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Mama Killa

2020-05-20T15:53:56Z

Mejo ARMY: /* Myths surrounding Mama Killa */

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
'''Mama Quilla''' ([[Quechua languages|Quechua]] ''mama'' mother, ''killa'' moon, "Mother Moon",<ref>Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua–Spanish dictionary)</ref> hispanicized spelling ''Mama Quilla''), in [[Inca mythology]] and [[Inca religion|religion]], was the third power and [[Lunar deity|goddess of the moon]]. She was the older sister and wife of [[Inti]], daughter of [[Viracocha]] and mother of [[Manco Cápac]] and [[Mama Ocllo|Mama Uqllu]] ''(Mama Ocllo)'', mythical founders of the [[Inca]] empire and culture. She was the goddess of marriage and the menstrual cycle, and considered a defender of women. She was also important for the Inca [[calendar]].

Myths surrounding Mama Killa include that she cried tears of silver and that [[lunar eclipses]] were caused when she was being attacked by an animal. She was envisaged in the form of a beautiful woman and her temples were served by dedicated priestesses.

It is possible that word quilla is a borrowing from [[Puquina language]] explaining thus why genetically unrelated languages such as Quechua, [[Aymara language|Aymara]] and [[Mapuche language|Mapuche]] have similar words for the Moon.<ref name=Moulianetal2015>{{cite journal |last1=Moulian |first1=Rodrígo |last2=Catrileo |first2=María|last3=Landeo |first3=Pablo|author-link2=María Catrileo |date=2015 |title=Afines quechua en el vocabulario mapuche de Luis de Valdivia |trans-title=Akins Quechua words in the Mapuche vocabulary of Luis de Valdivia |journal=[[Revista de lingüística teórica y aplicada]] |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages= 73–96|doi=10.4067/S0718-48832015000200004 |language=Spanish|doi-access=free }}</ref> Similitudes are not only linguistic but also symbolically as in [[Mapuche religion|Mapuche]] and Central Andean cosmology the Moon (Quilla/Cuyen) and the Sun (Inti/Antu) are spouses.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Correlatos en las constelaciones semióticas del sol y de la luna en las áreas centro y sur andinas|journal=[[Boletín del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino]]|last=Moulian|first=Rodrigo|volume=23|last2=Catrileo|first2=María|issue=2|pages=121–141|doi=10.4067/S0718-68942018000300121|year=2018|language=Spanish|last3=Hasler|first3=Felipe|author-link2=María Catrileo|trans-title=Correspondence of semiotic sun and moon constellations in the central and southern andes|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Beliefs==
Mama Killa was known as "Mother Moon", and was goddess of the moon.<ref name="D'A">D'Altroy, p. 148.</ref> According to Father [[Bernabé Cobo]], writing in the mid-sixteenth century, the Moon was worshipped because of her "admirable beauty" and the "benefits she bestows upon the world".<ref name="Cobo">{{cite book |title= Inca Religion and Customs|url= https://archive.org/details/incareligioncust0000cobo|url-access= registration|last= Cobo|first= Bernabé|origyear= 1653|year= 1990|publisher= [[University of Texas Press]]|location= [[Austin, Texas]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/incareligioncust0000cobo/page/29 29–30]}}</ref> She was important for calculating the passage of time and the calendar, because many rituals were based upon the [[lunar calendar]] and adjusted to match the [[solar year]].<ref name="D'A"/> She also oversaw marriage, women's [[menstruation|menstrual cycles]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-69448|title= Pre-Columbian civilizations|accessdate=2008-03-23 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]|publisher= ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] (2008)}}</ref> and was deemed the protector of women in general.<ref name="Conway">{{cite book |title= Moon Magick: Myth & Magick, Crafts & Recipes, Rituals & Spells|last= Conway|first=D. J.|publisher= [[Llewellyn Worldwide]]|year= 1995|isbn= 978-1-56718-167-8|pages=148}}</ref>

