The history of initiation / in twelve lectures. Comprising a detailed account of the rites and ceremonies, doctrines and discipline, of all the secret and mysterious institutions of the ancient world.

  • Oliver, George, 1782-1867.
Date:
1841
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The history of initiation / in twelve lectures. Comprising a detailed account of the rites and ceremonies, doctrines and discipline, of all the secret and mysterious institutions of the ancient world. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    a god called Pacha-Camac ; a name so venerable, that those who were entrusted with it, were bound by solemn oaths, never to expose it to profana¬ tion. They termed the Creator Viracocha, * which signifies, “ the froth of the seaand the evil power Cupai.t They worshipped a Triad of deity, for Acosta says,:]: they had an idol whom they called Tangatanga, which signifies, One in Three^ and Three in One;^ and paid divine honours to the Sun |1 as the fountain of Light,^ and the parent of the Incas. * * To this god the father of a family would offer his son as a vicarious sacrifice to avert sickness from his family. (Acoata. p. 380.) He was also identified with the Sun. (Purch. b. ix. c. 10.) t Cerem. of var. Nat. p. 329. | p. 412. § Faber, (Pag. Idol. vol. i. p. 269.) says they entertained a belief in two other triads. “ The first consisted of Chuquilla— Catuilla—Intylappa, or the father-thunder, the son-thunder, and the brother-thunder; the second of Apomti—Churunti—Intiquao- qui, the father-Sun, the son-Sun, and the brother-Sun.” II “At Cusco was that wonderful temple of the sun, the beauty and riches whereof surpassed imagination.—I shall transcribe the description which one of their incas, called Garcilasso, has given us thereof. His words are as follow : ‘ The high altar of this pompous edifice stood eastward ; and the roof, which was made of timber, was thatched over, they having no tile or brick among them. The four walls of the temple, from the top downwards, were all covered over with plates of gold, and the ceiling was also of gold. On the high altar was the figure of the sun, represented on a gold plate, twice as thick as those which covered the walls. This figure, which was made of one continued piece, represented a round face, surrounded with rays and flames, in the same manner as our painters usually draw the sun. It was of so prodigious a breadth, that it almost covered one side of the wall, on which there was no other representation of any kind.—This was the