Which treats of what there is to be said concerning the other Indian
villages as far as the buildings of Tumebamba.
These buildings of Riobamba, as I have already said, are in the province
of the Puruaes, which is one of the best and most populous within the
jurisdiction of the city of Quito. The men go dressed, as well as the
women. They have the same customs as their neighbours, but are
distinguished by the band round their heads. They all wear very long
hair, and plait it in very small tails. The women do the same. They
worship the sun, and those who are selected as most fit for such a
business, converse with the devil. They have other rites and abuses, the
same as those of the Yncas who conquered them. When a chief dies they
dig a deep square tomb, into which they put the body, with the arms and
other effects of the deceased. Some of these tombs are made within the
houses of the inhabitants. They have the same customs as the other
natives of these parts; that is to say, they bury the most beautiful of
the women of the deceased with the body. I have been told by the Indians
that this is done because some among them, who are looked upon as men of
credit (God permitting that, for their sins and idolatries they may at
times be deceived by the illusions of the devil), have seen, or thought
they saw, those who had long been dead walking, adorned with the things
that were buried with them, and accompanied by their wives who had been
buried alive. Seeing this, they concluded that where the souls went,
women and gold should also be sent, and so they do as I have described.
The reason why the son of the sister inherits, and not the son of the
brother, I will relate hereafter.
There are many villages in this province of the Puruaes, which I shall
not further allude to, in order to avoid prolixity. To the east of
Riobamba there are other villages in the forests near the sources of the
river Marañon, and the mountain called Tinguragua, round which there are
also many villages. The inhabitants have the same customs as all the
others, they wear clothing, and their houses are built of stone. They
were conquered by the Kings Yncas, and their captains speak the general
language of Cuzco, although they have their own tongue as well. To the
westward there is a snowy region thinly inhabited, called Urcolaso. Near
this land a road leads to the city of Santiago, which is called
Guayaquil.
Leaving Riobamba, some other buildings are reached, called Cayambe. All
this country is bare and very cold. Beyond Cayambe are the _tampus_, or
lodgings of Teocaxas, situated on a large and bitterly cold plain, where
the Indian natives fought the battle with the captain Sebastian de
Belalcazar, which is called Teocaxas. Although it lasted all day, and
was very obstinately contested, neither party obtained the victory.
Three leagues further on are the important buildings called Tiquisambi,
which have the forests of Guayaquil on the right, and on the left
Pomallata, Quizna, Macas, and other regions as far as the great river.
The road then descends to the buildings of Chanchan, where, the country
being warm, it is called by the natives _Yunca_, which means a warm
land. There being no snow nor cold, the trees grow abundantly, besides
other things which are not to be had in cold countries. For this reason
all those who live in warm and genial countries are called _Yuncas_;
they have this name now, and will never lose it while they exist,
although ages should pass away. The distance between these buildings and
the sumptuous royal edifices of Tumebamba is nearly twenty leagues, the
whole intervening country being scattered over with depôts and other
buildings, at intervals of two or three or four leagues. Amongst these
there are two principal stations, one called Cañaribamba and the other
Hatuncañari,[288] whence the natives and their province took the name of
Cañaris, as they are now called. Right and left of the road there are
numerous villages and provinces, which I shall not further mention,
because the natives, having been conquered by the Kings Yncas, have the
same customs as all the rest, speak the general language of Cuzco, and
wear clothes, both men and women. In the order of their marriages, rules
of inheritance, and custom of burying food, arms, and live women with
their dead, they are also the same as their neighbours. They all believe
the sun to be god, but that there was also a Creator of all things,
whom, in the language of Cuzco, they call _Huiracocha_.[289] Although
they now have this belief, they formerly worshipped trees, stones, and
the moon, being prompted by the devil, our enemy, with whom some of them
converse, and they obey him in many things. In our time, the wrath of
God having been raised, the sacred evangel will be preached, and the
light of faith spread abroad, so that they will abhor the devil. Already
in many places where he was esteemed and venerated, he is now detested,
and the temples of the accursed idols are destroyed, insomuch that there
is no sign of an image, and many Indians have become Christians. There
are now few villages in Peru without a friar or clergyman who teaches
the people; and, in order that the Indians may more readily be made to
understand their errors, and induced to embrace our holy religion, a
grammar has been made, by which to speak their language, so that the
priests and Indians may understand each other. The reverend father Don
Domingo de Santo Tomas has laboured much in this work.[290]
All along the road there are rivers, some small others larger, and all
with excellent water. Over some there are bridges to pass from one side
to the other. In former times, before the Spaniards gained this kingdom,
there were great quantities of sheep in these mountains of the kind
peculiar to this country, and a still greater number of _huanacos_ and
_vicuñas_. But the Spaniards have slaughtered so many, that now there
are scarcely any left. No wolves nor other mischievous animals have been
met with in these parts, except the tigers, which I mentioned in
describing the forests of Buenaventura, and some small lions. In the
wooded ravines there are also some snakes, and in all parts there are
foxes of the country, and other wild creatures. Of partridges, pigeons,
doves, and deer, there is abundance, and in the vicinity of Quito there
are many rabbits. _Dantas_, or tapirs, are met with in the forests.