TW for brief mention of SA
Pachacámac, the Peruvian lord of the coast. From Pachacámac came everything, spoken of by the coastal Andeans as the source of all that exists. With his wife Pachamama he fathered the likes of the great sun Inti and the moon Mama Quilla.
Many things fell under his domain, the sky, the earth, the sea, day, night, fire, water, time, destiny, life and creation. So powerful was Pachacámac that when he moved his head violent quakes shook the earth, however if he moved his entire body it could annihilate the entire cosmos. It is by the accordance of Pachacámac’s will does the motion of the universe perpetuate.
Like many a god, once the Inca absorbed Pachacámac’s worshippers he was inducted into the Incan pantheon and featuring in their myths.
In one of these Incan myths, Pachacámac is described as the son of Inti, who is heralded as the creator in this myth. Pachacámac saw the barren newborn earth and decided to create the first people, a man and a woman. However, because of the god’s negligence the couple had no food to eat, and the woman’s husband starved to death. The woman drowned in grief, begging the son god Inti for any sort of aid. Inti pitied her, and with his solar rays he blessed her by impregnating her with his child. In only four days the woman gave birth to her son Mallko, the half brother of Pachacámac. Once Pachacámac learned of this he grew livid, furious that she undermined him by going directly to Inti. Cutting the woman’s newfound joy short, Pachacámac took his revenge by seizing his creation’s child and rending him to pieces. Pachacámac then scattered the child’s pieces, turning them into the world’s foods. Once more devastated, the woman again calls upon Inti who resurrects the child, now named Vichama. The woman raises Vichama dutifully as he rapidly ages. The now adult Vichama asks his mother if he could follow in his father’s footsteps and travel the earth, to which she approved. Once Vichama departed however, Pachacámac suddenly appeared and killed the mother. Pachacámac once again populated the now people-less land with a new era of humans. When Pachacámac heard of Vichama’s impending return he fled into the sea, terrified of Vichama’s fury. Once Vichama returned from his travels he learned of his mother’s demise, his fury caused him to roar out and ignite into a bright flame while lightning danced across the sky. Vichama immediately revived his mother much like how his father once did for him. Unable to take his vengeance on Pachacámac, Vichama instead turned his sights to Pachacámac’s new generation of humans. Vichama petrified these humans, turning them to stone. Regretful, Vichama turned to Inti for help, wishing to create another humanity. Inti sent three eggs that descended from the sky, each on of a precious metal. From the gold egg hatched the Kurakas, from the silver egg hatched their wives, lastly the copper hatched into the common people who proliferated across the land.
In another rendition of the aforementioned myth, when the woman calls upon Inti, she instead wishes to become the mother of humanity. Pachacámac tries to kill her children, successfully killing Mallko. The woman’s second child, Vichama then comes to blows with Pachacámac. Ultimately Vichama is victorious and hurls Pachacámac into the sea, admitting to his defeat, Pachacámac relents and becomes the god of fish.
A separate story details another son of Inti: Kon, as the creator of the universe. Kon proceeded to populate this world with humanity, giving them plentiful food and land for them to thrive on. The one thing Kon asked for was for them to worship him. The humans did as he asked, but eventually they lost their faith in Kon and abandoned his worship. Angered by their actions, Kon withdrew the gifts he gave, the land once filled with the abundance granted by Kon turning to infertility, the god only leaving them lakes to survive off of. It was during this time of strife did Pachacámac appeared. Wishing to protect his creations, Kon confronted Pachacámac with the fate of Kon’s people resting on the outcome of their brawl. Despite his valiance, In the end Kon loses, banished into the far reaches of the sky. Pachacámac would then impose his own will upon creation, transforming Kon’s people into the likes of foxes, monkeys, birds, and Lizards, only to then create his own humanity to replace the old.
One myth states that originally all the earth’s oceans were contained in a jug,with Pachacámac relegating the task of protecting the jug to a human couple. However because of their laziness the jug shattered, spilling the waters it contained into the seas we now know of today. Pachacámac punished the two by transforming the man into the first monkey, while the woman into the first fox.
Despite the negative connotations these stories have on Pachacámac, there are some surviving myths that portray Pachacámac in a more positive light.
