What did the Incas call the concept of a world upheaval?

What did the Incas call the concept of a world upheaval? They called it pachacuti, a Quechua concept meaning a turning, overturning, or upheaval of the world.

The word combines pacha, referring to the world, earth, universe, or a particular time, with kuti, meaning to turn back, return, or change direction. In Andean cosmology, pachacuti could describe a cataclysmic transformation in which one world-age ended and another began. It therefore suggests more than an ordinary political revolution or natural disaster.

The term is also closely associated with Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the ruler traditionally regarded as the ninth Sapa Inca. According to Inca historical traditions, he took the name Pachacuti after defeating the Chankas and transforming Cusco into the center of a rapidly expanding empire. His name is often translated as “Earth Shaker.”

This overlap creates a common source of confusion: pachacuti was both a cosmological idea and the personal name of a major Inca ruler. Capac Raymi, Huarachicuy, and Inti Raymi were different ceremonies or festivals, not names for world upheaval.