The Island of the Sun

Before the Incas...

The Island of the Sun has a long history of being a sacred place for people residing near Lake Titicaca and in the Andes as a whole. Well before the Inca Empire ruled, there were people living on and around the Island of the Sun. The People from each time period had their own cultures and beliefs.There is however, a recurring theme throughout their history that the Island of the Sun is area of high spiritual importance. Idols and religious buildings have been found on the island from many different groups of people starting with the Pucara people around 1100 B.C. (Salles-Reese, 1997). The people of Chiripa, Tiwanaku, Chullpa, Collao, Aymara, and Lupaca successively have also left their mark on the Island.

Pre-Incan Beliefs

Creation Myth - Shortly before the Inca controlled the area, the Collao people lived in the Titicaca region. The creation myth that these people based their religion on revolved around the lake and the Island of the Sun. According to the legend, Viracocha (the creator god) crafted mankind and all life forms from the site of Tiwanaku in the southern basin of Lake Titicaca and provided them with rules to live by. Due to disobedience of his rules, Viracocha flooded the area wiping everything out . After the flood, he traveled to Lake Titicaca and created the sun and moon. The Island of the Sun and the Island of the Moon in Lake Titicaca are where they are said to have first risen. Viracocha then created human-kind again and distributed them across the land (Salles-Reese, 1997).

 

 http://www.i-needtoknow.com/rick/update/2004/south_america/peru/sillustani/Sillustani%20photos-Pages/Image2.html
Collao Burial Ruins on the Island of the Sun

http://www.ioa.ucla.edu/staff/stanish/islands/archinfo.html

Tiwanaku Vases

 

The Role of the Island - In this myth, the Island of the Sun plays the role of the place that the sun was born and rose for the first time. This is typical for the Island of the Sun in myths and beliefs of people in the Andes. For this reason the island is revered with temples, idols, and worship. Many cultures in the Andes, including the Incas, showed a preference for worship of the sun. Many of these “Sun Cults” were based around the Island of the Sun. Because of the creation believed to take place here, the island was thought to be the center of the world and people would travel from near and far places to see and pay homage to the island. Gold and silver objects were found buried on the island as well as fine ceramics from the Tiwanaku people suggesting that pilgrims came to the site and left offerings. Another possibility is that these objects were left by the priests that resided at the sacred local. In either case the Island of the Sun was a spiritual stronghold and the people believed that offerings were necessary.

http://exchanges.state.gov/culprop/bolivia/sect.htm

Tiwanaku Diadem

 

An Effect of Pre-Incan Beliefs - The beliefs and myths of the pre-Inca people of the Island of the sun added to the prestige and lore of the island in the Incan tradition. When the Incas were beginning their expansion of the area, the people inhabiting the Island of the Sun were afraid that their beliefs and sacred areas would be wiped out by the Inca. One priest was sent to Cuzco and he told of the wonders of their sanctuary on the island. He talked of a sacred rock on the island that no bird would land on and that many people had witnessed the sun rising out of. After the priest explained these wonders, he offered the island to the Inca in hopes that the sacred place would be preserved. Inca Yupanqui visited the site and thought it a perfect place for his subjects to worship the sun. At that point the Island of the Sun became an important religious site for the Incas as it had for many cultures before them. For more about Incan beliefs go here.

 

http://www.pbase.com/digitaljeff/titicaca

The Island of the Sun