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Peruvian Religion

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In the earliest times the inhabitants of the kingdom of Peru, which Manco Capac, the first Inca, ruled, seem to have been believers in the coarsest fetichism. They only had one supreme deity, the mother of all, Mama Kocha, in honor of whom wild animals, plants, and prisoners of war were sacrificed. The devouring of fallen or sacrificed enemies was a sacred custom of the Peruvians. A great flood had overflowed the country, and after this Manco Capac, and his wife, Mama Oello, children of the sun, came from a foreign country to the shores of the sea Titicaca, where they built the city of Cuzco, collected the remaining people, and gave them laws and sacred teachings, which were carefully preserved until the arrival of the Spaniards. The supreme being of the later Peruvians was called Pachacamac, who was the creator of all beings, also of the sun; the latter was his only visible representative on earth, and was therefore divinely worshipped; but the god himself was exalted above the sacrifices of mortals. The moon and stars also had temples, like the sun, but of less splendor, inasmuch as all that was of gold in the temples of the sun was made of silver in those of the moon and stars. There were male and female priests: of the latter, the maidens of the sun were of two kinds; the higher, from the Inca family, dedicated their whole lives to the service of the sun, and there were more than fifteen hundred of these in convents. If unfaithful, they and their whole family were to be exterminated, according to the law known as "hard law." But in the entire history of Peru not an instance of this occurs. The second class of servants of the sun did not live in the capital, Cuzco, but in the provinces of the kingdom, and were chosen from all classes. The conditions of reception were beauty and purity. When the cruel Pizarro came to Peru, the immense riches were carried off by the Spaniards, and the beautiful daughters of the Incas, the virtuous sunmaidens, became a prey to the insolent warriors.