The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

The record of historical events, as they occurred throughout the long reign of the Inca dynasty, was preserved only by a system of quipus, or knotted cords, the art of writing being unknown to the Incas, or, according to some authorities, prohibited by law. Only the Quipucamayos, the authorized guardians of the quipus, were able to decipher them. This career was considered one of great honor, and instruction therein was given in all the provinces, under the direction of the Amauttas, the Savants of the empire. The chief archives of the state were preserved in Cuzco, where an immense collection of quipus was found by the invading Spaniards, who destroyed the greater part of them, without having them interpreted. As a consequence, the information secured by the historians of the Conquest and by writers of later date, relative to the genealogy and history of the Incas is necessarily incomplete and, no doubt, inaccurate; though the descriptions of the appearance, laws, customs, and national development of the people of Tahuantinsuyo may be considered as generally faithful and reliable.

According to the genealogy given by Garcilaso de la Vega, the first Inca, Manco-Ccapac, was succeeded by Sinchi Rocca, a peaceful and prudent ruler, who is said to have taken the first census of his kingdom, and is credited by some authorities with having made the division of the empire into the four regions previously named; though, according to Cieza de Leon, one of the most reliable authors, these names were applied to four great highways which extended from Cuzco to the extreme limits of the empire, northward, eastward, southward, and westward. In any case, the Incas built broad and level roads, from six to eight feet wide, and in the mountain regions, where they skirted the steep slopes of the Andean range, they were prevented from wearing away by the construction of stone embankments; on the plains, the highway was indicated, as in many countries at the present day, by guide posts at intervals along its course. Also, tambos, or inns, were built at the distance of a day’s journey apart, and here the traveller could always find shelter for the night. The third Inca, Lloque Yupanqui, conquered the Canas, a powerful people of Ayaviri and Pucará, after a struggle which depopulated their settlements, and forced the emperor to introduce mitimaes, or colonists, to replace them. He also subjugated the Collas of the present department of Puno.

NICHE IN THE FAÇADE OF THE PALACE OF MANCO-CCAPAC.

It was during the reign of the fourth Inca, Maita-Ccapac, that the power and genius of the imperial monarchs began to extend its influence as never before, and greater pomp and magnificence than had previously been known attended the coronation and other ceremonials honored by the sacred and royal presence of the Inca.

Following the course of training required of every heir to the Inca throne, Maita-Ccapac had, when a youth, passed through the Huaracu, a ceremonial of the greatest importance, and one in which all the young Inca nobles of his own age—the title of Inca being borne by every descendant of Manco-Ccapac through the male line—participated, after having been trained in the same military exercises as the royal prince. A description of the Huaracu is interesting as showing that these people had an institution not unlike that of mediæval chivalry in Europe: From his earliest years, the hereditary prince was given into the care of the Amauttas, to be taught science and religion, especially the latter, as the Inca was the highest spiritual authority on earth; great attention was also paid to the military training, as it was desirable that, not only in wisdom but in military skill, the prince should excel all contemporaries. At sixteen years of age, the young heir, Maita-Ccapac, and his companions, following the sacred custom of their race, were submitted to a public test, supervised and directed by elderly and distinguished Inca nobles, which included trials of ability in athletics such as wrestling, jumping, running, besides sham battles, which were held as a trial of valor, and were so severe that many of the youths were wounded and a few killed. The royal prince had not shown the least fear nor evidence of fatigue, though put to the very limit of endurance; “for,” he said, “if I am afraid of the shadow of a combat, how shall I be able to meet the enemy in real warfare?” These exercises lasted for thirty days, during which the prince slept on the ground, went barefooted and dressed simply, thus showing his sympathy with the poorest of his future subjects. The tests concluded, the order of knighthood was conferred by the Inca emperor, father of Maita-Ccapac, all the young nobles who had taken part in the exercises kneeling with the royal heir, one after another, while the emperor pierced their ears with the yauri, a kind of gold needle made for the purpose, which remained in the ears until the hole was large enough to permit the insertion of the earrings peculiar to the Incas; these were not hung from the ears but were placed in the pierced opening, and replaced from time to time by rings of larger circumference, until, as in the case of Maita-Ccapac, the cartilage of the lobe was so stretched that it touched the shoulder. After this ceremony the greatest of the Inca nobles placed on the feet of the royal heir the sandals of his particular order; a scarf of similar significance to the toga virilis of the Romans was wound around his waist, and his head was adorned with a wreath of flowers,—to indicate that clemency and goodness should adorn the character of the valiant warrior,—while evergreen, intertwined with the flowers, symbolized the eternal endurance of such virtues. A fillet of finest vicuña wool was bound around his head, and a yellow masca paicha, a kind of fringe, also woven of vicuña wool, was added to this headdress, falling over the brows. The yellow masca paicha was the peculiar insignia of the heir-apparent. As soon as this ceremony was concluded, all the Inca nobles knelt before the prince and rendered him homage as their sovereign. From this time, he was entitled to take his seat among the advisers of his father, so that he might be initiated into the art of governing and become familiar with politics and administration. Being recognized as of age, and the heir to the throne, he was given command of his father’s armies and was entitled to display the royal standard of the rainbow in his military campaigns.

