section_path: History/Origin/The Legend of Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo
section_name: The Legend of Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo
paragraph_text: The Legend of Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo
  
  Legend collected by the mestizo chronicler Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in his work Los Comentarios Reales de los Incas (transl. The Royal Commentaries of the Inca). It narrates the adventure of a couple, Manco Cápac and Mama Ocllo, who were sent by the Sun God and emerged from the depths of Lake Titicaca (pacarina: sacred place of origin) and marched north. They carried a golden staff, given by the Sun God; the message was clear: in the place where the golden staff sank, they would establish a city and settle there. The staff sank at Mount Guanacaure in the Acamama Valley; therefore, the couple decided to remain there and informed the inhabitants of the area that they were sent by the Sun God. They then proceeded to teach them agriculture and weaving. Thus, the Inca civilization began.