THE HUACA' S SPIRIT.

A huaca was anything at all unusual in nature, it cloud be a person, place, or thing and immediately considered sacred to Andean peoples.
The idea behind the notion of 'huaca' was the belief that there were supernatural spirits that animated everything in nature, ranging from Mountain peaks, to Rivers, to lakes, to Mummies, to oddly shaped Rocks, or even strangely shaped potatoes or ears of corn. Also such things as natural Bridges, Caves, buildings, quarries, battlefields, and archaeological sites such as the ruined city of Tiahuanaco in Bolivia were considered 'huacas.'
The spirits that animated the 'huacas' had certain specific powers and responsibilities, effective mostly in their specific locations. Thus a field guardian huaca protected a specific field, a spring considered a huaca was responsible for its own flow, and an ancestral huaca was responsible for its lineage.
Huacas varied in their power and were hierarchically ranked. The larger the huaca was, the more power it had. Thus Mountain Peaks, especially high snow-covered peaks, were the most powerful ones.
The Incas firmly believed in the power of the 'huacas' and worshipped them alongside the formal deities. Cuzco itself was an important huaca, and royal Inca states and architecture often incorporated stone huacas. Many states feature special platforms for mountain worship with spectacular views of the mountain peaks.
Associated with royal sites were carved stone huacas called Inti-Huatana, ot the 'hitching post of the sun.' The most famous Inti-Huatanas are at the royal estates of Machu-Picchu and Pisac.
Other huacas of special importance to the Incas were places connected with events related to their lineage history. The hill of Huana-Caure where Ayar Ucho was believed to have turned into a stone was a major huaca. So were the places associated with emperors such as Pacha-Cutec or Tupac Inca Yupanqui.
The numerous stones, called Puru-Auca, that Pacha-Cutec claimed had turned to warriors to help him defeat the Chanca army during the siege of Cuzco were all worshiped as huacas.
Individuals traveling over mountain passes commonly carried a small stone to be deposited as an offering at the top with a prayer for strength and protection. This huacas were called Apu-Chita and were marked by piles of small stones contributed over the years.
Avery important type of huaca was a guardian spirit called 'Hua-Oque,' meaning 'Brother." It consisted of a statue made to represent an Inca ruler or a high- ranking lord. The size, form, and material used to make the statue varied according to the whim of the person being represented. they could be made of many different materials, including stone, wood, or precious metals. The image was formally adopted as a 'Hua-Oque' in a special ceremony. Family members were required to treat the statue in the same way that they treated the living person it represented or his mummy. Like mummies, these statues were dressed and fed and participated in daily activities. They were even taken into battle during wartime, since they were believed to lend a degree of strength and success to the army.
Some, but not all, huacas had oracular powers. Some of the most famous, such as Pacha-Camac and Apu-Rimac were known for its oracular powers. All decisions were made only after consulting the supernatural energies in contact with the oracular huacas.  Questions put to oracles usually had to do with seeing the consequences as a result of certain actions. The questions were laid to the huaca, and the priest who spoke for it provided the answer after entering in a trance that was exactly done when a portal was open.
In Cuzco and its vicinity were over 350 huacas. These were very carefully organized into groupings, and certain Inca kin groups were responsible for their upkeep and making the proper sacrificces on the proper days.
The basic concept in the organization of these huacas was that they all were located along 41 distinct straight lines called 'ceques' that radiated outward from the Cori-Cancha Sun Temple to distances up to 12 kilometers from Cuzco. Each line connected between 4 and 15 huacas that were unevenly distributed along the lines. The lines were grouped by the quarter or Suyo of the empire within which they fell. Chinchay-Suyo, Anti-Suyo, and Colla-Suyo, each contained 9 lines, while Conti-Suyo contained 14 lines. In the 3 quarters with 9 lines, the lines were further divided into groups of 3.
The whole system is very reminiscent of the method used by the inca for recording information on knotted cords, or 'quipu.'
It is possible that a similar system was common in all Inca towns and administrative centers but not enough information have survived to indicate it with certainty.