apus, the spirits of the mountains, and the spirits of the lakes,
which, if they are not worshiped, make the waves rise de-
structively, and which are offended if approached by some-
one not protected by the sacred coca leaf.
When he appears as an incarnation of, or as joined to,
Inti, Illapa may be represented by a male feline with human
and avian attributes. According to iconographic studies, Illa-
pa’s image as the “flying feline,” or “tiger bird” (Kauffmann
Doig, 1967; 1983, p. 225) is still current in the Andes, as
witnessed in the oral documentation collected by Bernard
Mishkin (1963) regarding Qoa, a god who is ruler of meteo-
rological phenomena. Qoa still appears as a flying cat, his
eyes throwing out lightning and his urine transformed into
fertilizing rain. Pictorial representations of the “tiger bird,”
which have been made since the formative period, especially
in Chavín and allied art (see below) have recently been relat-
ed to Qoa by Johan Reinhard (1985, pp. 19–20).
ANDEAN ICONOGRAPHY. Iconographic portrayal of super-
natural beings is abundant and dates back more than three
thousand years. In iconographic representations, supernatu-
ral beings are configured in complex ways; their hierarchal
aspects are emphasized, and some achieve the status of gods.
Supernatural beings other than gods are the figures repre-
sented in Sechín and in some Chavín art. Beings with the
rank of gods are found in Chavín and related cultures—
Vicús, Moche, Paracas-Nazca, Tiahuanaco, Huari, and oth-
ers (especially Lambayeque).
Mythological literature indicates that those male beings
who fertilize Mother Earth form the topmost division of the
hierarchy of the Andean pantheon, which, again, is made up
of deities of sustenance. One of the most obvious expressions
of the Andean gods’ character as providers is the anthropo-
morphic wooden figure of Huari style adorned with symbols
referring to basic food products that was found in the tem-
ples of Pachacámac near Lima.
The image of a conspicuously superior being is found
in the initial stages of high Andean civilization (especially in
Chavín and related cultures). This image, typically a human
form with feline and raptorial-bird attributes, is repeated in
practically all the Andean cultures that succeeded Chavín,
with variations of secondary importance. At Chavín, such hi-
erarchal figures of the highest order appear on the Raimondi
Stela; although lacking human elements, the figures on the
Tello Obelisk and the Yauya Stela, both Chavín in style, may
also be considered as representations of the highest level of
being, because of their monumental stature and fine execu-
tion. The central figure of the Door of the Sun at Tiahuana-
co is an almost anthropomorphic representation of the high-
est-ranking god. Attributes of a culture hero are perhaps also
incorporated here.
A frequently encountered image of what was perhaps
the same god as the one described above (but represented in
a clearer and more accessible form) is that of a hybrid being
that also had a form somewhere between a feline and a bird
of prey (a falcon?), represented naturalistically, in which ele-
ments of human anatomy are sometimes completely absent.
This “winged feline” may be the most ancient and authentic
representation known to us of an Andean god. The convolut-
ed, baroque style of Chavín art is responsible for the fact the
the “winged feline” has sometimes been identified as a cai-
man and sometimes as a lobster, a shrimp, or even a spider.
These animals, however, do not appear in relation to the di-
vine sphere at any later stage of Andean culture.
Supernatural beings of the highest category are to be
found in representations of the culture-heroes/gods Ai-apaec
and Ñaymlap and of the gods at Tiahuanaco and Paracas-
Nazca. All are anthropomorphic beings that combine traits
of both bird and feline; in this context they imply an evolu-
tionary development of the older “winged feline” of Chavín.
In the archetypical versions of Ai-apaec, the figure bears
wings (Kauffmann Doig, 1976; 1983, pp. 362, 624). At
Paracas-Nazca, one figure seems to represent an evolution
from a purely birdlike body into one that incorporates
human elements (Kauffmann Doig, 1983, pp. 303, 325,
331–332). Feline and ornithomorphic ingredients are evi-
dent in the large figures at Tiahuanaco and Huari; from their
eyes fall large tears in the form of birds, which, since Eugenio
Yacovleff (1932) and even before, have been interpreted as
symbolic of the fertilizing rainwater of Pachamama (Mama-
pacha).
Connubial gods in which the male element radiates fer-
tilizing solar rays are found especially in the iconography de-
rived from Huari and, more particularly, in the valleys of
Huara, Pativilca, and Casma on the coast of Peru (Kauff-
mann Doig, 1979a, pp. 6, 60). The examples of Inca art that
have survived have but scant votive content. But both the fe-
line and the falcon continue to occupy their place of honor
among iconographic elements, as may be seen in the “heral-
dic shield” of the Inca rulers drawn by Guaman Poma.
FORMS OF WORSHIP. Through acts of worship, the sphere
of the sacred could be manipulated to benefit humankind.
The effectiveness of human intervention into the realm of
the supernatural powers depended on the intensity with
which the rites were performed. In the Andean world, where
natural factors put agricultural production and even exis-
tence itself to a constant test, worship assumed an extraordi-
nary intensity and richness of form. The calamities that en-
dangered personal and collective welfare were believed to
have been caused by offenses to supernatural beings and es-
pecially to a lack of intensity in worship. Offerings to the
gods of sustenance and to other supernatural beings related
to them complemented the cultic display. Cruel sacrifices
were necessary to worship’s efficacy; in times of crisis they
were performed lavishly and included human sacrifices.
The diversity of forms of worship in this region was due
in part to the variety of forms of divine or magical conditions
that these people perceived. These conditions were in general
denoted by the term huaca, which can be translated as
“holy.” Huaca could refer to various unusual geographical8602 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE ANDES IN THE PRE-INCA PERIOD