The Inca Empire is known for quite a few things, one of which is their road system that spanned over 25,000 miles connecting the largest pre-Columbian American empire all the way from Ecuador to Chile and Argentina. It was also known for the Columbian exchange, where many of the crops we now eat on a daily basis were transported to Europe and, of course, their llamas. What we tend to think of as the Inca Empire, however, didn\u2019t even last for a hundred years before collapsing after the Spanish conquistadors arrived, particularly due to the diseases they brought from the \u201cOld World,\u201d like smallpox, measles, and typhus. The civilizations that made up the Inca Empire, however, had been around for many hundreds of years before that.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people that made up the Inca Empire were primarily Andean. The term \u201cAndean\u201d refers to the Andes mountain range, which goes all throughout the west coast of South America. The Inca Empire mostly adapted the original Andean mythology, and because of how isolated parts of the Andes are now, that mythology still remains in modern times.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much like other cultures, the Andeans believed in three planes of being: Hanan Pacha, the sky realm where the gods reside, Kay Pacha, the land realm where the living reside, and Ukhu Pacha, the underworld where the dead reside. Each of these planes are represented by a different animal.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The animal of Hanan Pacha is the condor, a type of large, black vulture. Its strong wings are meant to be able to carry the bird from Kay Pacha to Hanan Pacha, where it could send messages to the gods. The animal of Kay Pacha is the puma, considered a symbol of strength, wisdom, and patience. Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, is believed to have been made in the shape of a puma. Finally, the animal of Ukhu Pacha is the snake, to represent infinity and life after death. Although the snake is respected and revered similarly to the other two animals, they are also seen as a symbol of death, which makes many fearful of them. These three animals, and the realms they represent, make up \u201cThe Andean Trilogy.\u201d The Andean Trilogy is still recognized in parts of South America to this day, particularly in the mountainous villages of Peru, where there are several remnants of important historic Inca places such as Cusco and Machu Picchu.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One ritual involving the condor comes from after the time of the Inca, in a bloody celebration of Peru\u2019s independence from Spain. The Yawar Fiesta, the \u201cBlood Festival,\u201d includes tying a condor to the back of the bull, making the animals fight to represent the battle between the Quecha Native Andeans and the Spaniards who had conquered them. Assuming the condor survives, it will be released to live freely. Originally this ritual was centered around the anniversary of Peruvian independence, but it is now also a tourist attraction.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several small towns conduct this ceremony for tourists to watch, selling handmade merchandise related to the ceremony. Although the Andean condor\u2019s population is being threatened because of these rituals, many of these towns refuse to end their yearly Yawar Fiestas.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those who still follow the Andean or Incan mythology the trilogy of the condor, puma, and snake remains a significant and important part of their culture. Although the animals are put at risk because of their meanings, they are respected and even revered by many of the Andeans who have lived through Spanish colonization, their history surviving through the perseverance and careful intelligence of the Incans whose road systems left them undiscovered and protected for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cANDEAN TRILOGY, A PERFECT UNION OF THE THREE ANDEAN WORLDS.\u201d Inkayni Peru Tours<\/em>, www.inkayniperutours.com\/blog\/andean-trilogy-a-perfect-union-of-the-three-andean-worlds. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elton, Catherine. \u201cBound by Tradition.\u201d Audubon<\/em>, 2014, www.audubon.org\/magazine\/july-august-2014\/bound-tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hirst, K. Kris. \u201cInca Road System \u2013 25,000 Miles of Road Connecting the Inca Empire.\u201d ThoughtCo<\/em>, 25 May 2019, www.thoughtco.com\/inca-empire-road-system-171388.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInca Empire: All You Need to Know about the Inca Religion and Civilization.\u201d Tierras Vivas Travel<\/em>, www.tierrasvivas.com\/en\/travel-blog\/inca-empire. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLa Trilog\u00eda Inca: El C\u00f3ndor, El Puma y La Serpiente.\u201d Boleto Machu Picchu<\/em>, 26 Mar. 2019, www.boletomachupicchu.com\/trilogia-inca-condor-puma-serpiente\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lopez, Juan. \u201cTrilog\u00eda Inca, Lo Que No Sab\u00edas Sobre Este Mito.\u201d Hablamos de Mitolog\u00eda<\/em>, 20 Sept. 2018, hablemosdemitologias.com\/c-mitologia-inca\/trilogia-inca\/.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Inca Empire is known for quite a few things, one of which is their road system that spanned over 25,000 miles connecting the largest pre-Columbian American empire all the way from Ecuador to Chile and Argentina. It was also known for the Columbian exchange, where many of the crops we now eat on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment","category-myth-and-legends"],"yoast_head":"\n