 huacas, pillars, and survey points were arranged in a hierarchical manner. Astronomer Tony Aveni of Colgate University notes that the 328 stations represent the days in 12 sidereal lunar months. Given the importance of irrigation, it is not coincidental that one-third of the ceque points comprised the major springs and water sources of the region.

The ethnohistorian Tom Zuidema of the University of Illinois suggests that the ceaues were grouped into upper and lower sets and into four quarters. The upper set was associated with hanan Cuzco, Chinchaysuyu and Antisuyu, the lower set with hurin Cuzco, Collasuyu and Cuntisuyu. Significantly, at least one dividing line separating the four quarters was related to the intercardinal Milky Way, and to the southernmost point of Mayu's movement. Each quarter was in turn subdivided into three parts by ceque lines, and each third was again divided by three more lines. Owing to terrestrial and celestial realities, the angles of arc between lines varied. Particular ceque lines and their huacas were associated with and administered by particular panaqa. In part the rays and huacas distinguished panaqa holdings, established responsibilities and defined daily through to annual activity schedules. Thus, various spatial and temporal reference points along the rays helped to organize land, water, labor, and the ritual activities and festive ceremonies that initiated and closed work cycles.

Inca mythology includes a number of stories and legends that are mythological and helps explain or symbolizes Inca beliefs.

The Christian priests that followed the Spanish conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro burned the records of the Inca culture, which had been kept on knotted cords called Khipus. (Khipus Information) There is currently a theory put forward by Gary Urton that the Khipus represented a binary system capable of recording phonological or logographic data. All information for what is known is based on what was 1. recorded by priests, 2. from the iconography on Incan pottery

and architecture, 3. and the myths and legends which survived amongst the native peoples.

Inca foundation legends

Manco Capac was the legendary founder of the Incan Dynasty in Peru and the Cuzco Dynasty at Cuzco. The legends and history surrounding this mythical figure are very jumbled, especially those concerning his rule at Cuzco and his birth/rising. In one legend, he was the son of Tici Viracocha. In another, he was brought up from the depths of Lake Titicaca by the sun god Inti. However, commoners were not allowed to speak the name of Viracocha, which is possibly an explanation for the need for two foundation legends rather than just the first.

There were also several myths about Manco Capac and his coming to power. In one myth, Manco Capac and his brother Pachacamac were sons of the sun god Inti. Manco Capac, himself, was worshiped as a fire and sun god. According to this Inti legend, Manco Capac and his siblings were sent up to the earth by the sun god and emerged from the cave of Pacaritambo carrying a golden staff called ▒tapac-yauri▓. They were instructed to create a Temple of the Sun in the spot where the staff sank into the earth to honor the sun god Inti, their father. To get to Cuzco, where they built the temple, they traveled via underground caves. During the journey, one of Manco▓s brothers, and possibly a sister, were turned to stone (huaca).

In another version of this legend, instead of emerging from a cave in Cuzco, the siblings emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca.

In the Tici Virachocha legend, Manco Capac was the son of Tici Viracocha of Pacari-Tampu, today known as Pacaritambo, which is 25 km south of Cuzco. He and his brothers (Ayar Anca,Ayar Cachi, and Ayar Uchu); and sisters (Mama Ocllo, Mama Huaco, Mama Raua, and Mama Cura) lived near Cuzco at Paccari-Tampu, and uniting their people and the ten ayllu they encountered in their travels to conquer the tribes of the Cuzco Valley. This legend also incorporates the golden staff, which is thought to have been given to Manco Capac by his father. Accounts vary, but according to some versions of the legend, the young Manco jealously betrayed his older brothers, killed them, and then became the sole ruler of Cuzco.

Deities

Like the Romans, the Inca permitted the cultures they integrated into their empire to keep their individual religions. Below are some of the various gods worshiped by the peoples of the Incan empire. Many of which have overlapping responsibilities and domains. Unless otherwise noted, it can safely be assumed these were worshipped by different ayllus or worshipped in particular former states.

Apo was a god of mountains

Apocatequil (aka Apotequil) was the god of lightning.

Ataguchu was a god who assisted in creation myth

Catequil was a god of thunder and lightning

Cavillace was a virgin goddess who ate a fruit, which was actually the sperm of Coniraya, the moon god. When she gave birth to a son, she demanded that the father step forward. No one did, so she put the baby on the ground and it crawled towards Coniraya. She was ashamed because of Coniraya's low stature among the gods, and ran to the coast of Peru, where she changed herself and her son into rocks.

Chasca was the goddess of dawn and twilight, and Venus. She protected virgin girls.

Chasca Coyllur was the goddess of flowers and young maidens.

Mama Coca (aka Cocomama) was a goddess of health and joy. She was originally a promiscuous woman who was cut in half by her many lovers. Her body grew into the first coca plant, the leaves of which men were only allowed to chew (to bring health and happiness) after having given a woman an orgasm.

Coniraya was the deity of the moon who fashioned his sperm into a fruit, which Cavillaca then ate. When she gave birth to a son, she demanded that the father step forward. No one did, so she put the baby on the ground and it crawled towards Coniraya. She was ashamed because of Coniraya's low stature among the gods, and ran to the coast of Peru, where she changed herself and her son into rock huacas.

