THE BELIEFS OF THE ANDEAN PEOPLE.

The ancient people of the Andes placed a great importance on astronomy. They were the only ones in the world to define constellations of both Light and Darkness. They not only identified constellations and individual stars, but they also assigned each a purpose.
The Andean people of today still believe that everything in and around our world is connected, and that is the main reason why worship is very important to them. It managed to survive the European invasion period and the colonial era.
The ancient Andean people had a very complicated form of religion, closely linked to astronomy. They not only studied individual stars, but also grouped stars into constellations. In general, the sky was very important to them and had a very special meaning that impacted day to day life. The most crucial events generally involved the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars, due to the importance of the powerful synthetic principle underlying the perception and ordering of objects in the physical environment. Agriculture was treated as a sacred thing since survival in the harsh environment of the Andean Mountains was a privilege for the communities who won the sacred test.
Cuzco for example lies on a radial plan, mimicking the sky and pointing to specific astronomical events on the horizon. The sky-ground correspondence is supported by the carefully design and construction of pillars on mountains and hills that overlook Cuzco. They received the information where they had to plant at a very specific altitude when the Sun rose or set between those pillars. The distance between two anchor points had the function of a base unit for astronomical alignments and also turned the Sacred Rivers into a tangible map of time.
The Incas worshiped the Creator God (Vitracocha), the Sun (Inti), and the Thunder (Chuquilla), among others. Both the moon and the sun were seen by the Incas, as entities able to hold an extraordinary source of power and for that reason they built extravagant pillars and temples with great precision so that these heavenly bodies would pass over the structures or through the windows on specific days, like the summer solstice. They also worshiped the spirits that were believed to inhabit any remarkable phenomenon (Huaca), including large boulders, trees, streams or waterfalls.
Upon looking at the stars, the Incas noticed many animals and things from their day to day lives. They believed that the Creator God (Viracocha) had ensured that each animal or bird had a corresponding star (specific energy) and that all living things would be protected.
The snake, for example, has the same cycle in the sky compared to the ones on earth, and both live in harmony, alongside the other celestial animals. This is contrary to traditional Western constellations, where various images (i.e. Scorpion, Scale, Fish, etc.) have no interaction with each other or things happening on earth.
The Incas sorted the constellations into two groups:
-The first type considered inanimate, were groupings of stars that are linked in a connect-the-dots manner to create pictures of animals, heroes and more. One star grouping known as Pleiades was specially believed to be very influential over the well-being of animals. It was not seen as a god, but rather as a Huaca to which the Shamans would make regular sacrifices.
-The second type could only be observed when there were no stars. They were the dark spots or blotches on the Milky Way, and were considered as living (animate) animals. The animals were believed to live in the Milky Way, which they thought of as a River.
The Incas were one of the very few civilizations who were able to locate their constellations without the presence of stars.