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The Myths of Mexico & Peru

Chapter 310: The Peruvian Calendar
By Lewis Spence
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About This Book

An illustrated survey of pre-Columbian civilizations and their myth systems, beginning with Mexican society and its pantheon and presenting major myths, rituals, cosmologies, and legends—including Aztec and Maya traditions and representative figures such as the feathered‑serpent and night and rain deities. It examines Maya origins, narrative cycles, and ritual practice, then turns to the civilizations of the Andean world and their mythic motifs, and offers comparative interpretation alongside archaeological observations, bibliographic references, a glossary, and numerous illustrations that connect mythic narratives to surviving monuments and artifacts.

The Peruvian Calendar

The standard chronology known to the Peru of the Incas was a simple lunar reckoning. But the four principal points in the sun’s course were denoted by means of the intihuatana, a device consisting of a large rock surmounted by a small cone, the shadow of which, falling on certain notches on the stone below, marked the date of the great sun-festivals. The Peruvians, however, had no definite calendar. At Cuzco, the capital, the solstices were gauged by pillars called pachacta unanchac, or indicators of time, which were placed in four groups (two pillars to a group) on promontories, two in the direction of sunrise and two in that of sunset, to mark the extreme points of the sun’s rising and setting. By this means they were enabled to distinguish the arrival and departure of the solstices, during which the sun never went beyond the middle pair of pillars. The Inca astronomer’s approximation to the year was 360 days, which were divided into twelve moons of thirty days each. These moons were not calendar months in the correct sense, but simply a succession of lunations, which commenced with the winter solstice. This method, which must ultimately have proved confusing, does not seem to have been altered to co-ordinate with the reckoning of the succession of years. The names of the twelve moons, which had some reference to the daily life of the Peruvian, were as follows:

  • Huchuy Pucuy Quilla (Small Growing Moon), approximately January.
  • Hatun Pucuy Quilla (Great Growing Moon), approximately February.
  • Pancar Pucuy Quilla (Flower-growing Moon), approximately March.
  • Ayrihua Quilla (Twin Ears Moon), approximately April.
  • Aymuray Quilla (Harvest Moon), approximately May.
  • Auray Cusqui Quilla (Breaking Soil), approximately June.
  • Chahua Huarqui Quilla (Irrigation Moon), approximately July.
  • Tarpuy Quilla (Sowing Moon), approximately August.
  • Ccoya Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Moon Feast), approximately September.
  • Uma Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Feast of the Province of Uma), approximately October.
  • Ayamarca Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Feast of the Province of Ayamarca), approximately November.
  • Ccapac Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Great Feast of the Sun), approximately December.