O
ORACLES
Oracles—sanctuaries where deities, through their spokespersons, gave answers
to those who consulted them—represented one of the most important and
original Inca institutions. Tahuantinsuyu included myriad oracular sanctuaries.
Some, such as Titicaca, on the Bolivian altiplano, and Pachacamac, on Peru’s
central coast, were the focus of pan-Andean pilgrimages. Others were of
regional and interregional importance, while the majority served as local shrines.
In fact, every Andean sociopolitical unit, such as an ayllu or an ethnic group,
had its own oracle, represented by an upright stone (huanca) identified with the
mythical founder of the group, by the mummified body (mallqui) of an ethnic
lord’s ancestor, or by a particular feature in the landscape—a rock, spring, cave,
or mountain peak (pacarina), from whence people believed the first ancestors
emerged. All these sacred entities and any object, idol, or place of worship
identified with supernatural beings and powers were known as huacas and all of
them were, at least potentially, oracles.
If it was the aural nature of the Andean religion that spurred the development
of oracular practices in the Andes, it was under the Incas that this phenomenon
reached its greatest development and diffusion. Indeed, the creation of large
oracular centers represented one of the principal concerns of the Inca rulers. The
emperor Pachacuti built the Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco. His
son Topa Inca Yupanqui transformed two ancient regional sanctuaries, Titicaca
and Pachacamac, into impressive oracular centers of pan-Andean renown; and
his son, Huayna Capac, adopted the oracle of Catequil as his protective deity
and spread its worship throughout northern Tahuantinsuyu.