LEAVING Pozo, and travelling to the eastward, the great and very populous province of Picara is reached. The names of the principal chiefs of this province, when we discovered it, were Picara, Chusquruqua, Sanguitama, Chambiriqua, Ancora, Aupirimi, and others. Their language and customs resemble those of Paucura. This province extends to certain mountains which give rise to rivers of very limpid and sweet water. The rivers are said to be rich in gold. The country is broken up into rugged mountains, like that which we had already passed; but it is so populous that all the hills and valleys are under cultivation, in so much that the sight of so many crops causes pleasure and contentment. In all parts there are plantations of fruit trees. The people have few houses, because they have been burnt in their wars. The province contained more than ten or twelve thousand Indians capable of bearing arms when we first entered it; and they go naked, for neither they nor their women wear more than a small cloth between the legs; and in all other matters, whether of eating, drinking, or marrying, they have the same customs as those whom we had already seen.
Thus, when the chiefs die, their bodies are placed in large and deep tombs, accompanied by many live women, and adorned by all they possessed of most value when living, according to the general custom of the other Indians of these parts. At the entrances of the houses of the caciques there are small platforms surrounded by stout canes, on the tops of which are stuck the heads of their enemies; and this is a horrid thing to see, as there are many of them, looking fierce with long hair, and their faces painted in such sort as to appear like those of devils. In the lower part of the canes there are holes through which the wind can pass, and when it blows, there is a noise which sounds like the music of devils. Nor is human flesh distasteful to these Indians, any more than to those of Pozo, for when we first entered their country with the captain Don Jorge Robledo, more than four thousand of these natives of Picara marched with us, and killed and ate as many as three hundred hostile Indians. They affirm that, on the other side of the mountains to the eastward of this province, which are the Cordilleras of the Andes, there is a great, rich, and populous valley called Arbi. I do not know whether it has been discovered, nor did I hear more than this rumour concerning it. The Indians of Picara have great stakes, as sharp as if they were of iron, made of a black palm wood, which they fix in holes along the roads, and subtilely cover with straw and grass. When they are at war with the Spaniards they fix so many of these stakes that it is very troublesome to get through the country, and many soldiers have been staked in the legs and feet. Some of these Indians have bows and arrows, but they are not dexterous in their use, and do little harm with them. They have slings with which they throw stones with great force. The men are of middle height, the women the same, and some of them good looking. Leaving this province, in the direction of the city of Cartago, we next came to the province of Carrapa, which is not very distant, and is rich and populous.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Of the province of Carrapa, and of what there is to be said concerning it.
THE province of Carrapa is twelve leagues from the city of Cartago, situated in a very rugged mountainous country, and the Cordillera of the Andes rises above it. The houses of the natives are small and very low, made of canes, and thatched with other small and delicate canes, of which there are many in these parts. Some of the houses of the chiefs are large, but others not. When the Christian Spaniards first entered the country there were five of these chiefs. The principal amongst them was called Yrrua, who, in former years, had entered the country by force, and ruled over all men like a powerful tyrant. Among the mountains there are some little valleys and open spaces well watered by numerous rivers and springs, but the water is not so wholesome as that of the rivers we had passed. The men are very large, with long visages, and the women are robust. These people are very rich in gold, for they had very large pieces, and beautiful vases, out of which they drank their wine made of maize. Those who drink this liquor soon lose their senses, yet the Indians are so vicious that they will sometimes drink an arroba at one sitting, not at one draught, but by taking many pulls. Their bellies being full of this beverage, it provokes vomiting, and they throw up as much as they like. Many of them hold the cup out of which to drink in one hand, and[226].... They are not great eaters, but all the Indians we met with are generally addicted to excessive drinking.
When a chief dies without children, his principal wife succeeds, and when she dies the nephew of the deceased chief inherits; if he is the son of a sister.[227] They have no temples nor houses of worship; but the devil talks to some of them occasionally, as he does with Indians of other tribes.
They bury their dead within their houses, in great vaults, accompanied by living women, food, and many valuables possessed by the deceased, as is the custom with their neighbours.
When any of these Indians feel ill, they make great sacrifices for their health in the manner which they have learnt from their ancestors, all in honour of the accursed devil. He, God permitting it, lets them know that all things are in his hands, and that he is superior to all others. Not but that they are aware of a God, sole creator of the whole world, for the Almighty does not permit the devil to assume this dignity, from which he is so widely separated. Yet they believe many evil things, although I learned from themselves that they are sometimes at issue with the devil, when they hate him, and see through his lies and falseness. For their sins, however, they are so subject to his will that they are unable to escape from the prisons of deceitfulness. They are blind, like other gentile people of more knowledge and understanding, until the light of the sacred Evangelist’s words enters into their hearts. The Christians who settle in these Indies should never fail to instruct the natives in true doctrine, otherwise I know not how they will fare when they and the Indians appear before the Divine throne, on the day of judgment.
The principal chiefs marry their nieces, and sometimes their sisters, and they have many wives. They eat the Indians whom they capture, like all the other tribes. When they go to war, they wear very rich pieces of gold, with great crowns, and large bracelets of gold on their wrists. Great and valuable banners are carried before them. I saw one which was given as a present to the captain Don Jorge Robledo, the first time we entered this province, which weighed upwards of three thousand pesos, and a golden vase worth two hundred and ninety pesos, besides two other loads of this metal, consisting of ornaments of many shapes. The banner was a long narrow cloth fastened to a wand, and covered with small pieces of gold to imitate stars. In this province there are also many fruit trees, and some deer, guadaquinajes, and other game, besides many edible roots.
Leaving this province, we came to that of Quinbaya, in which the city of Cartago is situated. Cartago is twenty-two leagues from the town of Arma. Between the province of Carrapa and that of Quinbaya, there is a very large and desert valley, of which the tyrant I have just spoken of was lord; he whose name was Urrua, and who ruled in Carrapa. The war between him and the natives of Quinbaya was very fierce; and he also forced many in Carrapa to leave their country when he took possession of it. It is rumoured that there are great sepulchres in this valley, of chiefs who are buried there.