Encyclopedia of the Incas

and prejudices  of  Crown   officials.  For instance,   “Who    were    their   rulers  in

heathen times?  What    rights  did their   former  lords   have    over    them?   What    did

they    pay in  tribute?    What    forms   of  worship,    rites,  and good    or  evil    customs

did they    practice?”  Respondents were    also    encouraged  to  draw    maps    of  the

layouts of  towns,  or, in  the case    of  towns   along   the coast,  of  the islands off the

coast.  Unfortunately,  in  only    a   handful of  cases   did respondents take    the time

to  draw    town    maps    or  ones    that    depicted    the geographical    setting of  a   town    or

a   group   of  settlements.

In   any     case,   the     Relaciones  Geográficas     de  Indias  are     exceptionally

important   sources of  information for understanding   the world   of  the Incas   and

the  nature  of  some    of  the     major   transformations     following   the     Spanish

conquest.

Further Reading

Cline,  Howard  F.  “The    Relaciones  Geográficas of  the Spanish Indies, 1577–1586.” Hispanic    American

Historical  Review  44, no. 3:341–74,   1964.

Mundy,  Barbara E.  “Relaciones Geográficas.”   In  Guide   to  Documentary Sources for Andean  Studies,

1530–1900,   edited  by  Joanne  Pillsbury,  vol.    1,  144–59.     Norman:     University  of  Oklahoma    Press,

2008.

■GARY   URTON

RELIGION
Inca religion can be defined in two ways. First, it embraced the beliefs and ritual
practices of the inhabitants of the Cuzco valley, composed of the “Incas-by-
blood,” descendants of the mythical founding ancestor, Manco Capac, and the
Incas by privilege, who were not direct descendants of noble Inca lineages.
Second, it was the religious doctrine of the empire, which saw many adjustments
as it merged and incorporated the beliefs of the scores of ethnic and linguistic
groups under the imperial yoke. This doctrine was made manifest and spread
through feasts and rituals that legitimated the rule of the Sapa Inca (the sole,
unique Inca), and his representatives.

The Incas’  tutelary    god was Inti,   the Sun god,    from

whom    the Inca    rulers  believed    they    descended.

Guaman  Poma    de  Ayala,  Felipe, El  primer  nueva

corónica    y   buen    gobierno.   Edited  by  John    V.

Murra   and Rolena  Adorno, 232/258.    Mexico  City:

Siglo   Veintiuno,  1980    [1615].