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Viracocha, also spelled Huiracocha or Wiraqoca, creator deity originally worshiped by the pre-Inca inhabitants of Peru and later assimilated into the Inca pantheon. He was believed to have created the sun and moon on Lake Titicaca. According to tradition, after forming the rest of the heavens and the earth, Viracocha wandered through the world teaching men the arts of civilization. At Manta (Ecuador) he walked westward across the Pacific, promising to return one day. He was sometimes represented as an old man wearing a beard (a symbol of water gods) and a long robe and carrying a staff.
The cult of Viracocha is extremely ancient, and it is possible that he is the weeping god sculptured in the megalithic ruins at Tiwanaku, near Lake Titicaca. He probably entered the Inca pantheon at a relatively late date, possibly under the emperor Viracocha (died c. 1438), who took the god’s name. The Incas believed that Viracocha was a remote being who left the daily working of the world to the surveillance of the other deities that he had created. He was actively worshiped by the nobility, primarily in times of crisis.
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pre-Columbian civilizations: Administration of the empire…worship of a creator-god called Viracocha, who had been worshiped since pre-Inca times. Priests were appointed, ceremonies were planned, prayers were prepared, and temples were built throughout the empire. He also expounded the view that the Inca had a divine mission to bring this true religion to other peoples, so…
pre-Columbian civilizations: Inca gods…and of pre-Inca peoples was Viracocha, who was also a culture hero. Creator of earth, man, and animals, Viracocha had a long list of titles, including Lord Instructor of the World, the Ancient One, and the Old Man of the Sky. Some have said that he also was the creator…
Native American literature: Central and South America…be traced, the Incas worshipped Viracocha, the creator. He was the omnipotent being who took part in every mythological incident. He created people from painted stone dolls, a specific way of saying that humans evolved from the living rock. He also had the capacity for infinite self-multiplication, and some of…