The stone of heaven: some aspects of religious teaching in Inca society

Abstract

This article examines religious teaching in Inca society, focusing on the role of priests within the Tawantinsuyu and the evolution of the imperial Sun cult. The study highlights how the Sun cult, classified within the "astrobiological systems," served as an ideological basis for the Inca State, requiring a complex and hierarchical priestly organization. It analyzes how the structure of the priestly organization and its informational function were crucial for the functioning of the cult, and how the techniques of production and distribution of prophetic information were influenced by the priestly hierarchy. The article also explores the predictive methods of Inca society, which included the observation of natural events and introspection techniques such as dreams and visionary states induced by various rituals. Through a structural and ahistorical approach, the work offers a deep insight into the formation and impact of the Inca religious system on the political and social structure of the empire.