What was the Inca goddess of the sea?

What was the Inca goddess of the sea? She was Mama Cocha, also written Mama Qucha. Her Quechua name means “Mother Sea” or “Mother Lake,” and she was associated with the sea, fish, sailors, fishermen, and other bodies of water.

Coastal communities had particular reason to honor her because their food, travel, and livelihood depended on the ocean. Worshippers appealed to Mama Cocha for calm waters and successful fishing. In some traditions, her influence extended beyond the sea to lakes, rivers, springs, and human-made water sources, reflecting the central importance of water in Andean life.

Mama Cocha was commonly described as the wife of Wiraqucha and the mother of Inti, the sun, and Mama Killa, the moon. She was also counted among elemental maternal powers alongside Pachamama, Mama Nina, and Mama Wayra. These relationships vary across summaries of Inca religion, so they should not obscure her defining role as a water deity.

The wrong options name other major figures: Illapa was linked with thunder and weather, Mama Quilla with the moon, and Pachamama with the earth and fertility.