Peruvian Inca Ritual Knife Model: "Tumi"

This is a model of a ceremonial knife, called a "tumi," used to sacrifice certain animals. The tumi has a crescent-shaped blade. A tumi could be made of either bronze, copper, gold-alloy, or silver alloy used by some Inca and pre-Inca cultures in the Peruvian Coastal Region. The handle represents the northern Peruvian god Inti.

The Inca culture of Western South America worshipped Inti, the Sun. There were many temples to Inti and sun worship affected many aspects of life for the Inca.

The Inca believed that Inti brought warmth, light and sunshine necessary for agriculture. In Andean mythology, the Inca were descendants of Inti.

The Inca celebrated Inti with an annual festival, Inti Rayari. The festival took place at the end of the potato and maize harvest in order to thank the Sun for the abundant crops or to ask for better crops during the next season. During this important religious ceremony, the High Priest would sacrifice a completely black or white llama. Using a tumi, he would open the animal's chest and with his hands pull out its throbbing heart, lungs and viscera, so that observing those elements he could foretell the future. Later, the animal and its parts were completely incinerated.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumi