Encyclopedia of the Incas

could stand in for him in official acts. The icon of the founder, Manco Capac,
was known as “falcon,” Pachacuti’s was “lightning” or “viper,” and Topa Inca
Yupanqui’s was “happy son.” Pachacuti’s icon was found by the Spaniards at his
death house, called Patallacta (likely the site of Kenko, near Cuzco), where it
stood guard over his mummy. Although the chronicler Acosta wrote that those
shapes were representational, he never saw one, and it seems most likely that it
was the essence of the icons that was most important, not their appearance.
Because the ruler’s physical being was divine, his exuviae, including his hair
and nail clippings, were protectively curated. Over time, they were incorporated
into another icon, called a bulto (Spanish, bundle) in the Colonial era. That
concept was analogous to the idea that any material has an essence, whatever
state it may be in, much as gold (tears of the Sun) was the Sun god materialized
on earth. It may be telling that no identifiable image of a ruler has been found
that dates securely to the pre-Hispanic era, perhaps because an image could be
subject to magic. The ruler’s potency extended to all of the items that he touched
during his lifetime. The Spaniards observed that idea in practice while holding
Atahualpa captive in Cajamarca (see Invasion, Spanish). His attendants
collected left-overs from his meals and other objects that came into contact with
him, with the intent to burn them at the end of the year. People believed that his
power, or perhaps even his persona, was diffused into those items, and that they
could be used in witchcraft if they fell into malevolent hands.
The divinity of the ruler continued after death. Select internal organs were
extracted for incineration, before the remainder of the body was mummified for
perpetual veneration (see Mummies, Royal). The ashes were deposited in the
belly of the golden idol of a small boy (Punchao, i.e., day; the young Sun), who
was the incarnation of the Sun in Cuzco’s main temple (Coricancha). That act
reunited the essence of the Inca ancestral line with the golden substance of Inti.
One organ (probably the heart) of Huayna Capac was retained in Ecuador, where
he had died, and a rebellious cult was built around its veneration.
The mummies were treated as if they were living beings, plied with food and
drink, and consulted on matters of state. Their estates, theoretically maintained
in perpetuity by their offspring, formed cult centers for the deceased. A single
Quechua word, mallqui, meant mummy, sapling, and sprout ready for planting.
The logic was that society’s continual regenesis arises from the ancestors, much
as the sprout yields the mature plant. In this light, the original two ancestors,
Manco Capac and Mama Huaco, were illustrated by one early author of Andean
heritage (Pachacuti Yamque) as saplings with roots (see Worship, Ancestor).