miércoles, 6 de abril de 2016
INTRODUCTION THE INCA EMPIRE
The Inca empire developed between 1400 and
1500 AD in an area which is now Peru. Before the 15th century the Andean region
was populated by many different tribes of people. Under the military leadership
of Pachacuti and his son Topa Inca, who were Inca download as word document
emperors between 1438 and 1493, the Inca
state expanded into a great empire.
From a geographic point of view, the Inca
empire was not a very attractive place to live. The north-western border is the
coastal region of the Pacific Ocean, which is the driest desert on earth. Not a
drop of rain has fallen there in over 500 years. The towering Andes Mountains
begin east of the desert, with steep slopes that make agriculture a serious
challenge. The Inca solved that problem by creating terraces and filling them
with fertile earth brought up from the mountain valleys. To the east of the
Andes, lay the vast and humid jungle of the Amazon River Basin, inhabited by
fierce tribes whom the Inca never managed to conquer.HISTORY
The Inca empire and culture was largely
destroyed by the Spanish in the most brutal conquest seen on the American
continent. Under the leadership of Fransisco Pizarro the Spanish stole over
280,000 kilograms of gold from the Inca, destroyed and prohibited all
expression of native religion and culture. Yet many traditions managed to
survive in the myths and culture of Peru, Ecuador and Columbia.
The present-day Quechua-speaking peoples of
the Andes are the descendants of the Inca. They make up almost 45 percent of
the population of Peru. They live in close-knit communities and combine farming
and herding with simple traditional technology. Much of the agricultural work
is done cooperatively. Even though Catholicism is now the official religion in
these areas, in practice it is a blend of Western and native Andean religion
and culture.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT INCA HISTORY
RELIGION
The Incan religion
frequently involved human sacrifice while attributing sacredness to a rock
formation. Their religion also emphasized ancestor worship. At its basis, Incan
religious beliefs were intimately connected with nature and included the belief
that Inca rulers were direct descendants of the sun god, Inti
The
Gods
The most powerful god of the Inca religion was Viracocha. He was
considered the creator of the universe. However, the Inca are more closely
associated with Viracocha's most important servant god, Inti, the sun god. The
Inca leader, Pachacuti, proclaimed Inti the patron god of the Incas' sacred
city, Cuzco, and erected a magnificent Temple of The Sun in the god's honor.
Inti's image became the emblem of the Inca religion. Pachacuti also proclaimed
that he ruled by divine right and asserted himself as descended from the sun
god. The Incas became known as "The Children of The Sun."
Huaca
The mummified body of an ancestor was a form of huaca, a natural
object that was believed by the Inca to have supernatural powers. A rock
formation, a spring, or an oddly shaped pebble could be considered huaca.
Sacred spaces would be organized around huaca. Cuzco is one such space and is
the location of hundreds of huaca. Mountaintops also were viewed as huaca.
Shrines were constructed on mountaintops and human sacrifices often were performed
there. These huaca, because they were visible from great distances, helped
maintain unity in the vast Incan empire by reminding the citizenry of their
shared beliefs.
The
Afterlife
The
Gods
The most powerful god of the Inca religion was Viracocha. He was
considered the creator of the universe. However, the Inca are more closely
associated with Viracocha's most important servant god, Inti, the sun god. The
Inca leader, Pachacuti, proclaimed Inti the patron god of the Incas' sacred
city, Cuzco, and erected a magnificent Temple of The Sun in the god's honor.
Inti's image became the emblem of the Inca religion. Pachacuti also proclaimed
that he ruled by divine right and asserted himself as descended from the sun
god. The Incas became known as "The Children of The Sun."
Huaca
The mummified body of an ancestor was a form of huaca, a natural
object that was believed by the Inca to have supernatural powers. A rock
formation, a spring, or an oddly shaped pebble could be considered huaca.
Sacred spaces would be organized around huaca. Cuzco is one such space and is
the location of hundreds of huaca. Mountaintops also were viewed as huaca.
Shrines were constructed on mountaintops and human sacrifices often were performed
there. These huaca, because they were visible from great distances, helped
maintain unity in the vast Incan empire by reminding the citizenry of their
shared beliefs.
The
Afterlife
The Incas believed that in the afterlife, a member of the Incan
royalty returned to a happy life with the sun, even if he had not been a moral
man on earth. A common man could share in this same afterlife of warmth and
content if he led a virtuous earthly life. However, an immoral common man would
be sentenced to an afterlife that was cold and devoid of comfort. For the
Incas, a virtuous earthly life was achieved by following a simple rule of
behavior: "Do not steal; do not lie; do not be lazy."
SOCIETY
There
were two classes in Inca society: the ruling classes and the peasants.
The emperor was called “The Inca” or “Sapa Inca”.
He ate from gold dishes and never wore the same clothes twice. Like the
pharaohs of Egypt, he took his own sister as queen. The noblemencame
from the capital Cuzco and helped the emperor govern the land.
Most
people were farmers who produced their own food and clothes. The main crops were corn, tomatoes, squash and sweet potatoes, which the Inca
were first to produce. They also raised guinea pigs,
ducks and dogs. One of the most important animals was the llama. It providedthe peasants with wool and it could carry heavy loads as well.
The
Inca were very skilful in making handicrafts.
Women were excellent weavers .They wove cloth into tunics.
Men were great metalworkers. They knew how to extract metal from ore by heating and melting it. Then the metals were moulded into different shapesto
make weapons and other tools. The Inca also
produced pottery and made musical instruments such as
flutes.
The
Inca were great construction workers and architects. They built a large network of roads throughout the empire, as well as tunnels and suspension
bridges that
crossed narrow mountain valleys
CULTURE
Every Inca citizen was assigned a very strict
task in life, connected to their age, gender and social position. For example
children over five years of age had the responsibility of carrying water up to
the fields where grown-ups were growing crops. And women older than fifty had
to weave cloth for making clothes. Even the physically and mentally disabled
were given daily tasks that were attuned to their capabilities. One of these tasks
was chewing maize or corn and spitting it back into a big bowl. By letting this
substance ferment the Inca made their own special corn beer called Chicha which
they drank on festive occasions.
All of the individual responsibilities were
recorded by bureaucrats through a system called the Quipu. It was an intricate
form of communication using colored strings tied into knots. This was the Inca
alternative to writing since they did not develop a written language of their
own. Emperor Pachacuti also created religious holidays for his people. Six
times a month the entire empire was shut down for festivities, lectures and
parades.
The Inca were incredible builders and
architects. Their irrigation systems, palaces, temples, and fortifications can
still be seen throughout the Andes. They had an efficient road system which was
mainly used for government and military purposes. Couriers would carry messages
in the form of knotted cords all over the empire. Unfortunately, this road
network was also used by the Spanish, which greatly facilitated their conquest
of the Inca Empire.
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