===Myths surrounding Mama Killa===
One myth surrounding the Moon was to account for the "[[Moon#Impact craters|dark spots]]"; it was believed that a fox fell in love with Mama Killa because of her beauty, but when he rose into the sky, she squeezed him against her, producing the patches.<ref name="D'A"/> The Incas would fear [[lunar eclipse]]s as they believed that during the eclipse, an animal (possibly a [[mountain lion]]<ref name="Cobo"/> or serpent<ref name="Cobo"/><ref name="Conway"/>) was attacking Mama Killa. Consequently, people would attempt to scare away the animal by throwing weapons, gesturing and making as much noise as possible. They believed that if the animal achieved its aim, then the world would be left in darkness. This tradition continued after the Incas had been converted to [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] by the [[Conquistadors]], which the Spanish used to their advantage. The natives showed the Spanish great respect when they found that they were able to predict when the eclipses would occur.<ref name="Cobo"/> Mama Killa was also believed to cry tears of silver.<ref name="D'A"/>

==Relations==
Mama Killa was generally the third deity in the [[Inca mythology#Deities|Inca pantheon]], after [[Inti]] (god of the sun) and Illapu (god of thunder),<ref name="Cobo"/> but was viewed as more important than Inti by some coastal communities, including by the [[Chimú culture|Chimú]].<ref name="D'A"/> Relatives of Mama Killa include her younger brother and husband Inti, god of the sun, and her children [[Manco Cápac]], first ruler of the Incas, and Mama Ocllo, Manco Cápac’s older sister and wife.<ref name="Conway"/> After the [[Ichma]], nominally of the [[Chimor|Chimú Empire]], joined the Inca empire, she also became the mother of their deity [[Pacha Kamaq]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Peru Before the Incas|last= Lanning|first= Edward|year= 1968|publisher= Prentice Hall|isbn= 978-0-13-661595-8}}</ref> Mama Killa's mother was said to be [[Viracocha]].

==Symbology and temples==
Mama Killa had her own temple in [[Cusco]], served by priestesses dedicated to her.<ref name="D'A"/> She was imagined as a human female,<ref name="D'A"/> and images of her included a silver disc covering an entire wall.<ref name="Conway"/>

==See also==
* [[List of lunar deities]]

==Sources==
* D'Altroy, T.N. (2002) ''The Incas'', Blackwell Publishing: Oxford. {{ISBN|978-0-631-17677-0}}.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Inca goddesses]]
[[Category:Lunar goddesses]]
[[Category:Mother goddesses]]

Mama Killa

2020-05-20T15:53:26Z

Mejo ARMY: /* Myths surrounding Mama Killa */

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
'''Mama Quilla''' ([[Quechua languages|Quechua]] ''mama'' mother, ''killa'' moon, "Mother Moon",<ref>Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua–Spanish dictionary)</ref> hispanicized spelling ''Mama Quilla''), in [[Inca mythology]] and [[Inca religion|religion]], was the third power and [[Lunar deity|goddess of the moon]]. She was the older sister and wife of [[Inti]], daughter of [[Viracocha]] and mother of [[Manco Cápac]] and [[Mama Ocllo|Mama Uqllu]] ''(Mama Ocllo)'', mythical founders of the [[Inca]] empire and culture. She was the goddess of marriage and the menstrual cycle, and considered a defender of women. She was also important for the Inca [[calendar]].

Myths surrounding Mama Killa include that she cried tears of silver and that [[lunar eclipses]] were caused when she was being attacked by an animal. She was envisaged in the form of a beautiful woman and her temples were served by dedicated priestesses.

