Protected From the Sun

Year Photographed: 1993

Origin: Peru

Native Language: Quechua

The idea of God in present-day Andean religion is a result of Spanish influence. Incans believe that He is too powerful and distant to be interested in the affairs of humans. In some areas God and Jesus Christ are equated with the Sun, or Inti. In some villages near Cuzco, local spirits are much more important to modern rural people, the descendants of the Incas, because they are seen as having a more active interest in the lives of humans. There is a strong belief in the idea of Pacha-Mama, the Earth Mother.