In one, After all had been created, Pachacámac called down four stars, two men and two women, to the earth. These two pairs of stars birthed both the royals and the common people who then multiplied across the earth.
A separate version of this myth instead states that Pachacámac called down the seven stars of the Pleiades and ordered these brothers to descend onto the earth and populate the lands with their wives. Each of the brothers claimed their territories and lived prosperously. Eventually these brothers forsook their creator, and in retribution Pachacámac flooded their lands and destroyed all they built, the brothers becoming the hills that later generations could be built off of.
In another, Pachacámac is said to be the brother of the fire god Wakon. The two became smitten with the goddess Pachamama, the two brothers competing for her affection. Despite Wakon’s many attempts, Pachamama falls in love with Pachacámac instead. The union between Pachacámac and Pachamama unifies the heavens and the earth, their coupling giving birth to the twins called the Willkas. Enraged by his brother, Wakon brazenly came to blows with Pachacámac. Despite his fury fueling him, Wakon is defeated by Pachacámac who then banishes the evil god to the earth. Further infuriated by his loss, Wakon brought disaster and ruin upon the land. Wakon delivered devastating famines, sweeping floods, burning droughts, and waves of death itself. Pachacámac saw the destruction Wakon brewed on earth, descending from heaven to put a stop to his brother. The two fought once more, and once again Pachacámac came out on top, stopping Wakon’s rampage, further exiling him to the darkness within mountain caves. Pachacámac and Pachamama would later incarnate into two mortal forms, ruling the earth alongside their children. However, by complete accident, Pachacámac fell into Lurín River, drowning in its depths and transforming into an island. Without Pachacámac as its light, darkness coated the cosmos. Pachamama and the Willkas wander in the dark until they come upon a cave that unbeknownst to them was the abode of Wakon. While they sat by the campfire the family couldn’t recognize Wakon, yet Wakon recognized them. Still filled with vitriol, Wakon schemed his revenge. Feigning benevolence, Wakon sent the Willkas to fill a jug with water, as the jug had a subtle crack so the jug couldn’t be filled. While the twins were out, Wakon made his move and tried to force Pachamama to be his bride. When the goddess rejected him, Wakon flew into a rage, massacring her and consuming her strewn about corpse. When the Willkas returned, they asked Wakon about their missing mother who said that she’d return shortly. Nevertheless, no matter how long they waited she never came back, causing the twins to worry for their mother’s safety. The local wildlife pitied the children and told them the truth, that the seemingly kind stranger was none other than their evil uncle Wakon and he slaughtered their mother. With the help of these animals, the Willkas were able to trick Wakon into falling into an abyssal crevasse, the god’s defeat causing earthquakes to ring out across the earth. While the twins slumbered, the girl had a prophetic dream, yet neither of the twins could figure out what it represented. So the Willkas wandered until they found gilded ropes hanging from the sky. Immediately the two began to climb high into the sky, ultimately coming upon their father Pachacámac. Pachacámac warmly embraced his two children, amazed by their courage he elevated them into their godly forms as the sun Inti and the moon Mama Quilla, their radiant light finally clearing the darkness formed by their father’s death. Pachamama is resurrected by her husband, and she too receives a blessing from the god, granting her power over creation itself.
One myth recounts a devastating famine that broke out across the earth. Droughts, storms and frost destroyed their crops. Rain hadn’t dropped and water had dried up. Even the humanity’s farms had been rendered infertile. All this was caused by humanity, the people had taken their food for granted and let them spoil without care. As such the god Pachacámac punished them accordingly. Now desperate, the animals gathered together and sent a group of birds to commune with Pachacámac. Pitying his creations and regretting his punishment, Pachacámac withdrew his famine and sent the birds back to earth, carrying seeds that’d sprout into new sustenance. The creatures of the earth praised Pachamama’s gracious fertility that allowed them to grow the seeds into food.
Temenduare god of the day and Arikute god of the night incessantly fight one another. The two brother’s relentlessly kill one another, with Temenduare killing Arikute upon dawn and Arikute killing Temenduare upon dusk, endlessly reviving and fighting each other. One day during their battle, Temenduare kicked the earth so hard that all of its waters splashed and swallowed everything in a devastating flood. Yet despite this catastrophe the two brothers continued their fight atop a mountain, with Arikute summoning a horrific monster with a hundred legs. While the brothers fought, the god Viracocha physically manifested as Pachacámac and recreated the destroyed earth. Having enough of their fighting, Pachacámac cursed the two gods, relegating them to a lower station of godhood and exiling them from heaven. Although their power is diminished, when angered the two gods can still cause earthquakes and floods.
