An Introduction to Inti and the Inca Sun God

The Inca culture of Western South America had a complex religion and one of their most important deities was Inti, the Sun. There were many temples to Inti and Sun worship affected many aspects of life for the Inca, including architecture, festivals and the semi-divine status of the royal family. The Inca Empire The Inca Empire stretched from present-day Colombia to Chile and included most of Peru and Ecuador. The Inca were an advanced, wealthy culture with sophisticated record-keeping, astronomy and art. Originally from the Lake Titicaca area, the Inca were once one tribe of many in the high Andes, but they began a systematic program of conquest and assimilation and by the time of their first contact with Europeans their Empire was vast and complex. Spanish conquistadors under Francisco Pizarro first encountered the Inca in 1533 and swiftly conquered the Empire. Inca Religion Inca religion was complicated and incorporated many aspects of the sky and nature. The Inca had a pantheon of sorts: major Gods who had individual personalities and duties. The Inca also venerated countless huacas: these were minor spirits that inhabited places, things and sometimes people. A huaca could be anything that stood out from its surroundings: a large tree, a waterfall, or even a person with a curious birthmark. The Inca also venerated their dead and considered the royal family to be semi-divine, descended from the Sun. Inti, the Sun God Of the major gods, Inti, the Sun God, was second only to Viracocha, the creator god, in importance. Inti was higher-ranking than other gods such as the Thunder God and Pachamama, the Earth Mother. The Inca visualized Inti as a man: his wife was the Moon. Inti was the Sun and controlled all that implies: the Sun brings warmth, light and sunshine necessary for agriculture. The Sun (in conjunction with the Earth) had the power over all food: it was by his will that crops grew and animals thrived. The Sun God and the Royal Family The Inca royal family believed they were directly descended from Apu Inti (Lord Sun) through the first great Inca ruler, Manco Capac. The Inca royal family was therefore considered semi-divine by the people. The Inca himself - the word Inca actually means King or Emperor although it now refers to the entire culture - was considered very special and subject to certain rules and privileges. Atahualpa, the last true Emperor of the Inca, was the only one observed by the Spaniards. As the descendant of the Sun, his every whim was fulfilled. Anything he touched was stored away, later to be burned: these included everything from half-eaten ears of corn to sumptuous cloaks and clothing. Because the Inca royal family identified themselves with the Sun, it is no accident that the greatest temples in the Empire were dedicated to Inti. The Temple of Cuzco The greatest temple in the Inca Empire was the temple of the Sun in Cuzco. The Inca people were rich in gold, and this temple was unrivalled in its magnificence. It was known as Coricancha (Golden Temple) or Inti Cancha or Inti Wasi (Temple of the Sun or House of the Sun). The temple complex was massive, and included quarters for the priests and servants. There was a special building for the mamaconas, women who served the Sun and even slept in the same room as one of the Sun idols: they were said to be his wives. The Incas were master stonemasons and the temple represented the pinnacle of Inca stonework: parts of the temple are still visible today (the Spanish built a Dominican church and convent on the site). The temple was full of golden objects: some walls were covered in gold. Much of this gold was sent to Cajamarca as part of Atahualpas Ransom. Sun Worship Much Inca architecture was designed and built to assist in the worship of the Sun, Moon and stars. The Inca often built pillars which marked the position of the Sun at the solstices, which were celebrated by grand festivals. The Inca lords would preside at such festivals. In the great temple of the Sun, a high-ranking Inca woman – generally the sister of the reigning Inca, if one were available – was in charge of the cloistered women who served as the Sun’s â€Å"wives.† The priests observed holy days such as solstices and prepared the appropriate sacrifices and offerings. Eclipses The Inca could not predict solar eclipses, and when one occurred, it tended to trouble them greatly. The diviners would attempt to figure out why Inti was displeased, and sacrifices would be offered. The Inca rarely practiced human sacrifice, but an eclipse sometimes was considered cause to do so. The reigning Inca would often fast for days after an eclipse and withdraw from public duties. Inti Raymi One of the most important religious events of the Inca was Inti Ramyi, the annual festival of the sun. It took place in the seventh month of the Inca Calendar on June 20 or 21, the date of the Summer Solstice. Inti Raymi was celebrated all over the Empire, but the main celebration took place in Cuzco, where the reigning Inca would preside over the ceremonies and festivities. It opened with the sacrifice of 100 llamas selected for brown fur. The festival lasted for several days. Statues of the Sun God and other gods were brought out, dressed up and paraded around and sacrifices were made to them. There was much drinking, singing and dancing. Special statues were made of wood, representing certain gods: these were burned at the end of the festival. After the festival, the ashes of the statues and sacrifices were brought to a special place on a hillside: only those disposing of these ashes were ever allowed to go there. Inca Sun Worship The Inca Sun god was relatively benign: he was not destructive or violent like some Aztec Sun Gods like Tonatiuh or Tezcatlipoca. He only showed his wrath when there was an eclipse, at which point the Inca priests would sacrifice people and animals to appease him. The Spanish priests considered Sun Worship to be pagan at best (and thinly-disguised Devil worship at worst) and went to great lengths to stamp it out. Temples were destroyed, idols burned, festivals forbade. It is a grim testament to their zeal that very few Andeans practice any sort of traditional religion today. Most of the great Inca goldwork at the Cuzco Temple of the Sun and elsewhere found its way into the melting fires of the Spanish conquistadors - countless artistic and cultural treasures were melted down and shipped to Spain. Father Bernabà © Cobo tells the story of one Spanish soldier named Manso Serra who was awarded a massive Inca sun idol as his share of Atahualpas Ransom. Serra lost the idol gambling and its eventual fate is unknown. Inti is enjoying a bit of a comeback lately. After centuries of being forgotten, Inti Raymi is once more being celebrated in Cuzco and other parts of the former Inca Empire. The festival is popular among native Andeans, who see it as a way to reclaim their lost heritage, and tourists, who enjoy the colorful dancers. Sources De Betanzos, Juan. (translated and edited by Roland Hamilton and Dana Buchanan) Narrative of the Incas. Austin: the University of Texas Press, 2006 (1996). Cobo, Father Bernabe. Inca Religion and Customs. Roland Hamilton (Translator), Paperback, New Ed edition, University of Texas Press, May 1, 1990. Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro. (translated by Sir Clement Markham). History of the Incas. 1907. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1999.

