WIRACOCHA: CHARACTERISTICS, LEGEND AND MEANING - HISTORY - 2025

Wiracocha, Huiracocha or Viracocha is an original deity of the pre-Inca culture and venerated as the supreme god. It was later adopted into the Inca pantheon. He appears as the creator of the world, the sun and the moon. The creation of the substance from which all things originate is also attributed to him.

The deity is also associated with the sea due to the mythological story that tells of its voyages through the water. Other myths say that the deity emerged from the bottom of Lake Titicaca. Sometimes he is represented as an old man with a beard. He is also seen dressed in a long cassock and endowed with a staff.

Image of the god Wiracocha.

Maguilaz

Other images associated with Wiracocha reflect him as a man with a sun-shaped crown, holding rays with his hands and with tears falling from his eyes. At present, this sculpted figure can be seen in the Puerta del Sol, in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, a megalithic relic in the shape of an arch.

Legend of Wiracocha, the god of creation

Wiracocha

One of the best known legends tells that the current world is the result of Wiracocha's second attempt to create living beings. In her first act, she used stones to bring to life a race of giants within a dark world.

These huge beings were rebellious before their god and never looked at him. After a great disappointment and to cleanse the world after being disappointed in the creatures he had created, he caused a great flood that changed everything completely.

The giants returned to their original form. Some of these can be seen today as large stone figures at the Tiwanaku and Pukará ruins. Only two giants are said to have remained alive after the devastating event.

Subsequently, the new Wiracocha company would build men and women from clay and according to their own size. To improve life, he also created various sources of light, the sun, the moon and the stars, using the islands of Lake Titicaca.

Wiracocha also taught useful arts so that new living beings could inhabit the world in civilization. Agriculture, language, clothing and more. Later she gave life to the animals.

Expansion in the world

To spread his knowledge around the world, Wiracocha took the image of a beggar and sailed the seas. She used multiple names including “Kon-Tiki” and “Atun-Viracocha”.

Despite his intentions to impart knowledge, in many places he was mocked and stoned for his appearance. As punishment many people were turned to stone and others died from being consumed by volcanic lava. Faced with these acts of harshness, humans began to respect the deity.

During his travels he was assisted by two beings, possibly his sons or brothers, Imaymana Viracocha and Tocapo Viracocha. Various myths describe that he made his travels using a raft.

He ended his journey in Manta, the land of present-day Ecuador. He left the world by crossing the Pacific in a westward direction, with the promise of one day returning to Inca territory.

Inca civilization

Another of the legends tells of the origins of the Inca civilization from the successors of the god. It is said that Wiracocha had a son named Inti and two daughters known as Mama Quilla and Pachamama.

After destroying the civilization that inhabited Lake Titicaca with a great flood remembered with the name of "Unu Pachakuti", he allowed two human beings to live. A man, Manco Capac, son Inti and his name means "splendid foundation"; a woman, Mama Ocllo, whose name means “fertility mother”.

This couple wandered the lands looking for the right place in which to sink the “Tapac-Yauri” golden rod, which would indicate the territory in which the Inca civilization would develop.

The Wiracocha cult predates the Inca civilization, and possibly entered as a figure in the pantheon during the time of Emperor Wiracocha (who adopted the name of the deity) in the 15th century. The Incas believed that Wiracocha had left this world after creating other deities to take care of the work in the underworld.

Wiracocha worship

The central site of worship to the god Wiracocha, after the death of the emperor of the same name, began to be the capital of Cuzco. In this place multiple figures such as temples and statues dedicated to the supreme creator were made.

It was also used to perform human sacrifices that included from adults to children. Llamas, a characteristic animal of the area, were also used for occasional ceremonies of greater importance.

The multiplicity of gods in the daily life of civilization made Wiracocha not a priority of worship for everyone but only for the noblest. Although, in times of crisis it happened to be the main figure of adoration.

Etymology

Puerta del Sol in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. In its center the figure of Wiracocha is sculpted.

Mhwater

Due to its multiple names, the meaning of "Viracocha" has several variants. His written name Wiraqucha speaks of the version in Quechua language that means "Sun of the lake" (wira: sun, quta: lake). Others attribute that Wiraqucha comes from the expression "Aymara Wilaquta" (wila: blood, quta: lake).

The latter would be an allusion to the abundant sacrifice of camelids or llamas, which caused the reddening of Lake Titicaca during pre-Inca times.

The image of the god Wiracocha

Regarding its appearance there are also different versions. With the arrival of the Spanish explorers, a version similar to that of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, a 16th century explorer, began to spread.

He described the deity as a white-skinned man of medium height, whose clothes consisted of a long white robe and a belt. Besides, it was also described with a staff and a book, each in one hand.

From now on, Wiracocha began to be spoken of as a white-skinned deity, although in the authentic legends of the Inca and pre-Inca culture, no detail of the skin is mentioned.

Part of this also derives from the fact that the Incas received the Spanish as gods with luminous skins because of their light color.

References

1. (2019) Viracocha: Who was, meaning, legend and more. Let's talk about cultures. Recovered from hablemosdeculturas.com
2. Cartwright. M (2014). Viracocha. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Recovered from ancient.eu
3. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (1999). Viracocha. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com
4. Viracocha. Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org
5. (2019) Wiracocha - Main God and Creator of the Incas. Tour in Peru. Recovered from machupicchu-tours-peru.com