The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

During the reign of Pachacutec, the government of the empire was established on a firmer basis than ever, and legislation, though in reality only an expression of the supreme will of the Inca (there was no word for “law,” which was rendered apupsimi, “the word of the chief”), made clear to every subject what his duties were to his sovereign and to the state. The Inca Pachacutec ordered that all children over five years of age should have some employment appropriate to their age and their father’s profession. The blind, mute, and lame were given light work, and even the most ignorant and weak-minded were employed, as a safeguard against laziness. On the other hand, he set aside three days in each month for fiestas, and harvest time was a season of general rejoicing. The lands of the empire were all owned by the Inca and agriculture was the chief occupation of his subjects; the Inca himself turned the first furrow every year, with a golden plough. The products of the harvest were divided into three parts; first, the Inca’s share was set aside to sustain the splendor of the throne and tomeet public necessities; then the share for the Sun was devoted to the needs of the church, the priests and all who served in the temples; and finally the communities received their share, out of which each tiller of the soil was provided with what he needed. Private property did not exist, and no one had any individual rights whatever; on the other hand, every subject was given food and clothing and a house in which to live, though only as the Inca’s dependent ward, who could never hope to outgrow his “minority.” It is not surprising that patience and obedience became the predominating virtues of the race! The system of administration, which made it possible for the Inca to maintain his absolute authority over such a vast territory and population is explained partly in the frequent transporting of mitimaes, or colonists, from their native province to another, which prevented concerted plans for revolt, and partly in the division of the population into decades, or groups of ten, five of these groups constituting a body of fifty, two of these bodies making a centenary, and so on, the whole empire being governed in provinces of ten thousand inhabitants; each of the subdivisions had an officer in authority who was answerable to the chief officer of the larger group of which his division formed a part, until the supreme authority was reached. As may be supposed, the larger divisions were under the direction and control of the nobles, the provinces of ten thousand being governed by the Inca nobility, who had command over the curacas and other territorial officers of his district.

The subjects of the Inca could not even choose their life partners; matrimony was obligatory and, as its results affected the well-being of the state, the Inca maintained the right to govern in this as in all other matters. In the royal family, the ceremony was performed by the emperor himself, though in marriages of lesser importance his officers discharged this formality, appointing a day for a general ceremony, when all the young men of from twenty to twenty-five and girls of from eighteen to twenty presented themselves in a row, the men in front; after the wedding, the young people took possession of the houses which their community was obliged to build for them, the furniture being supplied by their family. No one could marry outside of his or her parcialidad, or township, and, as it was obligatory to wear the dress of one’s forefathers and not to move from any town to another without leave from the authorities, it may readily be understood that the costumes worn in the various sections of Peru were as distinctive of class and locality as is the Scotch tartan. The custom still remains in the sierra, and the effect is most picturesque.

PRINCIPAL HALL OF THE INCA OBSERVATORY. INTI-HUATANA.

Throughout the long reign of sixty years which is given by the historians to Pachacutec, his sagacity and benevolence were seen in every branch of his administration. He died at the age of eighty years, and left the throne to Tupac-Yupanqui, the tenth emperor of Cuzco, who made the conquest of Chile as far south as the Maule River, and spent three years visiting his kingdom. The royal progress was of the most magnificent description; the litter of the great monarch was resplendant with gold and precious jewels, displaying in its adornment the sacred symbols of sun worship, as it was borne on the shoulders of the Inca’s proudest nobles. With a gorgeous retinue the great lord of Cuzco proceeded along the highway, which was lined throughout the route by adoring subjects, who strewed the pathway of their deity-king with flowers and sang songs in his praise; when the transcendent glory of the Son of the Sun was revealed to them for a brief moment, as the curtains of the litter were raised and the royal countenance became visible, their acclamations were joyous and fervent beyond words. According to Sarmiento, one of the early historians, the royal guard and retinue that accompanied the Incas always made a splendid spectacle. Close to the litter of the emperor, and forming a brilliant and impenetrable guard, were his majesty’s halberdiers and archers on each side, five thousand soldiers in front, with catapults (weapons used with unfailing effect by the armies of Cuzco), and as many lancers with their captains behind, while heralds hurried back and forth, clearing the way and announcing the approach of the mighty lord. The people were glad to see their monarch, not only to witness the glory and splendor in which he appeared, but also because it was the royal custom, observed by Manco-Ccapac and all his successors, for the Inca to take this opportunity of hearing his people’s grievances and regulating matters referred to his decision by the provincial tribunals. Wherever he halted grand fiestas were celebrated in his honor; and so well stocked with provisions were the royal tambos, that all the Inca’s suite, as well as his troops, could be served with their accustomed food and all comforts. The Inca was kept in constant communication with Cuzco—no matter how far away from the capital his travels might lead him—by his chasquis, or postboys. On all the principal roads leading from Cuzco post offices were established, not like the modern repositories of letters, but small huts, in which a number of chasquis were stationed to receive and carry forward messages of the government. These posts were only a few miles apart, and the chasquis, who were chosen for their fleetness as runners as well as for their fidelity, were relieved by a perfect system of relays, so that it was possible for messages to be carried fifty leagues in a day. The chasquis were of great value in times of war, as may readily be seen, and they were also pressed into the domestic service of the royal palace, being employed to bring fruits, game, and (we are seriously informed by the historian) even fish, from the tropical coast region, for the imperial table.

SHOWING THE TWELVE-ANGLE STONE, RUINS AT CUZCO.

Tupac-Yupanqui is named by some authorities as the successor of Inca Yupanqui, to whom they give all the glory of the long and brilliant reign which others credit to Tupac-Yupanqui. On the other hand, many historians say that Inca Yupanqui’s reign was brief and uneventful, except for his campaigns, undertaken to subdue the Mojos of the region of the Beni and the Chiriguanas of the Bolivian Chaco. He failed in both enterprises and then turned his armies toward Quito, though with little better success. Tupac-Yupanqui had a young son, however, who was destined to bring the power and prestige of the Children of the Sun to the very zenith of glory. This prince, whose name was Huayna-Ccapac, took command of the imperial forces in the later years of his father’s life and marched against the king of Quito, whom he defeated, gaining possession of his kingdom. Alas, the conquest of Quito, the most brilliant victory yet won by the Children of the Sun, proved to be “the beginning of the end,” the source of the disunion of the great Inca empire, a calamity which contributed in an important degree to make it possible for a small group of invaders to accomplish the downfall of one of the most powerful monarchies that ever developed among a primitive people!

THE INCA’S BATH, OLLANTAYTAMBO.