Why is it said that the Incas had a unique belief about the afterlife?

               It may sound strange that the Incas had a festival called the ‘Festival of Dead’, where the dead emperors were paraded through the streets. The Incas strongly believed in the afterlife.

               According to the Inca belief, death was a passage to the next world that was full of difficulties. They called the spirit of the dead ‘camaquen’ and believed that a camaquen need the help of a black dog that can see even in darkness, so that they could pass the long road ahead of them. 

 

 

               They embalmed, or mummified their dead before burial. After the burial, relatives would bring food to the tomb of their beloved.

               The Incas did not practice creamation. They believed that, burning would cause their vital force to disappear, and also block their passage to the next world. The Incas also believed that the dead could hear them.