User:Cornsnek/sandbox/Purépecha religion

Like most Mesoamerican peoples, the Purépecha had polytheistic beliefs, worshipping a large array of deities, though some were conceived as more important than others. Chief among the former is Kurhikaweri, the god of the sun and patron of the Purépecha Empire.

Pre-Columbian coyote statuette attributed to the Purepecha culture, likely a representation of the coyote god Uitzimángari. Height: 43.5 cm (17 in).

List of deities

Major pantheon

• T'iripeme Kurhikaweri — god of the Sun, fire, and patron of the Wakusïcha, and by extension of the whole empire.
  • Kerenda Angapeti — the Sun as it passes from the Eastern horizon, through midday and to the Underworld at night. This specific form was particularly worshiped at Tsakapú and was likely the patron for the northeastern Pátzcuaro basin as a whole.
    • Sirata Taperi — the young Sun of the morning.
    • Kupansueri/Apantsieri — the old or setting Sun, a player of the ballgame and patron of Iramuco/Tupuren. Also called T'iripeme Turupten.
    • Achuri Hirepe — the waning sun. He had another name or a further aspect at Xacona called the "house of the night".
    • Chupi T'iripeme — god of capture, exile and/or sacrifice; an aspect of Kerenda Angapeti and/or brother of Kurikaweri. He was patron of Pacandan and Chupícuaro.
  • Kurita Kaheri — the fire aspect of Kurhikaweri and messenger of the gods.
  • Thiume — the warrior aspect of Kurhikaweri.
• Kwerawaperi — goddess of creation, rain, the Earth, and childbirth, associated with snakes.
  • Kamawaperi — aspect or sibling to Kwerawaperi and matron of Pacandan.
  • Tarhekupani — nourisher goddess dressed in corn and matron of Naranjan.
• Xarhatanga — goddess of fertility, the Moon, and daughter of Kwerawaperi. Her primary center of worship was in Tarhiarani.
  • Peawame — equivalent to Xarhatanga in Tsakapú.
  • Purupe kwaxareti — sister of Akwisekatapeme, and thus probably a facet of Xarhatanga.
• Mawina — goddess of love, lust and prostitution, and daughter of Xaratanga.
• Manowapa — messenger of the gods, god of Venus, and son of Xaratanga and Kurhikaweri. Possibly a personification of earthquakes.
• Akwisekatapeme — aquatic goddess with some relationship to death, associated with an amount of serpent imagery, worshipped in Xaracuaro. Possibly a sister of Xaratanga.
• Awikanime — goddess of hunger, variously known as a sister to Kwerawaperi and Xarhatanga.
• Urendekwawekarha — patron of Coringuaro, associated with light along with red and white clay.
  • K'wangari — either an aspect or another name for Urendekwawekarha in his role as Venus.
  • T'iripeme Kwarencha — the rising sun, the morning star and brother to Kurhikaweri.
• T'iripeme Kaheri — the noon Sun and patron of Pareo.
• T'iripeme Xugapeti — patron of Pechataro.
• Ukumu – god of death and lord of Kumiechukwarhu, the underworld. Said to send mountains to the surface for the establishment of temples to any deity.
• Tirhipamekwarencha/Tirhipamenchakwae — grandfather of Kurhikaweri, possibly a personification of the night sky.

Minor pantheon

• Pungarencha — messenger of death in the battlefield.
• Sirunda Aran — personal messenger of Kerenda Angapeti.
• Wasorikware — personification of the sunrays and possibly a personal messenger of the sun, known to provide food and other goods generously.
• Taresupeme — disabled god of fermented goods, particularly of pulque, and patron of Cumanchen.
• Inpiechai/Inpiencha — god of the sea, associated with seashells.

Aggrupations

Various minor deities were named only in a few official songs and sometimes only as a group, such as the Gods of the Four Quarters and the Wiránbanecha, also known as the "Gods of the Left Hand" (possibly implying the existance of Right-hand counterparts), who hailed from the Tierra caliente south of the basin and are associated with the stars. Awikanime was also a denomination for women who had died in their first childbirth, taking on every characteristic of the aforementioned goddess and gaining the status of "sisters of the moon".

Official reforms

At some point during the formation of the Iréchikwa, Kurhikaweri was made the foremost deity of the pantheon and consort of Xaratanga. In turn, Ts'intsuntani effectively became the primary center of worship for the goddess, who was said to have visited Tangaxoan in his dreams to order this movement.

A number of local or otherwise minor gods were gradually subdued by the Wakusïcha into the general cult of Kurhikaweri, either in part or in whole. Kerenda Angapeti, for example, was initially a main god from the rival city of Tsakapú but was made into a subform of Kurhikaweri; in turn, the gods that eventually became his subaspects passed through a similar process, as did all the other T'iripeme, who were officially brothers or facets of the sun god. It is possible that Sirunda Aran and Warosikware were merged (perhaps with Manowapa) into Kurita Kaheri.

Similarly, the figures of Thiume and Chupi T'iripeme may have been entirely independent of one another, or held a close relationship; if they were related or even the same figure, then they likely were linked with Kurhikaweri as sibling(s), and not as mere subform(s) of Kerenda Angapeti.