Hi everyone! I raised this point a year ago, but now that the Aztecs are officially joining the roster, I feel it’s more important than ever to revisit the Incas to make sure we get them right from the start.
As a Peruvian architect passionate about our heritage, I want to offer a “preventive note” regarding Pachamama. To be honest, as a Peruvian, it is almost insulting to see how modern “New Age” movements have distorted our ancestral knowledge, trying to force a hierarchy that never existed in the Incan state.
If we want an authentic representation, Pachamama must remain a Minor Deity. Here is the historical and architectural reality:
1) The “Stone Proof” (Archaeology): In the Incan Empire, a “Major Deity” meant a massive Imperial temple.
- We have the Coricancha for Inti (The Sun) located in Cuzco.
- We have the temple at Raqchi for Wiracocha (Cuzco).
- We have the temple at Pachacamac for Pachacamac, the “two-faced oracle” god in Lima.
However, there is no record of a major imperial temple dedicated exclusively to Pachamama; her cult was “normal” but strictly domestic and rural.
2) Our culture is built on duality.
- Historically, Pachamama is part of a complementary duality with Mamacocha (Mother Sea).
- In the sacred diagrams of chroniclers like Juan Santa Cruz Pachacuti (1613), she is placed on a terrestrial level—while humans are placed higher—as the earth that needs water to be fertile, not as a celestial ruler.
3) The Hierarchy of the “Orderer”: In the Quechua language, the supreme title was Wiracocha Pachayachachic Intip Intin (Great Lord, Orderer of the Cosmos, Sun of the Sun).
- Yachachic means “the one who orders” or “the teacher”. It is important to note that Pacha does not only mean “earth”; depending on the context, it means “soil”, “cosmos”, or “space”.
- In the Andean worldview, the force that provides order (Wiracocha) and the energy of life (Inti) are always cosmically superior to the material earth.
4) The “New Age” Distortion: It is frustrating to see the Western “Gaia” concept copy-pasted onto our history.
This modern invention turns Pachamama into a supreme goddess for commercial or spiritual convenience, but it is historically false.
Renowned historians like María Rostworowski clarified that for the Incas, the Sun and the Creator always came first.
I’m writing this because I want our legacy to be understood through its true logic, not through modern clichés. I hope the developers stay faithful to the historical truth that we Peruvians are so proud of.
I’m happy to discuss our history further with anyone interested!