Feminism in Jane Eyre Essay - 1648 Words

Jane Eyre was written in a time where the Bildungsroman was a common form of literature. The importance was that the mid-nineteenth century was, the age in which women were, for the first time, ranked equally with men as writers within a major genre (Sussman 1). In many of these novels, the themes were the same; the protagonist dealt with the same issues, search for autonomy and selfhood in opposition to the social constraints placed upon the female, including the demand for marriage (Sussman). Jane Eyre fits this mould perfectly. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Jane Eyre on a journey of development from adolescence to maturity to show that a desire for freedom and change motivates people to search for their own identity.†¦show more content†¦Her influence in Janes adolescence and early adulthood teach her to have harmonious thoughts, and to give allegiance to duty and order (Gilbert 347). Here, Miss Temple teaches Jane to suppress her wild emotions and become comp liant under the superior male, but still maintain an inward anger that can never be expressed. Jane, however, cannot conform to the lesson being taught to her; through Miss Temple, she learns that her journey into maturity and freedom requires her to be more independent and passionate than Miss Temple instructs. Miss Temple is not only like a mother figure to Jane, but she is also encouraging of intellectual growth (Rich 466). Temples impact on Janes education allows her to become stronger in character, which will eventually bring her to complete independence. Kathleen Tillotson finds in Miss Temple a sign of hope for Jane: the warm fire and the cake from the cupboard in Miss Temples room are assertions of individual loving-kindness, though also of its limited power (Tillotson 60) In spite of this, Tillotson writes that Jane at Thornfield is submitting to virtue in lovable form, as she had once submitted to Miss Temple (Tillotson 60). In other words, Tillotson argues that although M iss Temple may have positively influenced Jane in certain ways, ultimately her call for repression and submission instigates Janes realization that she must discover her own place in life,Show MoreRelatedFeminism in Jane Eyre1423 Words   |  6 PagesFeminism in Jane Eyre Jay Sheldon Feminism has been a prominent and controversial topic in writings for the past two centuries. With novels such as Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, or even William Shakespeares Macbeth the fascination over this subject by authors is evident. 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Heuristics and Print Advertising Essay Example

