Ancient Andean people viewed life and death in two ways. One was biological death, when the body ceased functionally. The other was social death, and certain chosen individuals remained active in the minds, souls, and daily lives of the living until they were forgotten or replaced by other chosen figures.
In the Andean belief of today, life does not end with death, but continues in another plane or realm. There are no clear dividing lines between them because human existence is understood as a dynamic process that involves a living power that increase or decrease in its force.
Ancestral veneration frightened greatly the Spanish crown and clergy since they were already in submission to the power of the dark world that controlled their lands and ignorantly destroyed the sources of power that did not belong to the same source. Burial chambers, shrines and important places of ancestral worshiping were destroyed by them to undermine the foundation of the Andean beliefs.
The ancient Inca Empire developed from the strong foundation of their ancestral beliefs and spanned more than 2,000 miles North to South, from Ecuador to Chile at the time of the European arrival in 1515CE.
The Incas identified themselves as the Children of the Sun, who were invested with the capacity to govern the living forces acting in the world of the living in an orderly way to maintain the balance in between worlds. Inca rulers were extremely powerful and revered by the Andean people and it did not end with their death. They were mummified and presented during special public rituals so their legends would be retained as a living presence. Their mummies were served by royal descendants of the dead lord endowed with great wealth (panacas). The servant's role was to conserve the dead ruler's mummy and to immortalize his life and achievements with the help of special rituals and chants performed on ceremonial occasions in the presence of the succeeding lord and the mummies of other Inca lords. These rites were passed on from generation to generation. The Capac Raymi was one of the most crucial ceremonies. It occurred around the time of the summer solstice. It served as an initiation ceremony for the young men of the ruling class. When the solstice arrived the boy's ears were pierced in order to insert the large circular earrings worn by Inca royalty. The Inti Raymi took place during the winter solstice and was also a ceremony that honored the energy of the sun god. This was because during winter the sun was furthest away from the earth and due to the fear of famine, fasting was the primary activity of the Inca that lasted for days.
For the Andean people of today, they belief there are different levels of life and death. When things are not going well, it means that the level of life is very low. Every misfortune is seen as an agent of diminution of the vital force inherent in the human body, since a greater negative force is acting in it.
Death does not interfere nor alter or end the life of the ego or personality of an individual, causing only a change in its conditions. This is still expressed in the concept of ancestry. People who have died are believed they continue their existence in a similar way that the stars and constellations do, their life force still is perceived, even though they are dead, until it is no more.
Death, then, is perceived as the beginning of a person's deeper relationship with the complementing and vast cosmological energy, and the communication between the visible and the invisible worlds. The goal of life is to become a part of the ancestry force after death. This is why every person who dies must be given a respectful funeral to guarantee a secure and safe passage for the dying, supported by a number of religious ceremonies. If this is not done, the soul of the dead person become a wandering ghost, and, unable to continue its existence properly after death, it becomes a danger to the ones who remain alive, particularly because it is believed that the dead have power over the living.
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