Viracocha - Inca

Hello, little dreamers. I am Viracocha. Before the mountains were tall and the rivers sang their songs, the world was quiet and dark, sleeping under a giant blanket of shadows. It was so still you could hear a pin drop, except there were no pins to drop. I floated all alone in this great, empty silence, but my heart was not empty. My heart was full of ideas, like a chest overflowing with sparkling treasures and colorful gems. I wanted to paint the world with light and fill the silence with happy sounds. I looked down at the dark, calm waters of the great Lake Titicaca, which was like a giant, glassy mirror. In its reflection, I imagined a world filled with warm sunshine, laughing people, and animals of all shapes and sizes. I knew it was time to wake everything up from its long, dark nap. This is the story of how I, Viracocha, created the world.

First, I wanted to make people to live in my new world. I found some huge stones and began to shape them into giant people. They were very big and strong, but they were also terribly clumsy. They stumbled around and did not listen very well to my instructions. I realized they were not quite right for the beautiful world I imagined. "This won't do," I said to the silent air. So, I decided to start again. This time, I took soft clay from the shore of the lake. The clay was much gentler to work with. I carefully molded smaller people, painting each one with different clothes and patterns. To make them special, I gave each group their own songs to sing and their own languages to speak. But what good is a world if you can't see it? I knew my new world needed light. I reached deep into Lake Titicaca and pulled out the sun, the moon, and all the twinkling stars. The sun leaped into the sky for the very first time, warming the land and making the mountains glow with golden light. The moon and stars came out at night, giving the darkness a soft, gentle sparkle. With the world now bright and beautiful, I sent my special clay people out to live in it. To help them, I also sent two of my children, a son named Manco Cápac and a daughter named Mama Ocllo. I gave them a golden staff and told them, "Walk far and wide. Where this staff sinks into the earth, you will build a great city." They walked for many days until they reached a beautiful valley. There, the staff slid easily into the rich soil. They founded the city of Cusco, which became the heart of the great Inca Empire.

Once all my work was done, I walked across the land I had made. I visited my people, teaching them important things like how to plant crops and how to live with kindness and respect for the world. When my teaching was finished, it was time for me to leave. I walked across the great ocean, my feet gliding over the waves until I disappeared into the sunset, but I promised to always watch over them. The Inca people never forgot me. They saw my work in the tall mountains, the bright sun, and the shining stars. They told this story to their children to remember where they came from and how to care for the world. Even today, the story of my creation is told. It is a reminder that the world is a wonderful gift, and everyone has the power to add their own light to it.