Table of Contents

Page

Title

1
2
3

Introduction
Incan Gods
Sacred Items and Incan Art

4
5

Incan Sacrifice
Conclusion

6
7

The Religion Quiz

Glossary

Work sited

The Religion of the Incas

(Intro)

Even though there are already many different religions, the

Incan civilization had one of their own. To start, the Incas believed in
multiple gods. Their gods watched over them. Then, in order to prove
how much they loved them, the Incas sacrificed young children and
different animals to appease their gods. Finally, art and sacred places
had a spot in the Incan religion. Clearly, the Incan civilization believed
in more than one god, sacrificed for reasonable beliefs, and art was a
piece of the Incas religion.

Incan Gods- By Hannah Bernard

The Incan civilization believed in multiple gods,
including Inti, Viracocha, Mamaquilla, and many other
deities. Furthermore, Viracocha was the father god.
Viracocha was the creator of everything, from earth to
the stars. He made all the lower deities, gods, and made
people out of clay. Also, Viracocha was believed to have
the form of an eternal man. Then, even though Inti was a
lesser god then Viracocha, he was considered a more
popular god. Inti was the god of the sun and agriculture.
He played a significant part in growing the crops and
animals for the Inca, and the Incas held an annual festival
in his honor. In fact, Inti was believed to be the son of Viracocha.
Equally important, the moon goddess Mamaquilla was Intis wife. Though
not greatly worshipped like her husband, Mamaquilla was the goddess
of the moon, Incan calendar, and the festivals held through the year.
Finally, Illapa, the weather god, was also one of the more important
deities. Illapa, like Inti, helped grow crops and animals to feed the
Incas. These two gods worked together in the Incan eyes. To conclude,
the Incas worshipped Viracocha, Illapa, Mamaquilla, Inti, and many
other gods.
Polytheistic- to believe in multiple gods

Picture by: myths-legends-folklore.blogspot.com

Fun facts:

1. The Incas were Polytheistic; they believed in multiple gods.

2. Inti is represented by a gold disk, while his wife is represented by
a silver disk.
3. The Incas worshipped a plethora of gods

Incan art
All Inca had the same ways of worshiping their
gods through art. At the time, Inca would use totem
poles and various types of sculptures to resemble their
gods. For example Inti, (the sun god) was resembled by a
golden disc carved from gold mined from the ground. Also, Inca had
different types of materials to create their art from. In fact, the
Inca used wood stone and vegetation to make art. All of the Inca art
supplies would be dug up or cut down. Artists would be able to make
jewelry and sculptures with these materials. A side from the emperor,
the artists were of great respect. In the end, artists had a large task
making art and praising their gods.

Fun facts:
1. At the time Inca would use totem poles and various types of
sculptures to resemble their gods.
2. The Inca used wood stone and vegetation to make art.
3. . Aside from the emperor the artists were of great respect.

Although the Incas loved their family

time, religion often got in the way. Of all the
religions in the world, the Incas had their own
that consisted of sacrifice that would be
beneficial the gods that they believed in. The
most common way to show the loyalty to the
gods was to kill animals and humans in their tribe. The most common
definitions of sacrificing is to give a soul to the gods; the most common
soul was Incan children or lamas, the gift, or sacrifice, is to support
to wellbeing of the nation. By The Secrets Of Incan Sacrifice. (Incan
child sacrifice. Tripod. October 2, 2014. (mathwiz2001. Tripod.com).
The Ice mummy Juanita.
How the sacrifices were killed
The most common of sacrifices were children from the ages of 6
to 15. Once the child was chosen they parties would begin, every
Incan would celebrate except of the family of the sacrifice and the
child. After the celebration was over the child was dragged up the
mountain he was either left to die, hanged, or hit on the head, and
also integrated drugs that killed them. In 1954 Johan Rienhard
found a very important discovery atop the peaks of the Andies. He
later named the Incan ice mummy Juanita. This website was
produced for PBS Online by WGBH, Nova ice mummies PBS.com. By
Liesl Clark. Posted 11.24.98 October 8, 2014. Thanks to the hard work of
Johan Rienhard, we know more about this ancient culture of the
Incas!

Fun Facts:
1. The Incans mostly sacrificed children.
2. The second most common sacrifice was a lama
3. The Incans sustain on these sacrefices.

The Religion of the Incas (Conclusion)

In the end, this world has many religions, but the Incan
civilization had one all their own. The Incas had many gods, and their
gods watched over them. Then, to show their respect, the Incas would
sacrifice young children and different animals to their gods. Finally,
the Inca created art and sacred grounds for their gods. Clearly, the
Inca civilization had many gods, sacrificed with a purpose, and art that
was a big part of their religion.

INCAN QUIZ
1. What do the Incas use to calm the sacrifices?

2. How are the sacrifices killed?

3. Where was Juanita found?
4. Who discovered her?
5. How did they find her?
6. Why did they sacrifice?
7. What was one of the Gods name?
8. How are the Incans culture different from ours?
9. What do the Incans use to hunt animals?

Glossary
Beneficial- favorable or advantageous; resulting in good
Sustain- strengthen or support physically or mentally.

Integrate- combine (one thing) with another so that they become a

whole.
Plethora- a large or excessive amount of (something).
Significant- sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention;
noteworthy.
Polytheistic- The belief in more than one god.

Work cited
1. The Secrets Of Incan Sacrifice. (Incan child sacrifice. Tripod. October 2,
2014. (mathwiz2001. Tripod.com).
2. PBS Online by WGBH, Nova ice mummies PBS.com. By Liesl Clark. Posted
11.24.98 October 8, 2014.

3. myths-legends-folklore.blogspot.com
4. Incan gods &the gods of Incan mythology (