We wandered, led by the first Inca ruler, Manco Capac. He told us where to establish a great city in a place where a rod of gold, given to Manco by Inti, would sink into the earth with one blow. Inti promised that this place was fertile, good planting ground, and he knows such things.

We learn and live by the stories handed down to us. As told by my father and his father before him, at creation, Viracocha created Inti, the Sun god, on a sacred island in Lake Titicaca. Inti rose over the lake and spoke to Manco Capac, to whom he instructed in Sun worship.

Inti is our most royal sky diety. Thunder, Rain, Wind, Moon and the star deities are his subordinates. He is the Sun of Solstices.

The Coricancha "golden enclosure," begun by Manco Capac as a humble shrine on the spot where the rod sank, has been expanded into the Temple of the Sun. It is an impressive structure of finely worked stone buildings around a courtyard; the facade decorated with sheets of gold that reflect Inti's light.

The Coricancha is our primary religious center and a place of pilgrimage. The Sun priests are of the highest rank. The High Priest is always a direct descendant of the King, and there have been many Kings and many High Priests.

At the Coricancha live the "chosen women," beautiful virgin wives of Inti. They perform rituals including the preparation of ceremonial maize and chicha and the weaving of fine cloth to be offered to Inti.

At Inti Raymi, the maize, our gift from the Sun, is specially prepared by the Acllas. Only maize is eaten during special festivals. It is grown in the garden of the Coricancha, and three times a year, during these festivals, maize plants fashioned of gold are put on display.

The best lands and largest herds of llamas belong to Inti. He must receive the finest offerings of pure-white llamas and objects of gold.