Account of the Fables and Rites of the Incas
by
Cristobal de Molina - Vania Smith-Oka
Based on eyewitness accounts of rituals conducted at the height of Inca rule, this is a key document that provides an unparalleled account of the prayers and religious celebrations of the Inca in a context of rapidly changing cultural practices.
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Complete description
Only a few decades after the Spanish conquest of Peru, the third Bishop of Cuzco, Sebastian de Lartaun, called for a report on the religious practices of the Incas. The report was prepared by Cristobal de Molina, a priest of the Hospital for the Natives of Our Lady of Succor in Cuzco and Preacher General of the city. Molina was an outstanding Quechua speaker, and his advanced language skills allowed him to interview the older indigenous men of Cuzco who were among the last surviving eyewitnesses of the rituals conducted at the height of Inca rule. Thus, Molina's account preserves a crucial first-hand record of Inca religious beliefs and practices. This volume is the first English translation of Molina's Relacion de las fabulas y ritos de los incas since 1873 and includes the first authoritative scholarly commentary and notes. The work opens with several Inca creation myths and descriptions of the major gods and shrines (huacas). Molina then discusses the most important rituals that occurred in Cuzco during each month of the year, as well as rituals that were not tied to the ceremonial calendar, such as birth rituals, female initiation rites, and marriages.
Molina also describes the Capacocha ritual, in which all the shrines of the empire were offered sacrifices, as well as the Taqui Ongoy, a millennial movement that spread across the Andes during the late 1560s in response to growing Spanish domination and accelerated violence against the so-called idolatrous religions of the Andean peoples.
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General info
Publisher & Imprint:
University of Texas Press
City:
Austin, TX
Pages:
190
More info:
height 221 mm
width 145 mm
weight 408 gr
thickness 23 mm
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Age recommended:
Professional and scholarly
Subject Indexing & Classification
Dewey:(DC22) 299.8113
Library of Congress Subject: Peru - History - Conquest, 1522-1548
Departments:
Worship;
Record updated at:
16 May, 2013
time:
20:21
Summary
Account of the Fables and Rites of the Incas
Preface: Translators' Notes; Acknowledgments; The Life and Times of Cristobal de Molina; Introduction by Brian S. Bauer Account of the Fables and Rites of the Incas 1: Introduction; 2: Origin Myths; 3: Of Quipus and Inca Yupanqui; 4: The Sorcerers; 5: The Rituals of the Months of the Year; 6: The Ayuscay, Rutuchico, and Quicochico Rituals; 7: The Capacocha; 8: Taqui Onqoy Appendix: Editions of Cristobal de Molina's Account of the Fables and Rites of the Incas (Relacion de las fabulas y ritos de los incas) Notes; Glossary; Bibliography; Index
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