It is possible that word quilla is a borrowing from [[Puquina language]] explaining thus why genetically unrelated languages such as Quechua, [[Aymara language|Aymara]] and [[Mapuche language|Mapuche]] have similar words for the Moon.<ref name=Moulianetal2015>{{cite journal |last1=Moulian |first1=Rodrígo |last2=Catrileo |first2=María|last3=Landeo |first3=Pablo|author-link2=María Catrileo |date=2015 |title=Afines quechua en el vocabulario mapuche de Luis de Valdivia |trans-title=Akins Quechua words in the Mapuche vocabulary of Luis de Valdivia |journal=[[Revista de lingüística teórica y aplicada]] |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages= 73–96|doi=10.4067/S0718-48832015000200004 |language=Spanish|doi-access=free }}</ref> Similitudes are not only linguistic but also symbolically as in [[Mapuche religion|Mapuche]] and Central Andean cosmology the Moon (Quilla/Cuyen) and the Sun (Inti/Antu) are spouses.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Correlatos en las constelaciones semióticas del sol y de la luna en las áreas centro y sur andinas|journal=[[Boletín del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino]]|last=Moulian|first=Rodrigo|volume=23|last2=Catrileo|first2=María|issue=2|pages=121–141|doi=10.4067/S0718-68942018000300121|year=2018|language=Spanish|last3=Hasler|first3=Felipe|author-link2=María Catrileo|trans-title=Correspondence of semiotic sun and moon constellations in the central and southern andes|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Beliefs==
Mama Killa was known as "Mother Moon", and was goddess of the moon.<ref name="D'A">D'Altroy, p. 148.</ref> According to Father [[Bernabé Cobo]], writing in the mid-sixteenth century, the Moon was worshipped because of her "admirable beauty" and the "benefits she bestows upon the world".<ref name="Cobo">{{cite book |title= Inca Religion and Customs|url= https://archive.org/details/incareligioncust0000cobo|url-access= registration|last= Cobo|first= Bernabé|origyear= 1653|year= 1990|publisher= [[University of Texas Press]]|location= [[Austin, Texas]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/incareligioncust0000cobo/page/29 29–30]}}</ref> She was important for calculating the passage of time and the calendar, because many rituals were based upon the [[lunar calendar]] and adjusted to match the [[solar year]].<ref name="D'A"/> She also oversaw marriage, women's [[menstruation|menstrual cycles]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-69448|title= Pre-Columbian civilizations|accessdate=2008-03-23 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]|publisher= ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] (2008)}}</ref> and was deemed the protector of women in general.<ref name="Conway">{{cite book |title= Moon Magick: Myth & Magick, Crafts & Recipes, Rituals & Spells|last= Conway|first=D. J.|publisher= [[Llewellyn Worldwide]]|year= 1995|isbn= 978-1-56718-167-8|pages=148}}</ref>

===Myths surrounding Mama Killa===
One myth surrounding the Moon was to account for the "[[Moon#Impact craters|dark spots]]"; it was believed that a fox fell in love with Mama Killa because of her beauty, but when he rose into the sky, she squeezed him against her, producing the patches.<ref name="D'A"/> The Incas would fear [[lunar eclipse]]s as they believed that during the eclipse, an animal (possibly a [[mountain lion]]<ref name="Cobo"/> or serpent<ref name="Cobo"/><ref name="Conway"/>) was attacking Mama Killa. Consequently, people would attempt to scare away the animal by throwing weapons, gesturing and making as much noise as possible. They believed that if the animal achieved its aim, then the world would be left in darkness. This tradition continued after the Incas had been converted to [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] by the [[Conquistadors]], which the Spanish used to their advantage. The natives showed the Spanish great respect when they found that they were able to predict when the eclipses would take happen.<ref name="Cobo"/> Mama Killa was also believed to cry tears of silver.<ref name="D'A"/>

==Relations==
Mama Killa was generally the third deity in the [[Inca mythology#Deities|Inca pantheon]], after [[Inti]] (god of the sun) and Illapu (god of thunder),<ref name="Cobo"/> but was viewed as more important than Inti by some coastal communities, including by the [[Chimú culture|Chimú]].<ref name="D'A"/> Relatives of Mama Killa include her younger brother and husband Inti, god of the sun, and her children [[Manco Cápac]], first ruler of the Incas, and Mama Ocllo, Manco Cápac’s older sister and wife.<ref name="Conway"/> After the [[Ichma]], nominally of the [[Chimor|Chimú Empire]], joined the Inca empire, she also became the mother of their deity [[Pacha Kamaq]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Peru Before the Incas|last= Lanning|first= Edward|year= 1968|publisher= Prentice Hall|isbn= 978-0-13-661595-8}}</ref> Mama Killa's mother was said to be [[Viracocha]].

==Symbology and temples==
Mama Killa had her own temple in [[Cusco]], served by priestesses dedicated to her.<ref name="D'A"/> She was imagined as a human female,<ref name="D'A"/> and images of her included a silver disc covering an entire wall.<ref name="Conway"/>

==See also==
* [[List of lunar deities]]

==Sources==
* D'Altroy, T.N. (2002) ''The Incas'', Blackwell Publishing: Oxford. {{ISBN|978-0-631-17677-0}}.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Inca goddesses]]
[[Category:Lunar goddesses]]
[[Category:Mother goddesses]]