During the infancy of the earth there was once a god named Ninamasha. During this early age, humanity had no knowledge on how to harness fire, and thus had no way to fertilize the soil of their farms. So these humans called upon Ninamasha, enticing the god with offerings of the alcoholic Chicha. Heeding their call, Ninamasha would spontaneously engulf himself in flame and run through their fields, burning them to ash which would then be used to sow their farms. Eventually however, Ninamasha grew tired of the offerings of Chicha, demanding that they give him their women as well. Filed with indignation and unwilling to give up any of their own, the people prayed to Pachacámac for help. Hearing their cries Pachacámac descended from heaven in order to aid the people. He knew that although he could certainly win in a fight against Ninamasha, to do so would endanger the people and bring catastrophe to the earth. Instead, Pachacámac transforms himself into a beautiful woman, catching the attention of the lecherous Ninamasha. Pachacámac easily lures Ninamasha away and proceeds to push the fire god into a cavernous ravine. Pachacámac then redirects the flow of a channel into the ravine, the water crashing into Ninamasha and submerging him. Ninamasha remains there to this day, sealed away, yet if this ravine is ever drained the fire god would certainly return to cause havoc once more.
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Pachacámac was an incredibly prolific god worshipped among the peoples of Peru’s central coast, such as the Ichma. While Pachacámac’s spread is confidently large, the exact chronology of the god’s worship isn’t clear. It is likely that Pachacámac or his forerunner originated from the Lima who first constructed his cult center, later on the deity could’ve been adopted by the likes of the succeeding Wari, Chancay, Chimor and Ichma who all have the presence of a staff gods within their cultural art.
The name Pachacámac is one of intrigue. Originating from the Quechua language the name is typically translated to something akin to “he who creates the world”, “he who sustains the world”, “the one who gives life to the earth”, “he who moves the world”, “the one who gives soul to the universe” and even rarely “the one who does with the universe what the soul with the body”. Pachacámac has been rendered in a couple of different ways, like Pacha-Kamaq and Pachacama. Some myths allege that Pachacámac was a name that was given to the god after his introduction to the Inca, rather instead being originally named Ichma from whom the Ichma got their name. Ichma also has different renderings, like Yschma, Ishma, Ychma, and Irma.
The term Pacha used in Pachacámac’s name is a bit complicated. Pacha is usually taken to refer to a certain place or the earth itself, however the term has more grand and metaphysical connotations in the ancient Andean cosmology. Pacha itself is complex, to over simplify it, Pacha correlated to the totality of time-space in their ancient beliefs, including the various individuals, events and gods that personify parts of Pacha. Pacha is separated into various interconnected realms, like Hanan Pacha the sky world, Kay Pacha the physical world of the earth, Ukhu/Hurin Pacha the underworld, Hakaq Pacha the afterlife and world of spirits, and Hawa Pacha the world that transcends the other Pacha’s and in which they rest in its waters. The number of Pachas varied greatly between sources with some accounting for only two. These Pachas each took part in a cyclical cycle of life and destruction, in which the order of the world would be eventually overturned by cataclysmic events that were apart of the cycle. During the colonial era, colonists would typically use Hanan Pacha and Ukhu/Hurin Pacha to refer to the Christian heaven and hell respectively. The legitimacy of this cosmology has been called into question by certain historians. Pointing to the presence of other seemingly similar concepts like the notion of a world destroying flood, some have instead argued that the concept of Pacha was a Christian missionary invention, as it’s primarily spoken of in colonial sources. These critics even suggest that the names of these Pachas (for example, Kay Pacha) were words created by missionaries. These scholars rather define the pre-Colombian Pacha as areas that are apart of the same realm rather than separate metaphysical structures. Supporters instead counter that there’s evidence of separate Pachas in the earliest records of colonial history, and that while there was obvious attempts to attribute these Pachas with Christian terms they were still a preexisting part of Andean cosmology.
