Manco Capac

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This article refers to the first Sapa Inca, Manco Capac. For Manco Capac II, son of Inca Huayna Capac, see Manco Inca Yupanqui.

Drawing by Guaman Poma

In Inca mythology, Manco Capac (Quechua Manqo Qhapaq "splendid foundation", also Manku Qhapaq) was the first king of the Kingdom of Cuzco. There are several versions of the story of the origin of Manco Capac.

Inti legend

In one myth, Manco Capac was a son of the sun god Inti and brother of Pachacamac. Manco Capac himself was worshipped as a fire and sun god. According to the Inti legend, Manco Capac and his siblings were sent up to the earth by the sun god and emerged from the cave of Pacaritambo carrying a golden staff, called ‘tapac-yauri’. Instructed to create a Temple of the Sun in the spot where the staff sank into the earth, they traveled to Cuzco via underground caves and there built a temple in honor of their father, the sun god Inti. During the journey to Cuzco, one of Manco’s brothers and possibly one of his sisters were turned to stone (huaca).

Viracocha legend

In the Viracocha legend, Manco Capac was the son of Tici Viracocha of Pacari-Tambu (today Pacaritambo, 25 km south of Cuzco). He and his brothers (Ayar Anca, Ayar Cachi and Ayar Uchu) and sisters (Mama Ocllo, Mama Huaco, Mama Raua and Mama Cura) lived near Cuzco at Pacari-Tambu, and they united their people with other tribes encountered in their travels. They sought to conquer the tribes of the Cuzco Valley. This legend also incorporates the golden staff, thought to have been given to Manco Capac by his father. Accounts vary, but according to some versions of the legend, the young Manco jealously betrayed his older brothers, killed them, and became the ruler of Cuzco.

Life

Manco Capac ruled the Kingdom of Cuzco for about forty years, established a code of laws, and is thought to have abolished human sacrifice. The code of laws forbade marrying one's sister, but these laws did not apply to Inca nobility so he married his sister, Ocllo. With her, Manco had a son named Roca who became the next Sapa Inca. Manco Capac is thought to have reigned until about 1230, though some put his death in 1107. Manco ruled before the title of Sapa Inca was invented, so in fact his title is Capac, which roughly translates as warlord.

In fiction

The well-known Scrooge McDuck comic book Son of the Sun, written by Don Rosa, featured Manco Capac as the original owner of various lost treasures that serve as the comic's main plot devices, which Scrooge and his nephews are searching for. Also in Herman Melville's "The Confidence-Man," first chapter, first sentence, in which Melville compares the appearance of a fictional protagonist to Capac's appearance out of Lake Titicaca.