Pariacaca

Pariacaca (in normalized Quechua spelling Pariyaqaqa, etymologically meaning 'reddish crag' or 'reddish-grey rock') is the supreme deity of storms, torrential rains, snowy peaks and the hydraulic irrigation systems of the Yauyos peoples, revered throughout the central Peruvian highlands and incorporated with great reverence into the pantheon of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu). His mythology and theology constitute the most detailed and authentic cycle of all native Andean literature, thanks to the Huarochirí Manuscript, written in Quechua around 1608 at the commission of the extirpator of idolatries Francisco de Ávila. The text records that Pariacaca was born on the summit of Mount Condorcoto from five eggs that turned into five falcons and, in turn, into five valiant men who embodied the same divine power. As a civilizing hero, Pariacaca confronted the ancient lord of fire and eater of human flesh, Huallallo Carhuincho, driving him into the Amazon basin by hurling red and yellow torrential rains, devastating hailstones and continuous lightning. After his cosmological victory, the god became the imposing snow-capped massif of Pariacaca (5,750 metres above sea level), taught the communities to cut stone canals, and established ritual norms of communal labour and reciprocity for the management of the waters.

6 min read · Reviewed on September 28, 2026 · How we research

The falcon, the snow-capped mountain, the rain and the wind

Primary sources

• Anonymous of Huarochirí, Huarochirí Manuscript (Ritos y tradiciones de Huarochirí). translation: Edition and translation by Gerald Taylor, Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos, Lima, 1999.
• Cristóbal de Albornoz, Instrucción para descubrir todas las guacas del Pirú y sus camayos y haziendas. translation: Edition by Pierre Duviols, Journal de la Société des Américanistes, Paris, 1967.
• Francisco de Ávila, Tratado y relación de los errores, falsos dioses, y outras supersticiones. translation: Facsimile edition in 'Dioses y hombres de Huarochirí', IEP, Lima, 1966.

Studies

• Frank Salomon & George L. Urioste, The Huarochirí Manuscript: A Testament of Ancient and Colonial Andean Religion. University of Texas Press, 1991.
• Gerald Taylor, Ritos y tradiciones de Huarochirí: Manuscrito quechua de comienzos del siglo XVII. Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos / BCRP, 1999.
• Pierre Duviols & José María Arguedas, Dioses y hombres de Huarochirí: Narración quechua recogida por Francisco de Ávila. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 1966.