Of the province of Paucura, and of the manners and customs of the
natives.
Beyond the great province of Arma there is another, called Paucura,
which contained five or six thousand Indians when we first entered it
with the Captain Jorge Robledo. The language of the Indians in this
province differs from that of Arma. The customs of the people are the
same, except that these are a better disposed race, and that the women
wear a small mantle to cover a certain part of their bodies, and the men
do the same. This province is very fertile for the growth of maize and
other products. They are not so rich in gold as those in their rear, nor
are their houses so large, nor is the country so rough. A river flows
through the province, but it has few tributary streams. Close to the
house of the principal chief, whose name was Pimana, there was a wooden
idol, the size of a tall man. Its face was turned towards the rising
sun, and its arms were spread out. Every Tuesday the Indians sacrificed
to the devil in this province of Paucura, and the same was done in that
of Arma, according to what the Indians told us; but I was unable to
learn whether the victims were their own countrymen, or prisoners taken
in war. Among the houses of the chiefs they have stout canes planted in
a circle so as to form a cage, from which those who are put in cannot
possibly escape. The captives taken in war are put into this cage and
very well fed, and when they are fat, they are taken out on days of
festivity, killed with great cruelty, and eaten. I saw several of these
cages, or prisons, in the province of Arma. It is worthy of note, that
when they wish to kill any of these unfortunates, with the intention of
eating them, they make them kneel down and bow their heads, and then
give them a blow on the back of the neck with such effect that they
never speak again. I have seen what I describe, and the victim never
speaks, even to ask for mercy; nay, some even laugh when they are
killed, which is a very marvellous thing, but it proceeds more from
bestiality than from courage. The heads of those who are eaten are stuck
on the points of the canes. Passing this province, we reached a lofty
plain, which is well peopled and covered with large houses. This
district is called Pozo, and the people speak the same language, and
have the same customs as those of Arma.