were there, historically, civilizations that considered the Sun evil/bad/etc.?

by CasterMojave

I apologize for the somewhat vague question, but I was thinking (inspired by a silly Tumblr post of all things) about how a lot of ancient civilizations regarded the Sun quite positively and how many Gods were associated with it (Ra of The Egyptian Pantheon and Apollo of the Greek come to mind). And I was simply wondering if there are any--or at least any known--civilizations with religions that considered the Sun to be, in broad terms, an evil thing.

This is my first post in this particular subreddit and while I did read the rules and the FAQ, I apologize if this violates any guidelines.

faceintheblue

The Chimu who lived in the river valleys of northern Peru's coastal deserts considered the sun a destroyer. They worshipped the moon and sea to a much greater extent.

We really don't have a clear picture of many of the religious beliefs of the tribes conquered by the Inca, but the Kingdom of Chimor is something of an exception to that rule: They were such a powerful foe that upon their conquest a lot of special rules were made for them that were remembered by old men interviewed after the Spanish Conquest. The Chimu's lack of respect for the Sun (a big deal for the Inca) and omnivorous sexuality (the Inca were prudes) was mentioned several times in the chronicles dating to the first decades after the Conquistadors arrived. I'll cite some secondary sources, but the primary documents see all available in English now.

An interesting addendum would be that the Chimu are considered by many to be direct cultural descendants of the Moche and earlier coastal river valleys civilizations, so a lack of reverence for the sun might go back many hundreds of years along the Peruvian coast.

Sources: Prescott's History of the Conquest of Peru and Moseley's The Incas and Their Ancestors

EDIT: A couple of smartphone-induced typos.