Urquchillay
Authors: Steven R. Gullberg, Susanne M Hoffmann, Youla Azkarrula
Urquchillay is the name of the Inka god of livestock and wildlife; it was the protector of animals, especially llamas and alpacas: The Inka believed that he watched over their herds from the night sky. As a constellation, he is represented in the area of Lyra. As an Inka constellation, it has been used in South America.
Provenance, Etymology, History
Origin of Constellation
In Inka mythology, Urquchillay is the god of animals who watches over wildlife. Inkan herders would ask Urcuchillay to watch over their herds during the night. Urquchillay is represented by a multicolored male llama. This multicolored coat was used to represent life and wonder. This falls within what we know as the constellation Lyra, with the deity watching over animals during the night as people sleep. Urquchillay, was the god of wildlife, both domesticated llama and alpacas, as well as animals in the jungles. As a god of wildlife, Urquchillay was also associated with prosperity. The Inkas would pray to Urquchillay for the prosperity of the herds for fleece from which to make textiles and clothing, as pack animals, and for meat.
These two constellations are located in the constellation presently known as Lyra, and within that region are three important stars: Vega, Altair, and Deneb. Urquchillay represented lambs and therefore was responsible for their care and their procreation. It is thought that Urquchillay was Vega and Qatachillay was Deneb and these appear in the drawing of Salqamaywa. In Cusco and Qurawasi these were called crossover stars because they represent stones used to cross a river. The river in the sky, Ch`askamayu, is the Milky Way. This included the stars Gienach and Sadr and can indicate a crossing the Celestial Equator. We can interpret Qatachillay from translation, to bring the foothills, and this is near a region of many stars that look like a hill on whose summit is the nebula NGC7000, which gives the image of a volcano.
Spelling Variants
- Urquchillay (Qechua spelling)
- ...
- Urcuchillay (Spanish spelling)
Identifications
Depending on the season and context, the term "Urquchillay" is identified with a group of stars in Lyra, sometimes only the bright star Vega.
Sources, Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation
Here we give a list of all sources where the name is attested.
| Source | Identification |
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| ... | |
| ... | |
| ... |
Image Variants: Transfer and Transformation
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ancient manuscript 1
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Steve's mapping
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Jessica's painting ... something else ...
Mythology
mnemonic tales and cultural significance
Weblinks
References
- References (general)