Pachacámac was worshipped as an abstract deity. He was described as an omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent existence, that while personified in Pachacámac, represented a primordial and preeminent force. His worshippers thought he was invisible or an imperceptible figure, an entity that transcended comprehension. This was the reason given why some of Pachacámac’s worshippers held no physical veneration like temples or idols while they had plenty for the sun god, as Pachacámac is both imperceptible and ever present so they worshipped him “in their heart”. Pachacámac was not just the origin of all that exists but was also its animator, its through Pachacámac that life continues in the universe, the very movement of the cosmos dictated by Pachacámac.
Pachacámac was commonly associated with a number of different animals. As a more ethereal god, Pachacámac manifested with a varying appearance, typically appearing as human but also taking on the forms of different animals as well. Pachacámac is represented by numerous species, such as fish, foxes, birds, snakes, and felines. While it is typical for staff gods to be represented with felines and birds, Pachacámac was more connected with the aforementioned fish and foxes in particular. Native worship of Pachacámac typically involved the images of foxes, with foxes also playing a part in several of Pachacámac’s myths, such as the myth with Wakon as a fox is noted to be among the animals that helped the Willkas. As a god whose worship was concentrated by the coast, Pachacámac was intimately identified with fish. A vast majority of textiles by the Ichma detailed fish, as well as Pachacámac’s connection with fish in myth, both becoming the god of fish as well as the Huarochirí Manuscript listing his wife, Urpayhuáchac, as a goddess of fish, even descriptions of Pachacámac’s holy chambers notably had figures of oceanic animals alongside the god. Pachacámac was also occasionally associated with monkeys as well. While not being represented through them, Pachacámac is seen in two myths transforming humans into monkeys. Pachacámac may have even held some semblance of androgyny, taken from a myth where he manifests as a woman, this androgynous nature does have parallels in other staff gods like Thunupa.
The worship of Pachacámac was one of extreme reverence. Pachacámac’s worship was centered around the city of the same name, the city itself viewed as a temple dedicated to the god. Various idols were constructed in veneration of Pachacámac such as large wooden pillars carved into the likeness of the god kept in homes as well as golden fox figures, these fox figures would often be paired with the mummified bodies of foxes called Tantanamoc, with these two being placed around the temple grounds. The most important idol was kept in complete darkness, it was from this idol that all the other home idols were based on. Those who wished to commune with the god couldn’t have their eyes meet with the idol out of reverence, instead they’d walk around the shrine with their backs turned to the idol. It was in front of this representation of Pachacámac that his worshippers would sacrifice numerous items to the deity, including animals, treasures, and according to the colonizer chroniclers, people. Matching Pachacámac’s abstract aspects, his worship was also considerably philosophical. Worshippers would often question the supremacy of the sun Inti, a god who was commonly seen at the apex of the religious hierarchy in Inca culture. These worshippers would point to the Sun’s travel across the sky, believing that if Inti was truly the supreme god no one else could force that upon him but rather because the sun follows that path set before him there must be another god above him that dictates that. The Inca ruler Huayna Cápac expressed these views as well, comparing the existence of a supreme god who orders Inti to himself and his subjects. Pachacámac was also believed to be able to prophesies future events. Due to his transcendent nature, both common people and empire officials would travel to Pachacámac’s temple in order to both worship the deity and receive oracles of the future, including the future of the empire itself. These oracles weren’t always viewed as ineffable, as rulers like Huayna Cápac expressed skepticism in their legitimacy, but still worshipped the god. Huayna Cápac’s son Atahualpa once sought to have his future conquests foretold. The future that was told to him was vague yet unfavorable, declaring that he’d lose the war. Atahualpa would ignore this ill omen and go on to claim victory in the war with Huáscar. Despite his triumph, Atahualpa was shortly captured by Spanish forces and imprisoned. In his imprisonment Atahualpa ordered the people of Pachacámac to surrender the treasures dedicated to their god as a means to pay for his freedom, in his message Atahualpa would debase Pachacámac, denying his divinity and proclaim him a “liar”. Defying their ruler, the priests of Pachacámac hid the vast majority of their god’s treasures, gathering the city’s populace and fleeing the oncoming Spanish. When the Spanish arrived they grew frustrated with the abandonment and lack of treasures in Pachacámac, deciding to lay waste to the city. It’s recorded that Pachacámac’s rites and rituals were done during the night and focused on the appearance of the full moon, pointing to Pachacámac being seen as a god of the night, which would also build upon his connection with foxes as they were also culturally tied with the nocturnal. Interestingly, it is stated that the Chimor did primarily worship a moon god (who might’ve been connected with Ai Apaec, a Moche god who’s been compared to Pachacámac academically, but I can’t find much about it), which could indicate a connection between them and Pachacámac.
