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The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire (Quechua: Tawantinsuyu), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century.
From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia.
List of deities
- Viracocha (also Pachacamac), created all living things
- Apu Illapu, rain god, prayed to when they need rain
- Ayar Cachi, hot-tempered god, causes earthquakes
- Illapa, goddess of lightning and thunder (also Yakumama water goddess)
- Inti, sun god and patron deity of the holy city of Cuzco (home of the sun)
- Kuychi, rainbow god, connected with fertility
- Mama Kilya, wife of Inti, called Moon Mother
- Mama Occlo, wisdom to civilize the people, taught women to weave cloth, and build houses
- Manco Cápac, known for his courage and sent to earth to become first king of the Incas, taught people how to grow plants, make weapons, work together, share resources, and worship the gods
- Pachamama, goddess of earth and wife of Viracocha, people give her offerings of coca leafs and beer and pray to her for major agricultural occasions
- Qochamama, goddess of the sea
- Sachamama, means Mother Tree, goddess in the shape of a snake with two heads
- Yakumama, means mother Water, represented as a snake, when she came to earth she transformed into a great river (also Illapa)
Notable individuals
See: Inca Empire Project Profiles.