Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Located in the Andes on the border of Bolivia and Peru, Lake Titicaca is not only a beautiful spot on this planet, but also a place shrouded in a veil of mystery.
How did the Inca know the shape the lake as seen from the air? What precious ancient treasures are hidden at the bottom of the lake? Why is Lake Titicaca so sacred?
There are many questions, and we can answer some of them, but beautiful Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America still holds many ancient secrets we know little about.
Lake Titicaca And The Inca God Viracocha
Lake Titicaca was long considered the origin and center of the cosmos by the local people and then also the later Incas.
Ancient Inca legends tell after a Great Flood, the creator god Viracocha emerged from Lake Titicaca. He created the Sun, Moon and stars. Viracocha who was fair-skinned and bearded, brought culture to the ancient peoples of South America.
According to some Inca myths, Viracocha went to Tiahuanacu (Tiwanaku) where he created the first humans.
The 16th century Spanish chronicler, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, recorded in his Historia de los Incas a tale about Manco Capac the first Inca.
According to Inca mythology, the Inca are the direct descendants of a mythical first Inca, named Manco Capac, who emerged from one of the three openings in the mountain Tambotoco, near Pacaritambo (or Pacariqtambo) (‘tavern of the dawn’), located some six leagues (approximately 33 km) to the south-southwest of Cuzco, Peru.
Manco Capac came to found the Inca civilization.
Even though his figure is mentioned in several chronicles, his actual existence remains unclear.
While he remains a semi-mythical figure whose actual time period cannot be clearly pinpointed, he is regarded as an Inca hero and many ancient legends connect Manco Cápac to the foundation of Cuzco.
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