Pachacámac has many MANY different aspects to his character, representing a multitude of different phenomena. Among the god’s most significant characteristics is his connection to tectonics, the celestial realm, and the sea. However Pachacámac also seems to have been intrinsically tied with the concept of duality. A significant portion of his myths detail a confrontation between him and another god typically igneous or solar in character, these gods specifically contrasting Pachacámac’s own qualities. These battles represent the ever changing flow of duality, two primal qualities whose conflict perpetuates totality. These contrasting gods aren’t necessarily separate from Pachacámac, as while Pachacámac does represent a part of the duality, he also represents its totality. These gods are likely to have been pulled from or based on a native manifestation of Pachacámac who embodied the other half of the duality. This is epitomized by Pachacámac’s pillar idol, which portrays the god as two men facing opposite directions, both half’s making up the whole of Pachacámac. This multifaceted dualistic character is prominent among other staff gods as well, appearing in the likes of Thunupa and Illapa.
Once Pachacámac was introduced to the Inca empire he was HEAVILY conflated with their creator god Viracocha. The two were correlated so often that Pachacámac was often used interchangeably with Viracocha. In some myths centered around Viracocha, Pachacámac is described as a manifestation of the god. In some versions of the founding myth of the Inca, Pachacámac is described as a brother to both Viracocha and Manco Cápac, the founder of the Inca. There did however seem to be some conflict between the various cults within the Inca and Pachacámac’s own worship. There is of course the myth of Pachacámac and Inti which depicts the god in a defeated state by the hands of Inti. While not directly appearing, Pachacámac is mentioned in the Huarochirí Manuscript. Viracocha’s manifestation as a trickster, Cuniraya, still gets into conflict with Pachacámac. Firstly the Cuniraya curses the animals associated with Pachacámac, and then forces himself onto one of the god’s daughters. It is theorized that Pachacámac’s absence in this myth is due to his association with the night, as Cuniraya represented the day it wasn’t Pachacámac’s time. Kon is also apart of these gods, yet unlike the others, it seems like it was Pachacámac’s own worshippers who pushed back against Kon’s. This could be further reinforced by Wakon, who’s postulated to be based on Kon as well.
Pachacámac also had exchange with the foreign Christian faith as well. Much like his fellow staff god Viracocha, Pachacámac was excessively conflated with the Christian God. While the equation between the two was noted by both the native worshippers as well as the colonial Spaniards. Despite this, many of the Christian colonists held disdain for Pachacámac, painting Pachacámac as a demon, even comparing him to the devil Lucifer. These colonists would repeatedly undermine the religious practices and beliefs of Pachacámac’s followers, such as when Hernando Pizarro forced the local chiefs to break their taboos with the main Idol of Pachacámac before reading them a sermon and destroying the smaller Idols around the city of Pachacámac. Hernando Pizarro also claimed to have destroyed the main Idol of Pachacámac himself, however the discovery of a 2.34 meter (about 7.7 feet) tall Idol found within the ruins of Pachacámac city in 1938 puts doubt on his claim. This treatment contrasts a bit with Viracocha, whose religion while still undermined, was received somewhat more positively with the Colonists than Pachacámac. Despite this demonization, Pachacámac was still an immensely popular figure even during the colonial era, epitomized in the execution of Chalcuchímac, refusing to be baptized he instead chanted Pachacámac during his execution.
It’s most likely that Pachacámac was among the many Staff gods of Peru, as evidenced by the textiles within the city of Pachacámac containing the image of a staff god. These staff gods were typically the preeminent gods of their pantheon, with a majority of worship given to them. These staff gods all probably descended from a common ancestor seen in the ancient Caral Supe civilization, each one branching off from their origin.