Pacha Mama or Pachamama is the Goddess revered by the indigenous peoples of the Andes. It is also known as mother earth / time. In Inca mythology, Pachamama is a fertility goddess who presides over the sowing and harvesting, personifying the mountains and causing earthquakes. Peru.
She is also an omnipresent and independent deity who has her own self-sufficient creative power to sustain life on earth. Her sanctuaries are sacred stones or the trunks of legendary trees, and her artistic representation shows her as an adult woman carrying the harvest of potatoes and coca leaves.
Diosa Pachamama 
Pachamama
The four Quechua cosmological principles: water, earth, Sun and Moon affirm that Pachamama is its origin. Priests sacrifice flames, cuis, and elaborate burnt miniature garments to him. After the Spanish conquest and conversion to Roman Catholicism, the figure of the Virgin Mary was united with that of Pachamama for many indigenous peoples. In pre-Hispanic culture, Pachamama is often a cruel goddess eager to obtain sacrifices. As Andean cultures formed modern nations, Pachamama remained benevolent, generous, and as a local name for mother nature.
Therefore, many in South America believe that problems arise when people take too much from nature because they are taking too much of Pachamama. Pachamama is the mother of Inti, the Sun god, and Mama Quilla, the Moon goddess. Pachamama is also said to be the wife of Inti, her son.
Etymology
Pachamama is usually translated as Mother Earth, but a more literal translation would be “Mother World” (in Aymara and Quechua). The Inca goddess can be referred to in multiple ways; the main one is Pachamama. Other names are Mama Pacha, La Pachamama and Madre Tierra. Pachamama differs from Pachamama because “La” implies the interlocking connection that the goddess has with nature, while Pachamama – without “La” – only refers to the goddess.
Worship to Pachamama Goddess
The cult of Pachamama in the Andes predates the Incas, being relegated to a subordinate position to the Moon, the divine creator of women who ruled over all goddesses. The Pachamama cult normally dealt with the daily earthly affairs of the local community. Likewise, the world of Huarochirí and the groups described in the idolatry documents mostly emphasized the deities of nature and the home and the sacred founders of their descent groups. It is suggested that the abstract expressions of the Inca creative deity Viracocha would have mattered little to non-Inca communities far removed from the great calendrical rituals in Cuzco. The relationship between the Incas and the idols of the provinces is shown in the Huarochirí manuscript. The presence of the Incas on the central coast contributed to the solar inclusion in the myths of Pachacámac and Con. In colonial times, the cult of the main Inca deities was not continued, preferring the Andean ones to the meteorological and established mountain deities. , as well as the cult of Pachamama.
Why is Pachamama so important to the Incas?
It is because Pachamama is the one who provides protection in the crops of the fields; the main production of the Incas. Its veneration is so great that in the vicinity of Cúsco in the Republic of Peru, there is an imposing Inca infrastructure called Moray, the primary function was to carry out agricultural tests at different heights, at present rites are performed in honor of Pacha Mama invoking her helps in harvests.
Celebrations to the goddess Pachamama in Perú
In view of being the goddess of nature, every August 1 her veneration of Pachamama in Perú is performed in a very special way. Depending on the regions, for example in Peru, Bolivia or Argentina, the rites may present some variations.
Traditionally the Incas feed and drink the mother earth, this rite is performed through a hole in the ground, once they place their offering and cover it, the community begins to dance around it, generally this rite is Guided by the elderly and in this way they thank the goddess Pacha Mama.
Pachamama Raymi in Perú
The Pachamama Raymi in Perú, which means in Spanish “Feast of Mother Earth”, is celebrated every first week of August. The people of Cusco pay tribute to Mother Earth in gratitude for the blessings granted to their crops, the same that serve to support their families throughout the year.
The tradition of venerating the Pachamama in Perú dates from pre-Hispanic times, the Inca people considered it the protective divinity of the Inca Empire, dedicated to feeding and preserving the well-being of man. This celebration is an act of reciprocity and praise of nature, according to Andean cultures, to continue maintaining alliances with man.
The Incas had a lot of respect for the Apus (mountains) and Pachamama (Goddess of fertility), as well as the Sun God (Inti), being their main deities. That is why the performance of ceremonies of worship to Mother Earth as gratitude for the crops.
The central date is August 1, that day the peasants do not work with the land to let it rest, starting the payment ritual. This consists of providing food worked and produced by the Pachamama, also coca leaf, huairuro seeds, chicha de jora and other drinks. The provisions must be cooked, as a sign of respect for the earth, then it is dug and all the supplies are placed in the hole as if feeding Mother Earth.
Currently, the settlers perform this ancestral ritual with an Andean priest known as “Pako”, he is in charge of performing the “haywasqa” (payment to the land) on a multicolored cloak. The Andean worldview believes that at this time Pachamama is hungry and thirsty, the main reason for the celebration of this celebration, considering the earth as a source of life for the inhabitants.
In this festival, the bullfight and textile exhibition are also practiced so that the national and international tourist can enjoy and learn more about the Inca culture. In addition, to continue with the veneration, the people sing to the land in gratitude and then the dancers dance typical music of the Cusco people.
Do not stop living and enjoying the offering to Mother Earth in the majestic city of the Incas!
