Inti

Lore & Background

Inti and his sister, Mama Quilla, the Moon goddess, were generally considered benevolent deities. She conceived and bore him two children. Their court is served by the Rainbow, the Pleiades, Venus, and others. Manco Cápac, the founding Inca ancestor, was thought to have been the son of Inti. According to myth, Inti taught Manco Cápac and his daughter Mama Ocllo the arts of civilization. However, another legend identifies Manco Cápac as the son of Viracocha. In a different myth, Inti is the son of the Earth goddess Pachamama and the sky god, and also becomes the second husband of Pachamama. Inti ordered his children to build the Inca capital where a divine golden bar or wedge they carried with them penetrated the earth, which Incas believed happened in the city of Cusco. The Inca ruler was considered to be the living representative of Inti. Pachacuti is often linked to the origin and expansion of the Inca Sun Cult.

Reader's Guide

Inti's significance lies in his central role as the patron deity of the Inca Empire, with the Inca ruler considered his living representative. The worship of Inti and the rise of the Inti cult are considered exploitations of religion for political purposes, since the Inca king was increasingly identified with the sun god, growing into a form of divine patronage. The Inca dedicated many ceremonies to the Sun to ensure the Sapa Inca's welfare, and the sun was important for crop production and thought to cause rain. Each conquered province dedicated a third of their lands and herds to Inti, and major provinces had Sun Temples served by priests and priestesses. The chief temple was the Qurikancha in Cusco, where statues of Inti included a hollowed midsection filled with gold dust and ashes of Inca kings' hearts. The festival of Inti Raymi honored the sun god, originally meant to celebrate the start of a new planting season, and was held during the Southern Hemisphere's winter solstice. Inti's identity is divided into three primary subcomplexes: Apu Inti (supreme Inti), Churi Inti (son Inti), and Inti Wawqi (Sun brother), corresponding to diurnal stages of the sun. Spanish conquistadors captured a great golden disk representing Inti in 1571, which has since been lost.

Did You Know?

• The word 'inti' is a loanword from Puquina, not of Quechua origin.
• Inti's identity is divided into three subcomplexes: Apu Inti, Churi Inti, and Inti Wawqi.
• The chief temple of the Inca state religion was the Qurikancha in Cusco.
• Spanish conquistadors captured a great golden disk representing Inti in 1571, which has since been lost.