Copacati was a lake goddess.

Ekkeko was a god of the hearth and wealth. The ancients made dolls that represented him and placed a miniature version of their desires onto the doll; this was believed to caused the user to receive what he desired.

Illapa ("thunder and lightning"; aka Apu Illapu, Ilyap'a, Katoylla) was a very popular weather god. His holiday was on July 25. He was said to keep the Milky Way in a jug and use it to create rain. He appeared as man in shining clothes, carrying a club and stones. He was formerly the main god of the Kingdom of Colla after which the Collasuyu province of the Inca empire was named.

Inti was the sun god. Source of warmth and light and a protector of the people. Inti was considered the most important god. The Inca Emperors were believed to be son's of the sun god.

Kon was the god of rain and wind that came from the south. He was a son of Inti and Mama Quilla.

Mama Allpa was a fertility goddess depicted with multiple breasts.

Mama Cocha ("sea mother") was the sea and fish goddess, protectress of sailors and fishermen. In one legend she mothered Inti and Mama Quilla with Viracocha.

Mama Pacha (aka Pachamama) was the wife of Pachacamac and a dragoness fertility deity who presided over planting and harvesting. She caused earthquakes.

Mama Quilla ("mother moon" or "golden mother") was a marriage, festival and moon goddess and daughter of Viracocha and

Mama Cocha, as well as wife and sister of Inti. She was the mother of Manco Capac, Pachacamac, Kon and Mama Ocllo.

Mama Zara ("grain mother", aka Zaramama) was the goddess of grain. She was associated with maize that grew in multiples or were similarly strange. These strange plants were sometimes dressed as dolls of Mama Zara. She was also associated with willow trees.

Pacha Camac ("Earth-maker") was a chthonic creator god, earlier worshiped by the Ichma but later adopted into the creation myth of the Inca.

Pariacaca was a god of water in pre-Inca mythology that was adopted by the Inca. He was a god of rainstorms and a creator-god. He was born a falcon but later became human.

Paricia was a god who sent a flood to kill humans who did not respect him adequately. Possibly another name for Pachacamac.

Supay was both the god of death and ruler of the Uca Pacha as well as a race of demons.

Urcaguary was the god of metals, jewels and other underground items of great value.

Important Facts

Mama Ocllo was the sister and wife of Manco Capac. She was thought to have taught the Inca the art of spinning.

Mamaconas were similar to nuns and lived in temple sanctuaries. They dedicated their lives to Inti, lived a life of chastity, and served the Inca and priests. Young girls of the nobility or of exceptional beauty were trained for four years as acllas and then had the option of becoming mamaconas or marrying Inca nobles. They are comparable to the Roman Vestal Virgins.

In one legend, Ono pacakoti was a great flood sent by Virachocha to destroy the giants that built Tiwanaku.

A Huaca was a sacred object such as a mountain or a mummy.

Important Places

Uca Pacha ("the lower world") was the underworld (similar to Hell or Hades), located in the center of Earth.

Hanan Pacha (higher world) was the Heavenly underworld. Only righteous people could enter it (much like Heaven), crossing a bridge made of hair.

The Wiphala (from the Aymara word meaning ⌠flag■) is a square shaped flag consisting of forty-nine small squares in a seven by seven grid, in the colors of the rainbow graduating from the brightest to the palest.

The flag is a symbol of the Aymara people, and recently, of the Aymara uprising in Bolivia. It has also become a symbol in the broader iconography of pro-indigenous movements in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The origin of the design is uncertain. It is attributed the ancient Tiwanaku state. However, despite the indigenous aesthetic

resonances of the unusual square pattern and multicolor geometry, it is most likely of modern origin. Although pre-Columbian towns of the Andes did not lack their own symbols (particularly those with a state tradition, like the Inca), the format of quadrilateral textile banner to wave in the wind is a tradition of the Old World.

Archaeological fragments from antiquity support the thesis that it may a ⌠rescued■ old symbol, as with the Chakana or Andean cross. It is possible that the modern origin of the Wiphala (without discarding the hypothesis of its Tiwanaku roots) is related to the design of modern flag of the Cusco (rectangular with seven horizontal strips with the colors of rainbow), which many claim to be a flag of the Incas.

Rainbow patterns were used in several symbols of the Tiwanaku state, but it is not documented in the form of a flag ≈ while other formats of indigenous state symbols have been found.

However, Aymara textile read as a symbol is not completely unheard of. In 1534, during the Spanish invasion and occupation of Cuzcu, the Spaniards found among the resistance a multitude of objects similar to the striped flag and and other iconography with the of seven colors of the rainbow. The Wiphala was banned, considered politically subversive by the governing elite.

The great explosion in the use of the Wiphala coincides with the rural mobilizations and indigenous movements in Bolivia in the 1970▓s. It has since become a recognizable Amerindian symbol in the political struggles of the indigenous nations of the American continent. In Bolivia, the Wiphala is visible in all kinds of public demonstrations, political actions, and civil resistance by the Aymara and Quechua population.

Civic use of the Wiphala in the daily life of indigenous communities has also grown enormously. It has become an Andean custom to hoist the flag at social and cultural events, ceremonies, and celebrations.