Supay

In the Aymara and Inca mithologies, Supay or Zupay was both the god of death and ruler of the Uca Pacha, the Incan underworld, as well as a race of demons. Supay is associated with miners' rituals.
With the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Christian priests used the name "Supay" to refer the Christian Devil ("el Diablo"). However, unlike the Europeans in relation to the Christian Devil, "the indigenous people did not repudiate Supay but, being scared of him, they invoked him and begged him not to harm them"."El indígena no repudiaba al Supay sino que temiéndole, lo invocaba y rendía culto para evitar que le hiciera daño". Cuentas Ormachea, Enrique (1986). "La Diablada: una expresión de coreografía mestiza del altiplano del Collao", Boletín de Lima, Nº44, p.35, Lima.
Supay acquired a syncretic symbolism, becoming a main character of the "diabladas" (Devil dances) of ´Bolivia, Peru and other Andean countries. The name Supay is now roughly translated into "diablo" (devil) in most Southern American countries. In some of them, for example the northern region of Argentina, the underworld where Supay rules is called "Salamanca".
==References==
Category:Inca mythology
Category:Deities