SYLLABUS DOT POINTS INFO FROM THE VIDEO

Beliefs about the origins of the universe
Before anything was created all that existed was a being called Viracocha Pachacamac,
which translates to Creator Of All Things.
Created a world without sun, stars or the moon and everything was dark.
He then created giant beings as well as humans made out of clay and gave them the
specific rules that there shall be no quarrelling on the earth.

Principal Beliefs Believed heavily in the afterlife and they cared alot for the dead whom they had
mummified and had placed into tombs.
Believed heavily in the afterlife and they cared alot for the dead whom they had
mummified and had placed into tombs.
The Incas would often sacrifice children to the gods. Children were considered to be pure
beings and their sacrifice would pay homage to the gods and grant eternal life for spirits
in the divinity.

Deities/Supernatural Powers
Viracocha was considered to be the creator of all things and the universe. He is greatly
associated with the sea and was said to have created the universe, sun, moon, stars and
civilization itself.
Mama Cocha was the sea and fish goddess and legend has it that she was the wife of
'The Creator' Viracocha.
Inti was considered the second most important god in Inca religion, only Viracocha was
considered more important than Inti. It was believed that he was also the sun of
Viracocha and Mama Cocha.
Mama Quilla was considered to be the wife/sister of Inti.
The incas also relied on Illapa as he was believed to have controlled the rain which is an
essential part of making crops grow.

Rituals In Inca culture the act of cannibalism was always ritualistic. It is to sacrifice, warfare,
death and regeneration. It was believed that by consuming a person you would inherit
 their power, accomplishments and skills of the dead person.
The 'Capac Raymi' served as an initiation ceremony for the young men of the ruling class
Capacocha was the most prominent sacrificial ceremony that took place in Inca socitey.It
would involve the specific selection of mainly children who would be selected from all
parts of the Inca empire in order to be trained and prepared for the ritual.

Sacred Spaces The Inca built various different temples and stone structures that mostly reflected their
culture. Their respect of the sun god 'Inti' is reflected by the various different temples they
built all over the empire.
Inti's influence on the Inca people is greatly reflected in the Coricancha temple which was
housed over 4,000 priests and was where the main astronomical observatory.
Inside the floors and the walls were lined with gold and in it was a large sun disk which
reflected the Sun throughout the whole temple.

Role of religion in the society
The Inca rulers had a great influence on their society and their customs and beliefs
carried on all throughout the Incas reign.
As the Inca hierarchy believed that they were descendants of the sun god Inti the Inca
people held the hierarchy in very high esteem and this is shown through the fact that the
Inca people adopted all the customs and beliefs this hierarchy laid down.

Search for meaning The Incas believed that life was to be cherished and enjoyed, and that their deities and
huacas were to be worshipped in order for this virtuous life to be fulfilled.