The travels of Pedro de Cieza de Léon, A.D. 1532-50, / contained in the first part of his Chronicle of Peru

by Pedro de Cieza de León

THIS province is strong from its position, and because the natives were very warlike. Before the Yncas could conquer them they fought great battles with them, until (according to what many of the oldest Indians declare) they at length induced them to submit by the use of intrigues and presents. There is a lake in the country of these Indians which is more than ten leagues round. This land of Bombon is level and very cold, and the mountains are some distance from the lake.[413] The Indians have their villages round the lake, with large dykes. These natives of Bombon had great numbers of sheep, and, although most of them have been destroyed in the late wars, yet some still remain, and in the desert heights there are quantities of the wild kinds. There is little maize in this country on account of the cold, but there is no want of other provision by which the people are sustained. There are some islands and rocks in the lake, where the Indians form garrisons in time of war, and are thus safe from their enemies. Concerning the water which flows from this lake, it is held for certain that it forms the source of the famous river of La Plata, because it becomes a powerful river in the valley of Xauxa, and further on it is joined by the rivers of Parcos, Vilcas, Abancay, Apurimac, and Yucay. Thence it flows to the west, traversing many lands, where it receives other rivers which are still unknown to us, until it finally reaches Paraguay, the country discovered by those Christian Spaniards who first came to the river of La Plata. I myself believe, from what I have heard of this great river, that it owes its origin to two or three branches, or perhaps more; like the rivers Marañon, Santa Martha, Darien, and others in those parts. However this may be, in this kingdom of Peru, we believe that it owes its source to the lake of Bombon, which receives the water caused by the melting of the snow from the heat of the sun on the desert heights, and of this there cannot be little.[414]

Ten leagues beyond Bombon is the province of Tarma, the inhabitants of which were not less warlike than those of Bombon. The climate is here more temperate, and much maize and wheat are grown, besides various fruits of the country. In former times there were great buildings and store-houses of the Kings Yncas in Tarma. The natives and their wives go dressed in clothes made from the wool of their sheep, and they adore the sun, which they call Mocha. When any of them marry, the friends assemble together, and, after drinking, saluting their cheeks, and performing other ceremonies, the marriage of the bride and bridegroom is complete. When the chiefs die they are buried in the same way as amongst all the other tribes, and their women shave their heads and wear black cloaks, also anointing their faces with a black ointment, and this state of widowhood lasts for a year. When the year is over, as I understood, and not before, they may marry again. These people have their annual festivals and fasts, which they carefully observe, abstaining from meat and salt and from sleeping with women. They also ask him who is considered most religious, and on the best terms with their gods and devils, to fast for a whole year for the benefit of the others. This being done, at the time of maize harvest, they assemble and pass some days and nights in eating and drinking.

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It is notorious that some of them conversed with the devil in their temples, and the devil replied in a terrible voice. From Tarma, travelling by the royal road of the Yncas, the traveller reaches the great and beautiful valley of Xauxa, which was one of the principal districts in Peru.

CHAPTER LXXXIV.

Which treats of the valley of Xauxa, and of its inhabitants, and relates how great a place it was in times past.

A RIVER flows through this valley of Xauxa, which is that which I said, in the chapter on Bombon, was the source of the river of La Plata. The valley is fourteen leagues long, and four to five broad, in some places more, in others less.[415] It was so populous throughout, that, at the time the Spaniards first entered it, they say for certain that it contained more than thirty thousand Indians; now I doubt whether it has ten thousand. They were divided into three tribes, although all are and were known by the name of Huancas.[416] They say that this arrangement has existed since the time of Huayna Ccapac, or of his father, who divided the lands and settled their boundaries. One of these tribes was called Xauxa, whence the valley took its name, and the chief Cucixaca. The second was called Maricavilca, over which Huacarapora was chief. The third was known as Llacsapallanca, and its chief Alaya. In all these parts there are great buildings of the Yncas, but the largest edifices were in the principal part of the valley, called Xauxa. Here there was a great area covered with strong and well-built stone edifices, a house of virgins of the sun, a very rich temple, and many store-houses well supplied with provisions. Here there were many workers in silver, who made vases of silver and gold for the service of the Yncas, and for ornaments in the temple. There were more than eight thousand Indians set apart for the service of the temple and palaces. These edifices were all of stone, above which there were enormous beams covered with long straw. These Huancas had great battles with the Yncas before they were conquered, as I will relate in the second part. The virgins of the sun were guarded with great vigilance, and if they had any intercourse with men they were severely punished.

These Indians relate a very pleasant legend. They affirm that their origin is derived from a certain man (whose name I do not recollect) and a woman called Urochombe, who came forth out of a fountain called Huarivilca. These two were so prolific, that all the Huancas have proceeded from them. In memory of this pair the fathers of the present inhabitants made a great and high wall, and near it they built a temple, to which the Indians all go to worship. It may be gathered from this that, as these Indians were ignorant of the true faith, God, for their sins, allowed the devil to attain great power over them, and, that he might secure the perdition of their souls, which is his desire, he made them believe these follies and others, such as that they were born from stones and lakes and caves; all that they might erect temples in which to adore him.

These Huancas know that there is a Creator of all things, whom they call Ticeviracocha. They believe in the immortality of the soul. They flayed the captives they took in war, making some of the skins into drums, and stuffing others with ashes. The Indians go dressed in shirts and mantles. The villages had fortresses of stone, like small towers, broad at the base and narrow above. Even now they appear, to one seeing them from a distance, like the towers of Spain. In ancient times all these Indians made wars with each other, but, after they were subjugated by the Yncas, they became expert workmen and bred large flocks. Their head-dress consisted of a woollen wreath about four fingers broad. They fought with slings and lances. Formerly there was a fountain, over which, as has been already said, they built a temple, called Huarivilca.[417] I saw it, and near it there were three or four trees called molles,[418] like walnut-trees. These trees were considered sacred, and near them there was a seat made for the chiefs who came to sacrifice, whence some paved steps led to the precincts of the temple. Porters were stationed to guard the entrance, where a stone flight of steps led down to the fountain already mentioned. Here there is an ancient wall of great size built in the form of a triangle. Near these buildings there is a plain, where the devil, whom they adored, is said to have been, and to have conversed with some of them.

These Indians relate another legend which they heard from their ancestors, namely, that a great multitude of devils once assembled in these parts, and did much damage to the natives, terrifying them with their looks. While this was going on five suns appeared in the heavens, which, with their brilliant splendour, annoyed the devils, who disappeared with loud screams and groans. The devil Huarivilca, who was in this place, was never seen again, and all the places where he had stood were scorched and burnt. As the Yncas were lords of this valley, a grand temple of the sun was built for them, as in other parts, but the natives did not cease to offer sacrifices to this Huarivilca. The temple of the sun, equally with that of Huarivilca, is now in ruins, and full of weeds and abominations; for when the governor Don Francisco Pizarro entered the valley, the Indians say that the bishop, Friar Vicente de Valverde,[419] broke the idols, and the devil was never again heard in that place. I went to see this temple with Don Cristoval, son of the chief Alaya, who is now dead, and he showed me the monument. He, as well as the other chiefs of the valley, has turned Christian, and there are two clergymen and a friar who have charge of the instruction of these Indians in our holy catholic faith. This valley of Xauxa is surrounded by snowy mountains, and in many parts of them there are ravines where the Huancas raise their crops. The City of the Kings was seated in this valley before it was removed to the place where it now is, and the Spaniards found a great quantity of gold and silver here.