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Inca Religion and Customs
Completed in 1653, Father Bernabe Cobo's Historia del Nuevo Mundo is an important source of information on pre-conquest and colonial Spanish America. Though parts of the work are now lost, the remaining sections which have been translated offer valuable insights into Inca culture and Peruvian history. Inca Religion and Customs is the second translation by Roland Hamilton from Cobo's massive work. Beginning where History of the Inca Empire left off, it provides a vast amount of data on the religion and lifeways of the Incas and their subject peoples. Despite his obvious Christian bias as a Jesuit priest, Cobo objectively and thoroughly describes many of the religious practices of the Incas. He catalogs their origin myths, beliefs about the afterlife, shrines and objects of worship, sacrifices, sins, festivals, and the roles of priests, sorcerers, and doctors. The section on Inca customs is equally inclusive. Cobo covers such topics as language, food and shelter, marriage and childrearing, agriculture, warfare, medicine, practical crafts, games, and burial rituals. Because the Incas apparently had no written language, such postconquest documents are an important source of information about Inca life and culture. Cobo's work, written by one who wanted to preserve something of the indigenous culture that his fellow Spaniards were fast destroying, is one of the most accurate and highly respected.
- GenresHistory
279 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Bernabé Cobo
16 books2 followersBernabé Cobo (born at Lopera in Spain, 1582; died at Lima, Peru, 9 October 1657) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary and writer. He played a part in the early history of quinine by his description of cinchona bark; he brought some to Europe on a visit in 1632.
He was a thorough student of nature and man in Spanish America. His long residence (61 years), his position as a priest and, several times, as a missionary, gave him unusual opportunities for obtaining reliable information. The Spanish botanist Cavanilles gave the name of Cobæa to a genus of plants belonging to the Bignoniaceae of Mexico, Cobaea scandens being its most striking representative.
He wrote two works, one of which is incomplete. It is also stated that he wrote a work on botany in ten volumes, which, it seems, is lost.
Of his main work, to which biographers give the title "Historia general de las Indias", and which he finished in 1653, only the first half is known and has appeared in print (four volumes, at Seville, 1890 and years succeeding). The remainder, in which he treats, or claims to have treated, of every geographical and political subdivision in detail, was either never finished, or is lost.
His other book appeared in print in 1882, and forms part of the "History of the Inca Empire" mentioned, but he made a separate manuscript of its in 1639, and so it became published as "Historia de la fundación de Lima", a few years before the publication of the principal manuscripts.
The "History of the Inca Empire" may, in American literature, be compared with one work only, the "General and Natural history of the Indies" by Oviedo. On the animals and plants of the continent, it is more complete than Nieremberg, Hernandez, and Monardes. In regard to the pre-Columbian past and vestiges, Cobo is, for the South American west coast, a source of primary importance, for close observations of customs and manners, and generally accurate descriptions of the principal ruins of South America.
He was a thorough student of nature and man in Spanish America. His long residence (61 years), his position as a priest and, several times, as a missionary, gave him unusual opportunities for obtaining reliable information. The Spanish botanist Cavanilles gave the name of Cobæa to a genus of plants belonging to the Bignoniaceae of Mexico, Cobaea scandens being its most striking representative.
He wrote two works, one of which is incomplete. It is also stated that he wrote a work on botany in ten volumes, which, it seems, is lost.
Of his main work, to which biographers give the title "Historia general de las Indias", and which he finished in 1653, only the first half is known and has appeared in print (four volumes, at Seville, 1890 and years succeeding). The remainder, in which he treats, or claims to have treated, of every geographical and political subdivision in detail, was either never finished, or is lost.
His other book appeared in print in 1882, and forms part of the "History of the Inca Empire" mentioned, but he made a separate manuscript of its in 1639, and so it became published as "Historia de la fundación de Lima", a few years before the publication of the principal manuscripts.
The "History of the Inca Empire" may, in American literature, be compared with one work only, the "General and Natural history of the Indies" by Oviedo. On the animals and plants of the continent, it is more complete than Nieremberg, Hernandez, and Monardes. In regard to the pre-Columbian past and vestiges, Cobo is, for the South American west coast, a source of primary importance, for close observations of customs and manners, and generally accurate descriptions of the principal ruins of South America.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 19, 2025
While it serves as a valuable reference for those interested in learning about the Indigenous population during the 16th century, reading it made my stomach churn due to the author's prejudiced perspective. It's disheartening to think that such bias forms the basis of how the Incas were recorded in historical records.
December 19, 2011
awesome inca reference book. indispensible if you're into indigenous studies
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews