The Puma's role among the Incas? (A totem animal question)

[Memento Mortalis Es]

Years ago, the Puma came to me as my totem animal. It made it clear that the name it wanted me to use was Puma. There are over 40 names in English for the Puma, according to its wikipedia entry, which also says that the name Puma is from Quechua. Huh. I think this is a clue.

You see, I knew that there was a reason it wanted me to use the name Puma as opposed to all the other names for it, so I looked up the wikipedia entry for Quechua and found that it was the language of the Incas.

I took this to mean that my spirit animal is Incan in origin, but I can't find information on what that means. I found a general Native American totem animal page that I used to get useful information a while back*, but I feel I need to find information about the Puma as it relates to the Incas. I would greatly appreciate any help in finding a source of information.




*Anytime I need confidence now I growl like a mountain lion. I use that name here because it's the name that belongs to my memory of that sound.  

[Starlock]

I don't have anything specific for you, but I have some suggestions of where to look. Finding central American mythology can be a bit difficult as public libraries (at least the ones I've been to) don't always carry a lot about them and instead focus on the more 'popular' mythology like Greek, Roman, and Egyptian. Still, it wouldn't hurt to see if your public library has a book on mythology from that region of America and just read through it. It might not have anything on Pumas in it, but it will give you a background understanding of the mythology.

Another place you can look in the public library is in folklore. There are often books with folklore on the natural world, sometimes specifically animals. These are often anthologies, so you'll have to dig through the book to see if there are any tales in it that relate to what you're looking for.

The best place to look will probably be an academic library. They're going to have a much more extensive collection particularly if you're looking at one from a major university. Talk to the librarians there and they will be more than happy to help you find what you need. Sometimes doing research in an academic library can be intimidating, so get that help especially if it is a huge collection.  

[Neko_Bast]

The Puma, or as I call him, Cougar, is my spirit animal too. The only advice I can give is to look up Mountan Lions and Cougars to see if they say anyting about the Incas there. Since most people names they are familur with, you might find something.