Supay

Supay.

Supay was both the god of death and ruler of the Ukhu Pacha, the Incan underworld, as well as its race of demons. Supay is associated with miners' rituals.

Description

With the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Christian priests used the name "Supay" to refer to the Christian Devil. However, unlike Europeans in relation to the Christian Devil, "the indigenous people did not repudiate Supay but, being scared of him, they invoked him and begged him not to harm them".

Supay is commonly described as having a “demonic” appearance, with long horns, glassy, starry eyes, a feline face with long fangs, and long ears. Like other Andean gods, Supay is a multiform god, capable of manifesting himself in any form. Adding to this his conflictive and unpredictable personality, Supay is classified as a trickster, as he can both protect humanity on its journey to the afterlife and also has the power to deceive and/or urge humanity to bring out its most twisted side. These characteristics and abilities made him a very dangerous being for those who did not show him respect.

Overview

Supay was created by Viracocha for the purpose of showing humanity that there will always be evil in the world, but not enough. Because of this, the Incas believed that he was a being who balanced the scales between good and evil. The fact that Huiracocha created him makes him a brother of the gods Inti, Illapa, and Mama Quilla.

Supay could be benevolent to the living he liked and to those who had died a dignified death, but he was terrible and evil to the rest, both in the underworld and in the earthly and present world, because he could tip the scales of bad luck just by thinking about it.The Incas believed that Supay was the deity who maintained the balance between positive and negative supernatural forces. Supay was also said to have been responsible for causing the flood, which later gave rise to Lake Titicaca.