CHAPTER X.
PERU.
Ques. What deities were worshipped by the ancient Peruvians?
Ans. Like most of the races inhabiting the American continent, the Peruvians believed in one Supreme God, immaterial and infinite. This sublime doctrine did not, however, lead to the practical results that might have been expected.
Ques. What name did the Peruvians give to this Supreme deity?
Ans. He was adored under the different names of Pachacamac and Viracocha. They raised no temples in his honor; that which stood near the present site of Lima, having been erected before the country came under the sway of the Incas. It seems probable, therefore, that the worship of this Great Spirit did not originate with the Peruvians. Their entire system of religion was directed to the adoration of the heavenly bodies. The Sun was adored as the father of the world, the source of light and life. The Moon was honored as his sister-wife, and the Stars were worshipped as her heavenly train. The planet known to us as Venus was an especial object of devotion. The Peruvians named it Chasca, or “the Youth with the long and curling locks;” they worshipped it as the page of the Sun, whom he attends in his rising and setting.
The Sun was honored also as the father of the royal Inca race; and, connected with this belief, we have one of the few legends worthy of note in the barren mythology of the Peruvians.
Ques. Relate this legend.
Ans. According to tradition, there was a time when the ancient races of the continent were plunged in the most complete barbarism: the will of the strongest was the only law; war was their pastime; they worshipped the vilest objects in nature, and feasted on the flesh of their slaughtered enemies. The Sun, the great parent of mankind, took compassion on their degraded state, and sent two of his children, Manco-Capac, and Mama Oello Huaco, to form men into regular communities, and teach them the arts of civilized life. The celestial pair advanced along the high plains in the neighborhood of Lake Titicaca, as far as the sixteenth degree of south latitude. They bore with them a golden wedge, and were directed to take up their abode wherever the sacred emblem should sink into the earth of its own accord. This prodigy took place in the valley of Cuzco, where the wedge sank into the ground, and disappeared forever. Here the children of the Sun entered upon their benevolent mission; Manco-Capac instructing the men in the arts of agriculture, while Mama Oello initiated the women into the mysteries of weaving and spinning. The rude, but simple-hearted natives were not slow to appreciate the benefits conferred by the messengers of heaven: a large community was gradually formed, and the city of Cuzco was founded in the valley. The monarchy thus formed, was governed by the Incas, who claimed descent from Manco-Capac and Mama Oello, and always styled themselves, Children of the Sun.
Ques. What was the origin of this legend?