Viracocha facts for kids
Viracocha (also spelled Wiraqocha or Huiracocha) was a very important creator god in the ancient Inca mythology and other cultures of the Andes mountains in South America. People believed he looked like a human, often with a beard. Myths say he ordered the building of the ancient city of Tiwanaku.
Sometimes he was called Ticsiviracocha or Kon-Tiki Viracocha. The famous explorer Thor Heyerdahl even named his raft "Kon-Tiki" after him! Other names for Viracocha included "the creator" or "teacher of the world."
For the Inca people, Viracocha was the most important god. He was seen as the creator of everything, or the source from which everything was made. He was also closely connected to the sea. After Viracocha, the sun god Inti was the next most important deity.
Viracocha created the whole universe, including the sun, moon, and stars. He also created time by making the sun move across the sky. He was worshipped as the god of the sun and of storms.
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How Viracocha Created the World
According to old stories, Viracocha appeared from Lake Titicaca (or sometimes a cave called Paqariq Tampu) when the world was dark. He brought light by creating the sun, moon, and stars.
First, he tried to create people by breathing life into stones. But these first people were brainless giants, and Viracocha was not happy with them. So, he destroyed them with a great flood. Then, he made new, better humans from smaller stones. After creating them, he sent them to live all over the world.
Viracocha then traveled across the Earth, dressed like a poor person. He taught his new creations important things about how to live and build civilization. He also performed many miracles. However, some people did not listen to his teachings. They started fighting and doing bad things. Viracocha felt very sad when he saw how his creations were struggling. People believed that Viracocha would return whenever there was great trouble in the world.
One writer, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, described Viracocha as "a man of medium height, white and dressed in a white robe like an alb secured round the waist and that he carried a staff and a book in his hands."
In some legends, Viracocha had a son named Inti and two daughters, Mama Killa and Pachamama. One story tells how he destroyed the people around Lake Titicaca with a Great Flood called Unu Pachakuti. This flood lasted for 60 days and 60 nights. Viracocha saved two people to help bring civilization back to the world. These two were Manco Cápac and Mama Uqllu. They are said to have founded the Inca civilization.
Another legend says Viracocha had two sons, Imahmana Viracocha and Tocapo Viracocha. After the Great Flood, Viracocha sent his sons to visit different tribes. They wanted to see if the tribes were still following his rules. Viracocha himself traveled North. During their journey, his sons named all the trees, flowers, and fruits. They also taught the tribes which plants were safe to eat, which could be used as medicine, and which were poisonous. Eventually, Viracocha and his sons reached Cusco (in modern-day Peru) and the Pacific Ocean. They then walked across the water and disappeared. The word "Viracocha" can mean "Sea Foam."
What the Name "Viracocha" Means
The full name Tiqsi Huiracocha can have a few meanings. In the Quechuan languages, tiqsi means "origin" or "beginning." Wira means "fat," and qucha means "lake," "sea," or "reservoir."
So, some people think Wiraqucha could mean "Fat (or foam) of the sea." However, some experts, like German archaeologist Max Uhle, found "foam lake" to be a strange name. He suggested that Vira (or Huira) might come from the Quechua word huyra, which means "the end of all things." If so, Ticsi Viracocha could mean "lake of origin and of the end of all things."
Some also believe that the name might have come from the Aymara language. In Aymara, Wila Quta means "blood lake." This idea comes from the animal sacrifices that were done at Lake Titicaca by older Andean cultures who spoke Aymara.
A Possible Image of Viracocha at Ollantaytambo
In the small village of Ollantaytambo in southern Peru, there might be a carving of Viracocha's messenger, Wiracochan or Tunupa. Ollantaytambo is in the Cusco Region, part of the Sacred Valley, which was an important place for the Inca Empire.
Across from the ancient Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo, on the rock face of Cerro Pinkuylluna, there is a large figure of Wiracochan, about 140 meters high. This angry-looking face is made from natural hollows that form the eyes and mouth. A carved rock sticks out to form the nose. Inca ruins built on top of the face are thought to look like a crown on his head. Some drawings of the rock face also show a heavy beard and a large bag on his shoulders.
Wiracochan, the traveling teacher of knowledge, is described as a very powerful, tall, bearded man who looked like a priest or an astronomer.
Viracocha and Christianity
When the Spanish arrived in South America, they wrote a lot about Viracocha.
- Bartolomé de las Casas said that Viracocha means "creator of all things."
- Juan de Betanzos agreed, saying "We may say that Viracocha is God."
- Other writers like Polo, Sarmiento de Gamboa, and Acosta also called Viracocha a creator.
- Guamán Poma, an indigenous writer, also thought "viracocha" meant "creator."
At the beginning of the Spanish colonization, Spanish leaders often decided that Viracocha was the same as their supreme creator, God.
This decision to use "God" instead of "Viracocha" was an important step in teaching Christianity to the Incas. It was probably hard to explain the Christian idea of "God" to the Incas, who had different beliefs. By replacing Viracocha's name with "God," it made it easier to introduce Christian ideas about divinity.
See also
In Spanish: Huiracocha (dios) para niños
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Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Viracocha. |
- The Colombian myth of Bochica, who was also a creator and civilizer like Viracocha.
- Moche culture
- Staff God
- Tiwanaku