The coronation of Maita-Ccapac was the occasion of grand pageants, continued fiestas, and a brilliant display of royal magnificence. We are told that he “was crowned with a blue masca paicha and wore a tunic of white and green, dotted with crimson butterflies.” His royal robe was made of finest vicuña wool and was ornamented with gold and precious stones. The headdress of all Inca emperors was particularly distinguished by two feathers which were placed upright in the front of the encircling llautu, or fillet; these feathers were plucked from the wing of the sacred bird Cori-quenca, a species of gull, black and white in color, one feather being taken from the right wing of the male and the other from the left wing of the female, to adorn the royal crown. These birds may still be seen in the vicinity of Lake Vilcanota, near Cuzco.

INCA FOUNTAIN AT CUZCO.

An invincible warrior, Maita-Ccapac extended the power of the empire to the remote borders of Collasuyo (now Bolivia) and beyond the Apurimac to Arequipa and Moquegua. His name is connected with one of the most notable works achieved in the history of the mediæval world, as he is said to have been the author of the method and plans used, by his command, in the construction of the first suspension bridge ever built. Over this bridge, which was swung across the Apurimac River, he passed with an army of twelve thousand men, making an easy conquest of the enemy, who were struck with awe in the presence of such a wonderful feat. A second bridge, built by one of the successors of Maita-Ccapac, is still to be seen near the site of the original construction. Many of the andenes, of which traces are to be observed to-day in various parts of the country, were also constructed during the reign of Maita-Ccapac, though the origin of these terraced farms on the mountain side is placed by some authorities back in pre-Incaic times. The andenes were so named from Anti, a province east of Cuzco, and were formed by building stone walls on the mountain sides, at short distances one above the other from the base to the summit, and filling the enclosed space with fertile soil, some of it being mixed with guano from the Chincha Islands, as the Incas knew the fertilizing value of this deposit and made general use of it in their agriculture. A tradition of the time of the fourth Inca relates that the loyal subjects in one of the provinces built a grand palace of copper in which to entertain Maita-Ccapac and his Coya when they visited that part of the kingdom; and, though this story is no doubt a fable, yet it is certain that mining made great progress during this reign. It is marvellous that, with only the primitive means at their command, without iron, powder, or machinery, these people extracted gold both from quartz and placer mines, and obtained silver, tin, and copper as well. The metal was smelted in small furnaces and then emptied into moulds; the beautiful ornaments which were made for the adornment of the temples and palaces and for the Inca’s wear, afford a proof of the remarkable ingenuity of these primitive artifices. The successor of Maita-Ccapac, Inca-Ccapac Yupanqui, “the Avaricious,” did not achieve great fame, though he spent the greater part of his reign in subduing turbulent subjects in various parts of the kingdom. He was a miser, and ordered that all who died should be interred with their gold and jewels, his object being to secure this treasure later for the royal coffers.