Incan Myth and Sacred Space

When at the Native American Museum I read a story displayed about Manco and Mama,children of the Sun God sent to earth to teach the people there how to live. The simple narrative read “just by stepping upon the earth; they made the land sacred… In this holy place, Manco and Mama preached to the people a philosophy of ayni (the exchange of help and support between people) and a deep respect for the earth.” It is by recounting this sacred story to their children that the land became sacred for the next generation as well. In my mind’s eye, I imagined families gathered around a warm fire listening with anticipation as the story of Manco and Mama fell on their eager ears. Upon the hearing of such a narrative, the listeners were bestowed with a mythic lens through which to view and interact with the world around them. I imagine such story as not only informing their reality and orienting them to the surrounding world, but providing them with a world more beautiful and full of wonder than the one they had before.