James. In Inca times this would have been the festival of Illapa, the Inca god of lightning. As the prayers draw to a close, four men dressed in black raise a rustic wooden litter holding a ...
Jaguars were worshipped as gods by the Olmec, the Maya, the Aztec, and the Inca, who carved jaguar effigies into their temples, their thrones, their pot handles, the spoons they made from llama bones.
The sacrificed child was thought of as a deity, ensuring a tie between the chief and the Inca emperor, who was considered a descendant of the Sun god. The sacrifice also bestowed an elevated ...