One of the earliest illustrated chronicles of Inca and early colonial history is the Historia general del Piru, written before 1616 by the Mercedarian friar Martín de Muruá. While readers of this blog may recall Guaman Poma de Ayala’s imaginative attribution of arms to the Incan Empire—explored in a previous post—de Muruá went a step further: he assigned individual coats of arms to the Incan emperors themselves, the Sapa Inca. These heraldic inventions offer a fascinating glimpse into how European traditions were projected onto the legacy of a powerful indigenous dynasty.
From left to right: Maco Capac (1200–1230), Sinchi Roca (1230–1260), Lloque Yupanqui (1260–1290), Mayta Capac (1290–1320), Capac Yupanqui (1320–1350) and Inca Roca (1350–1380).
Interestingly, all shields are parted per fess (divided horizontally).
Historia General del Piru has been digitalized and is available through Google Books.
In the early seventeenth century, a series of heraldic representations purporting to depict the arms of the Incan Empire were presented to the Spanish crown. While their authenticity as official or historical emblems remains doubtful—more mythological than factual—their iconography powerfully evokes the grandeur, spiritual depth, and imperial majesty of the Inca civilization. These attributed arms of the Incan Empire, constructed in the European heraldic tradition but imbued with Andean cosmology and symbolism, serve as a compelling window into an idealized vision of a vanished empire, where royal imagery and sacred myth converge.
The First Coat of Arms: As Depicted by Guaman Poma de Ayala
The first known rendering of Incan heraldry appears in the El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno (1615) by the Quechua nobleman and chronicler Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala. This coat of arms is quartered, with each field reflecting a key aspect of Incan cosmology and royal symbolism:
First Quarter: This field depicts Inti, the sun god, in reference to Inti Raymi, the winter solstice festival and Incan New Year. As the Sapa Inca was regarded as a direct descendant of Inti, this symbol represents divine rulership and solar authority.
Second Quarter: Here appears Quilla, the moon goddess and sister of Inti, symbolizing Coya Raymi, the Festival of the Queen. This celebration, dedicated to women and fertility, was central to purification rites and affirmed the cosmic balance between the sun and the moon.
Third Quarter: This field contains imagery associated with Illapa, the god of lightning, rain, and war. This deity represents both agricultural fertility and martial power, central concerns of Incan governance.
Fourth Quarter: The mythic landscape of Wanakawri and Paqariq Tampu dominates this field. According to legend, it was from the caves of Tambotoco, beneath this hill, that the ancestors of the Inca—most notably the the first Sapa Inca Manco Cápac—first emerged, linking this image to origin myths and dynastic legitimacy.
The Second Coat of Arms: Additional Symbolic Layers
A second, more elaborate version of the arms introduces further symbols rooted in Incan lore. It is likewise quartered:
First Quarter: The Curi Quinquitica, a golden hummingbird, symbolizes agility, spiritual guidance, and the connection between earth and sky. In Incan thought, hummingbirds were revered as messengers between worlds.
Second Quarter: This field features a jaguar—Otorongo Achachi Ynga—beneath a chunta (palm tree). The jaguar, associated with transformation and martial prowess, alludes to a legendary son of Inca Roca, said to have turned into a jaguar in battle. The palm signifies resilience and nobility.
Third Quarter: Depicted here is the Masca Paycha, the royal tassel or fringe worn by the Sapa Inca, marking imperial dignity and command. Its inclusion affirms the sacred investiture of power.
Fourth Quarter: This quarter bears the Amaro Ynga, or Incan serpent, a potent mythological creature linked to wisdom, fertility, and the Uku Pacha (the underworld). The serpent forms part of the Incan cosmological triad along with the puma and the condor.
This coat of arms was later reinterpreted and re-published by the chronicler Martín de Murúa in his Historia General del Perú (1616), albeit with some discrepancies—most notably the swapping of the first and third quarters, for reasons that remain unknown.
The Final Arms: Representing the Four Suyu
A third and final version of the arms, also featured in Murúa’s chronicle, continues the quartered format. Each field is believed to symbolize one of the four great territorial divisions (suyu) of the Inca Empire:
Chinchaysuyu (North)
Antisuyu (East; encompassing the Amazonian regions)
Qullasuyu (South)
Kuntisuyu (West)
Using most of the symbols from previous arms, this coat of arms reflects a political and geographical representation of the empire’s structure.
While these heraldic compositions are largely products of colonial-era imagination, filtered through both indigenous memory and Spanish conventions, they remain invaluable in our understanding of how Andean identity was rearticulated under imperial rule. These arms are not merely curiosities of artistic hybridization; they offer a symbolic testimony to the enduring legacy of the Inca, long after their political fall, in the language of European heraldry.
In a forthcoming article, we shall examine the attributed heraldic arms of the Incan emperors—the Sapa Inca—and consider how these symbolic constructions reflect notions of divine kingship and imperial authority within both indigenous and colonial frameworks.
Sources: Det kongelige bibliotek; Bauer, B. S. (1991). Pacariqtambo and the Mythical Origins of the Inca. Latin American Antiquity, 2(1), 7–26; Inca mythology
