Legends

 

There are two Incan Creation legends. There is not a lot of information available, because of the Spanish conquest, many of the registers were destroyed. Legends were passed orally, so therefor there are many different versions, yet there are two versions that are the most popular and have not changed. Information was taken from the oral stories, architecture, artifacts, etc.

 

Inti, the son god, had a son named Manco Capac. His sister was Mamá Ocllo, and later the two would marry and start the true line of "Incas." Depending on the version, they either appeared out of a cave with a golden staff, or out of lake Titicaca. Manco Capac was told that wherever the golden staff sunk into the ground, that would be the place that the civilization of the Incas would be, the two would contruct and begin the civilization. The place where the staff landed was called Cuzco.

The next version Manco Capac is the son of Viracocha, the god that created the heavens and the earth. Viracocha sent Manco Capac along with his four brothers and four sisters to earth with a golden staff. Manco Capac killed all of his brothers and all except one of his siters, Mamá Ocllo. The staff led them to a place on earth, sunk into the ground, and that is where they constructed the Incan civilization of Cuzco.

 

Back to Index

Continue to Cuzco and Culture

Skip to Activities and Discussion Questions