The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

INCA OBSERVATORY, INTI-HUATANA, AT PISAC, NEAR CUZCO.

CHAPTER III
THE VAST EMPIRE OF THE INCAS

CORNER-STONE OF AN ANCIENT FORTRESS, CUZCO.

Although Viracocha was one of the greatest monarchs of Cuzco, it was his son who brought the Inca dynasty to such a high degree of prestige and power that the great empire gained unprecedented wealth and territory. Pachacutec has been called the second Manco-Ccapac, and his name signifies “he who creates the world anew,” showing what an exalted place he occupied among the Inca emperors in the annals of his country. He was an accomplished diplomatist as well as a skilful warrior, a statesman of far-seeing judgment, and a philosopher. It was as a diplomatist that he gained the coöperation and loyal service of the curacas of newly conquered provinces, and by his skill as a warrior that his armies were so well organized and disciplined as to win victories in all the campaigns which the heir-apparent led against the tribes of the coast, carrying his conquests from Pisco, Nasca, Ica, and Pachacámac to the realm of the hitherto much dreaded and altogether invincible Grand Chimu. The name of the young prince, Tupac-Yupanqui, is particularly associated with the conquest of Cajamarca; and the return of the hero to Cuzco at the close of that campaign was made the occasion of a national celebration throughout the empire.

It must have been an imposing and magnificent spectacle when the Emperor Pachacutec met the victorious prince outside of the capital on his return from Cajamarca, and entered the city with the royal heir, the latter “borne in a gold litter on the shoulders of conquered chiefs and preceded by troops of newly gained vassals, who sang the glories of the prince, with the triumphant ‘Haylli!’ to thrill the heart of the multitude and carry them beyond bounds as they caught its victorious note.” The pathway of the prince was covered with flowers, and crossed at short intervals by triumphal arches. The curacas marched at the head of processions from the different provinces, each in their local costumes, dancing and singing songs of victory; these were followed by the legions of the army, who filled the air with cheers for their general. The nobility came next in line, splendid in court dress and brilliant ornaments; and, lastly, the royal litter of the emperor side by side with that of the prince, gave to the pageant its culminating glory. The procession wound its way through the streets to the Temple of the Sun, where, with impressive ceremonies, thanks were rendered to the deity whose protection they believed had won the great victory.

The Inca’s armies entered the valleys of Pachacámac, Rimac, and Chancay late in the fourteenth century, and effected the allegiance of all that territory with little resistance; though it was an alliance rather than a conquest which the monarch of Cuzco proposed to the powerful ruler of the Yungas, as the people of that region were called. According to their treaty, the lord of Pachacámac was to keep his dominions, though under the authority of the imperial government; and the religion of Pachacámac was to be protected, on condition that the people also worshipped the Sun. It was after this alliance that the Temple of the Sun and the Convent of the Vestal Virgins were erected near the ancient edifice dedicated to the Creator. Later, the chiefs of this part of the coast region united their forces with the armies of Cuzco and marched against the Grand Chimu, glad to render assistance in an effort to crush their common enemy. The trained legions of Cuzco suffered greatly at first, on account of the intense heat, and their general was forced to send to his father for reinforcements; the resistance was stronger and more resolute than that of any enemy the Incas had hitherto encountered; but repeated reinforcements arrived, and the archers, lancers, and catapult regiments made havoc in the Chimu’s dominions, which was intensified when the enemy turned the course of the rivers that flowed from the sierra, to drain their plantations, and famine added to the horrors of combat. Capitulations were made, the Inca permitting the Grand Chimu to govern his dominions, as had been done in the treaty of Pachacámac, and exacting only that the people should render homage to the Inca and worship the Sun. A general edict was issued by Pachacutec at this time which proved one of the most powerful agencies in the consolidation of his great empire; it was decreed that all vassals of the realm should learn Quichua, and teachers were appointed in every province to see that the language was taught and used throughout the country. All government officials were obliged to know the national idiom and no one was permitted to occupy a place of authority or to have dignities or seignory conferred upon him if he could not speak it. Every soldier of the army, which grew to number two hundred thousand men, spoke this language.

ANCIENT STREET OF CUZCO, SHOWING INCAIC WALLS.