Encyclopedia of the Incas

lagoons, springs, rock outcrops, and distinctively shaped boulders. The Sun, the
Moon, and other leading celestial deities were worshipped as they moved across
the sky. As celestial bodies made their ways across the heavens, or the sun
projected shadows, architecture provided the frame for these celestial
observations. Moreover, according to the myths recorded after the conquest,
terrestrial deities, founding or mythical ancestors, and noble lineages were
transformed into stone. Many of the rocks that commemorated these
transformations were carved and provided with an architectural setting.
In the same manner, an elaborate architectural landscape and carved stones
surrounded the springs and waterways. These sacred places included areas where
officiants met, such as open or roofed courtyards and structures, or groups of
structures known as canchas and callancas, respectively (see Architecture;
Settlement Planning). Even though images and mummy bundles of prominent
ancestors were kept in specially made structures, these were not monumental. In
fact, in many cases these structures were not even part of the ceremonial
complex and they often played a secondary role in the architectural layout.
Second, ceremonies (see Religion) implied periodic movement of participants,
as members of ritual pilgrimages (see Capac Hucha) or as squadrons of runners
who participated in races beyond the city limits. The itineraries of these
movements were determined by clusters of sacred places (see Huacas), defined
by the Spanish chroniclers as temples or shrines. Thanks to descriptions by the
chroniclers Bernabé Cobo and Juan Polo Ondegardo of some 328 (or 350) of
these sacred places as part of Cuzco’s ceque system, and the astounding progress
made in locating them, we can now assert that they were linked—both
physically and conceptually—by bodies of water (see Religion). These included
lakes, springs, creeks, or tributaries all originating in Cuzco’s Huatanay River
basin and its canal system, born of the tincuy, or meeting, of two rivers below the
temple of Coricancha. The sources compiled by Cobo indicate that each group
of shrine-huacas located on the same ceque was worshipped by the same kin
group—ayllus or panacas. This worship took place on specific days of the
ceremonial calendar. As a consequence, the river basin surrounding Cuzco’s
urban core and even areas beyond the horizon were transformed into a ritual
stage and place of devotion.
Third, given the divine nature of the Sapa Inca (unique, sole Inca ruler) and
his lineage (see Kingship, Divine), the places where he, his incarnations or body
doubles, and representatives manifested themselves before the public were also
considered sacred. This is illustrated by the plazas, which contained ushnus or