Pachamama and Pachakamaq

There is a legend that links Pachamama (Mother Nature) to Pachakamaq who was a super important god along the Peruvian coast (sort of their version of Viracocha, who we will see more of in the next chapter). Just outside Lima, there is a vast pre-Inca temple complex that long ago was dedicated to Pachakamaq (or Pachacamac) and it housed a 2-metre idol to the god as well as huge pyramids. When the Incas conquered the area, they incorporated Pachakamaq into their divine hierarchy and the story goes that...

There were two gods who were also brothers- Pachakamaq (the creator god) and Wakon (the god of evil and fire).

Both fell in love with Pachamama and she chose Pachakamaq, because his heart was purer. They became a couple and had boy-girl twins together. This sent Wakon into a jealous rage that caused him to wreak havoc on the Earth in the form of droughts and floods. This evil meant that he was thrown out of the heavenly realm.

But Pachakamaq didn't want his brother down on Earth either, since Wakon was still a dangerous menace. He challenged Wakon to a fight and won. With that, he was able to exile Wakon to live in darkness, in far-away caves and thus order was restored to the Earth. Then, Pachamama and her husband ruled over the Earth happily. But their bliss was short-lived. One terrible day, Pachakamaq fell into the sea near Lima and drowned, whereby half of his soul turned into an island, whilst the other half went into the sky. This didn't only affect Pachamama and the twins; the world was plunged into darkness.

Pachamama continued to rule the dark world on her own until one day she saw a light in the distance that caught her attention. How could it be that a light was shining in the midst of total darkness? With her children scurrying behind her, Pachamama decided to investigate and so she followed the light until they eventually reached a cave in which a man was cooking potatoes in a big pot of water.

When they arrived, the man (who was really Wakon in disguise) asked the twins to go and fetch water. Whilst they were gone, he tried to seduce Pachamama, but she refused. With a burning rage, he killed her and scattered her spirit into the distance to become the Andes Mountain Range, the longest range on the planet. That is why to this day, Pachamama is often portrayed as a woman whose clothes form the shape of a mountain.

The poor twins, who still knew nothing, got back with the water and asked after their mother. The man told them she'd be back shortly, yet days went by and she didn't appear.

A dawn bird took pity on the children and told them what had happened to their mother. Plus, he warned them that they were in grave danger. The bird said the next time Wakon was asleep, they should use his long hair to tie him to a big rock and then escape. They did this and fled, bumping into Añas, the vixen, on the way and telling her their story. Añas was kind and decided to help them. First she got them to go and rest in her den. Then she waited for Wakon.

When Wakon woke up, he too bumped into Añas, who told him to go up a steep hill and start singing to imitate Pachamama so that the twins would approach him. He set off for the hill but fell into a trap that Añas had set for him. He fell into a chasm and died, causing a small earth tremor.

The twins stayed with Añas in her den (a bit like Romulus and Remus!) until one day, Pachakamaq's spirit looked down on them from the sky with pity. He decided to fetch the twins and take them to the sky. He did this by letting down a long rope that they climbed up and up until they arrived in the heavenly realm and found Pachakamaq. He gave them places of honour: they became Inti and Killa, sun and moon, who would give light to the world day and night.

Meanwhile, Pachamama became protectress of the Earth and all living things. 

(extract from Intrepid Dudettes of the Inca Empire Part 1, available now at Apple Books, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Scribd)