Below this throne was placed the figure of the Sun, but they do not state of what it was made, and also that of the Moon, and other figures of idols sculptured in wood and stone. We hold it to be very certain that neither in Jerusalem, nor in Rome, nor in Persia, nor in any other part of the world, by any state or king of this earth, was such wealth of gold and silver and precious stones collected together, as in this square of Cuzco when this festival and others like it were celebrated. For the images of the Incas, their deceased kings were brought out, each one with its service of gold and silver. That is to say, such of them as had been good and brave fathers of their people, generous in granting favours, pardoners of injuries. These were canonized as saints, in their blindness, and their bones were honoured by those who did not comprehend that their souls were burning in hell, thinking that they were in heaven.
It was the same with some other Orejones, or chiefs of another nation, whom, for some cause or other, they, in their heathen minds, looked upon as saints. They call those who were canonized in this way Ylla, which signifies the body of him who did good in his lifetime. Another meaning of Yllapa is thunder and lightning. Hence the Indians call discharges of artillery Yllapa, from the loud report.
The Inca and High Priest, with all the courtiers, and the great concourse of people that came from the neighbourhood, did mucha (which means reverence and worship), to the gods arranged round the square. They also made many offerings, such as small golden figures of idols, sheep, women, and many other trinkets. This festival of Hatun Raymi continued for fifteen or twenty days, during which there was much singing and dancing, drinking bouts, and other feasting, according to their custom. At the end of the time they finished with the sacrifices, and put back the images of the idols into the temples, and those of the deceased Incas into their houses.
The High Priest enjoyed that dignity during his life. He was married, and was so respected that he vied in dignity with the Inca, and had jurisdiction over all the oracles and temples, appointing and removing priests. The Inca and the High Priest often played together at their games, and these functionaries were of high lineage and had powerful relations. The dignity was not conferred upon obscure persons, even if they should possess great merit. All those who lived in the parts of Cuzco which they called Hurin-Cuzco and Hanan-Cuzco, and their descendants, were considered to be noble, although they should reside in other parts. I remember when I was in Cuzco in the year 1550, during the month of August, after the harvests had been got in, that a great crowd of Indians entered the city with their wives, making much noise. They carried their ploughs in their hands, and some stalks of maize, to make a festival by merely singing and reciting as had been their custom at harvest time. The Apus and Priests do not consent that these heathen festivals shall be performed in public as in former times, nor in secret if they can prevent it. But as there are so many thousands of Indians who have not become Christians, it is probable that these rites are still performed in secret.
The figure of Ticiviracocha, and those of the Sun and Moon, and the great chain of gold, besides other recorded pieces of great value, have not been found. There is neither Indian nor Christian who knows where they are. But although their value is great,[148] it is small when compared with all that has been buried in Cuzco, in the places of the oracles, and in other parts of this great empire.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Of the second king or Inca who reigned in Cuzco, named Sinchi Roca.
WITH as much conciseness as I am able to use, I have written what I learnt touching the government and customs of the Incas; and I now propose to return to my narrative of what happened from the time of Manco Capac to that of Huascar, as I have already promised. Touching the first Inca, and those who followed him, the Orejones do not give many particulars, because, in truth, they did not perform many great deeds. For the most valorous of all were the Inca Yupanqui, and Tupac Inca his son, and Huayna Capac his grandson. But the reason may be that which I have already written, namely, that these kings were the most modern.
As soon, then, as Manco Capac was dead, and the general mourning and obsequies had been performed for him, Sinchi Roca[149] assumed the fringe or crown, with the accustomed ceremonies. He contrived to enlarge the house of the Sun, and induced as many people as possible to flock to the new settlement, by gifts and large offers. The place was then, as it is now, called Cuzco. Some of the natives of it affirm that, in the place where was the great square, being the same then as now, there was a small lake and slough of water, so that it was difficult to raise the great edifices which they had begun to build. As soon as this was known to the king, Sinchi Roca, he contrived, with the aid of his allies and neighbours, to get rid of this swamp, covering it with great slabs and huge beams, and levelling the ground on the top, where the water used to be, in such sort that it remained as we now see it. They further state that the whole valley of Cuzco was barren, and that the land never yielded good fruit from the seed which they sowed. So they brought many thousands of loads of earth from the great forests of the Andes, and spread it all over the land; by which means, if the tale be true, the valley became very fertile, as we now see it.
This Inca had, by his sister and wife, many children: and they named the eldest Lloque Yupanqui. The people round Cuzco beheld the good order in which the settlers lived, and how they brought people under their friendly influence more through love and benevolence than by recourse to severity and force. Some of the captains and principal men came to hold discourse with those of the city, and rejoiced to see the temple of Curi-cancha, and the good order that reigned around it. By this means treaties of friendship were made in many directions. They relate that, among those chiefs that I have mentioned, there came to Cuzco a captain of the town called Zañu, which is not very distant. He asked Sinchi Roca, with great vehemence, that he would see fit to take his very fair and beautiful daughter as a wife for his son. When the Inca understood the request he was very sorry, for what the chief asked was contrary to the rule established and ordained by his father. Yet, if he did not grant the request of this captain, he and others would hold the Incas to be inhuman men, declaring that they only thought of themselves. Having taken counsel with the Orejones and principal men of the city, it appeared to all that the maiden ought to be received for marriage with the Inca’s son. It was thought that, until they became more powerful, it would not be prudent to follow the mandate of the Inca’s father in this matter. Thus it was that the answer to the father of the proposed bride was that she should be brought, and the marriage was solemnised according to their method and custom, and she was called Coya in Cuzco.[150] The king’s daughter, who was to have been the wife of her brother, was immured in the temple of Curi-cancha, where priests were appointed to offer up sacrifices before the statue of the Sun, and where there were men to guard the sacred women in the manner already described.