Wak'a
/ˈwa.kʼa/noun
In Quechua religious tradition, a sacred place, object, ancestor, or natural feature regarded as spiritually powerful.
Did you know?Spanish chroniclers often recorded wak'as as idols, but Andean traditions treated them more broadly as powerful beings embedded in landscapes, communities, and ancestral memory.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Inca Andes
Quechua
wak'a
“Sacred or spiritually powerful place, object, ancestor, or natural feature”
15th–16th Century
Classical Quechua
wak'a
“A revered sacred entity or site within Inca religious practice”
16th Century
Spanish
huaca
“Indigenous shrine, idol, tomb, or sacred place; a Spanish adaptation of Quechua wak'a”
17th–19th Century
Spanish
huaca / guaca
“A sacred object, burial place, shrine, or pre-Columbian ruin in the Andes”
Modern English
English
huaca / wak'a
“An Andean sacred site, object, or power-bearing feature of the landscape”