Notes on Supay, Incan God of the Underworld, Ruler of Ukhu Pacha

 

Art by Adrian Castro

Note: This was written on November 8.

Prayers and Spells to Supay  Սուպեյ, 𓇓𓊪𓂝𓏭

Holidays:

November 8 - Día de las Ñatitas

Epithets:

Ukhu Pacha (the name of the underworld He rules but also an epithet, not unlike Hades)

El Tio

Offerings:

Note: He, like most Gods of the Incan pntheon, prefers his offerings to be buried, not consumed.

Gems

Cigars

Cigarettes 

Liquor 

Beer

Greetings, and happy Dia de las Ñatitas. This holiday dates back to the Incan empire. Around the time of autumn planting, the Aymara people–under Inca rule after the fall of the Tiwanaku empire–would call upon Supay, the God of death and ruler of the Ukhu Pacha, the Inca underworld, splashing alcohol on the fields “to give more fertility to the soil and humans, and to be more productive in mining.” Upon arrival in the 16th century, the Spanish tried to suppress these practices which they considered veneration of the devil. The expression of beliefs persisted, but underground. The festival involves carrying the skulls of deceased loved ones dug up from their graves and decorating them as well as giving them offerings, in irder to give the dead one more day among the living. While there are a lot of key differences in how they are celebrated, in principle, it is much like Mexico’s Dia de las Muertos. In Andean culture there is an attitude of acceptance about death that may even rival that of the ancient Egyptians. It is customary for example, to keep the skull of a loved one on display in your home to ward off evil spirits. You can read more about it in this article:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/la-paz-natitas-things-to-do-skull-festival-cemetery

I have not a drop of Andean blood in me, nor do I speak Spanish, besides what I picked up through cultural osmosis growing up in California. But my wife is half-Peruvian, making my son a quarter Peruvian, so I thought it behooves me to learn about their culture. Both the Armenians, Egyptians, and the Incans called themselves Children of the Sun, which kind of makes us distant siblings in a weird way. And one God of their pantheon I gravitate toward is Supay, God of the Underworld. He is still venerated today, particularly by people working in mines. The underground is His domain, and often a statue of Supay will be set up at the entrance to a mine, which will be gifted cigars, cigarettes, coca leaves and alcohol among other things, in hopes that he will protect the miners from disaster. It is said though, tht once you enter an agreement with Supay, you had better not go back on it. The repercussions can be deadly. 

If you have the time, I recommend reading this short story collection, told to the author by Peruvian miners. Read these and you may see why I feel like Supay and Set would probably see eye to eye on a lot of things. They’ve both been accused of being Satan, for one thing. My favorite is the story about a young miner who didn’t believe in Supay and disrespects the statue, only to receive comeuppance from Supay Himself. 

https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2220&context=isp_collection