Encyclopedia of the Incas

celebrated during the austral summer solstice, in December. It suggests that the
ceremony was instituted by Topa Inca Yupanqui, the divine king who not only
spoke to the huacas, but also had the power to make them speak when he
wished.
The chronicler Pedro de Cieza de León noted that each year the Inca
summoned the principal huacas to Cuzco. Entourages of priests and servants
accompanied the huacas, which were received with considerable pomp. On the
designated day, they gathered in the main plaza and as the ruler, the people of
Cuzco, and the delegations looked on, each one made predictions about the
coming year. In general, the huacas were invited to opine on whether there were
to be good harvests and increase of livestock or if, on the contrary, famine or
plagues would affect the people and the flocks; if the Inca would enjoy good
health; if there would be peace in Tahuantinsuyu, or if there would be conflict
and rebellion. The Inca priests, under the direction of the Willac Umu, asked the
questions and each huaca’s priest replied. They heard the voices of their gods as
they drank abundant amounts of chicha (corn beer) mixed with psychotropic
substances. The huacas “spoke” to them directly or through dreams. The Inca
priests recorded each answer, and the following year assigned the sanctuaries of
the huacas whose prophecies came true with rich gifts and endowments. The
huacas that had given inexact or wrong predictions lost prestige, however, and
their shrines received neither benefits nor privileges.
As noted, Topa Inca Yupanqui was associated above all with the great oracles
of Titicaca, located on an island in the eponymous lake, across from the
Copacabana peninsula, and Pachacamac, situated at the mouth of the Lurín
River, just south of Lima. The development of Titicaca and Pachacamac as large
oracular centers of pan-Andean prominence reflected the strategic plans of Topa
Inca Yupanqui, who was determined to expand and consolidate the Empire. In
both places, the Incas applied the same measures of forced “Incanization,” which
entailed the mobilization of labor and resources on an unprecedented scale, at
least for religious centers outside of Cuzco. These sanctuaries also saw the
implementation of analogous forms of worship, pilgrimages, human sacrifices,
and offerings of valuable and prestigious goods, carried out according to the Inca
ceremonial calendar, particularly during Capac Raymi, the summer solstice
festival (see Calendar, Ritual).
Without doubt, the sanctuary of Titicaca was one of the empire’s most sacred
shrines, on which more resources were lavished than on any other. During the
reign of Topa Inca Yupanqui, the Incas transformed a regional shrine into the