As you might expect, Mama Quilla, the big maternal presence in the Incan pantheon, is a deity with many responsibilities: Goddess of the moon, along with marriage and the menstrual cycle, she was also known as the protector of women, and was envisioned as a beautiful woman herself. Luckily, she had a little help around the household: her multiple temples were attended to by a flock of dedicated priestesses.

Myths that surrounded Mama Quilla included the belief that she cried tears of silver, and that lunar eclipses occured when she was being attacked by an animal. This latter legend freaked out the Incas, who believed that should the beast succeed, they would be left in darkness—a fear that would later give the Spanish conquistadors, who knew how to predict eclipses, a certain undeserved advantage.