Essays on Heuristics and Print Advertising Essay The paper â€Å"Heuristics and Print Advertising† is a   thrilling version of an essay on marketing. Marketing may be defined as - the process by which products and services are introduced to the marketplace. Furthermore, it highlights every characteristic of the firm and product. As a result, research in marketing has to have an overall approach so that the marketers can understand the entire trend and make the consumers realize that this is the right choice (Nelson 1974).The essential concept: Traditional economic approaches that assume that people make decisions by trading off all features of all alternatives to maximize utility are wrong. Instead, people use simplifying heuristics to get through complex decision making. For example, people naturally classify alternatives into categories and then eliminate broad sets of alternatives (Dzyabura Hauser 2010). They consider alternatives in succession and take the first one that meets their needs (a process of what Nobelist H erbert Simon called "satisficing" strategies).People find reference points to help simplify decision making (Midgley 1977). Store brands appear to be good buys because they sit on a shelf next to national brands at much lower prices (Hauser 2011). And shoppers tend to navigate a store a certain way. When faced with unfamiliar alternatives, they gravitate to the familiar as a safer starting point. Imagine: You're sick to your stomach in a foreign country. You go to a local pharmacy and what do you find: row after row of unfamiliar brands in unfamiliar packages. You panic. But if you spot one brand that you do recognize, you're likely to buy it — even though it's a product you've rarely used before. Familiarity relaxes the risk/fear response and leads to a simplified choice.Behavioral economics is shining a light on the power of simplicity. Books such as Predictably Irrational — Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely (2009) and How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer (2009) have topped best-seller lists. And, although simplifying heuristics might seem irrational, they may be globally optimal when we consider that people successfully make thousands of decisions on an average day. In fact, our brains would explode if we were to consider becoming calculative utility-maximizers with respect to each of these choices.An anthropologist might explore the need for Heuristics by observing the ritualized ways in which a person's day unfolds. And it's true: We all have recurring patterns for how we get going in the morning, what happens when we first arrive at work, and what happens once we return home at the end of a day (Hauser 2011). Yet each of our personal patterns is quite different from those of anyone else. In other words, we have a multitude of choices, but we each fall into our own pattern and choose our own simplified, recurring way of navigating a day. And the habits can be as basic as watching television.In a given week, on average, viewers wa tch only 10 percent of the channels available to them. How do they get to those selections? By ritual. For example, a viewer who always start on the same channel and then click on to the onscreen guide. It's a simplifying pattern that starts off my evening entertainment, and we all have to simplify patterns for just about everything we do.

Character sketch of Charles Strickland free essay sample

William Somerset Maugham was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era. He possessed a keen and observant eye; in his best works he ridiculed philistinism, narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy, self-interest and utilitarian approach to art. His links with realistic art, however, were not so solid as to place him among the best English writers of his period. The Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to become an artist. The story is said to be loosely based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. Fu the first part of the Chapter we’ve read, Maugham give us a hint, about people’s attitude towards Strickland’s art. We will write a custom essay sample on Character sketch of Charles Strickland or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We can see misunderstanding, defiance, reprobation. We can observe some lexical peculiarities. At first, S. Maugham selects his words with great precision. The use of the slang expression â€Å"beach-comber† and colloquial expression â€Å"buy for a song† more fit for casual discourse than for the author’s narration, turn the passage from an unemotional account of facts into a vividly drawn picture. The lines are suggestive of the disappointment of those who had known Strickland, might have got his pictures but failed to do it. The author regretted not the loss of a work of art, but the loss of money. We can observe people’s hard-heartedness, some sort of indifference. We can suppose that they gave no sympathy or compassion to him when he was alive. Only after his death they began to understand and recognize his works. The person who was troubled (anxious) about Strickland was Jewish trader called Cohen. To describe this person Maugham used such words as â€Å"copra†, â€Å"shell†, â€Å"pearls† and some proper names that give an idea of the occupation of the people on the island. These words as well as the proper names â€Å"the Paumotus† and â€Å"the Marquesas† help create a local color, the atmosphere of the place that was the setting for the events described. We can see that Cohen was kind, decent, the person of ready sympathy. He was anxious not only his own life, but also the life’s of people around pay attention to their problems and was ready to help. To show the approving impression the author used such epithets like: â€Å"little old Frenchman†, â€Å"soft kind eyes†, â€Å"pleasant smile†. Due to Cohen we knew more about mysterious or enigmatic life of Strickland. We really can say that Cohen was soft-hearted. he helped Strickland with the work and money, and he did it not because out of pity or profit , but because he just wanted to help. The novel is an illustration of one of Maugham’s favorite convictions that human nature is knit of contradictions, that the workings of the human mind are unpredictable. Stricland was concerned on his art. He was indifferent to love, friendship and kindness, misanthropic and inconsiderate to others. He sacrificed his â€Å"normal† life to passion for art. He was resolute, stubborn in decision, that’s why he had he never stepped back. Thats why he scored a success. His pictures fall flat on the public and recognition comes to him only after his death. In conclusion I want to write the words from the reviewer remarks: â€Å"Like so many young men he was so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet†