The Link Between
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The emperors were considered as gods just like the
Egyptians thought how their pharaohs were the reincarnations of their gods
Osiris and Isis. Since the Sapa Incas were considered as gods, they were often paraded
around and were part of many ceremonies held in the temples. The entire immediate
royal family were considered as gods, so the son that was going to rule in the
future had to be married to a woman who was of equal standing, another god. The
only other gods were the successor's sisters and so he had to have his sister as
his first and most important wife. The title of Coya was given to her as well
as the responsibility of producing the next heir to the throne. The emperor may
choose to marry who ever and have as many wives as he pleased after he had married
his sister. His other wives were also bear children of their own. It is even
believed that Emperor Topa had 92 children after several marriages. After the
successor has aged it would be his turn to pick who was going to be the
next Sapa Inca. With this responsibility he could choose any one of the sons
that the Coya has produced as it was not required to be the eldest. An example
was shown of this when Emperor Mayta Capac did not choose his eldest son because
of the mere reason that he was hideous. This same process was followed and became a custom because of the link between the royal family and their gods.
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