Concerning the foundation of the city of Guayaquil; and how certain of
the natives put the captains of Huayna Ccapac to death.
Further on, towards the west, is the city of Guayaquil; and, as soon as
the boundary of its jurisdiction is crossed, the Indians are
Guancavilcas--those toothless ones who, from custom, or to honour their
accursed gods, pulled out their teeth, as I have before said. As I have
already given an account of their dress and customs, I have no wish to
repeat it in this chapter.
In the time of Tupac Ynca Yupanqui, lord of Cuzco, these people were
conquered. The Lord Ynca subjugated them, and, in doing so, he proved
himself to be a great captain, and won victories and notable trophies,
displacing the garrisons of the natives, and allowing no armed men in
any part except those who were posted at stations assigned by himself.
He then ordered certain of his captains to explore the country, and to
bring the natives to obedience by kindness and friendship. All these
captains, as I have said before, were killed by the natives, without one
being left alive. The natives did not at once receive the punishment
they deserved for killing those who slept in confidence without
suspecting such treason, because the Ynca was in Cuzco, and his
governors and delegates had enough to do in their respective
governments. When Huayna Ccapac succeeded, he showed himself to be as
brave and valiant a captain as his father, with even more prudence, and
full of pride at his new power. He set out from Cuzco in great haste,
accompanied by the principal _Orejones_[307] of the two famous tribes of
that city, called Hanan-Cuzcos, and Hurin-Cuzcos. After having visited
the sacred temple of Pachacamac, and the garrisons which were stationed
by his order in the provinces of Xauxa and Caxamarca, and other parts,
both in the mountains and in the fruitful valleys of the coast, he
reached Tumbez, where a fortress was built by his order, although some
Indians say that this edifice is more ancient. The people of the island
of Puna being hostile to the natives of Tumbez, it was easy for the
captains of the Ynca to build this fortress while the Indians were
engaged in their own quarrels. When it was finished Huayna Ccapac
ordered a temple of the sun to be built, and two hundred virgins, from
amongst the most beautiful daughters of the chiefs of the province, to
be collected together in it. In this fortress (which before it was
ruined, is said to have been a thing worthy of notice) Huayna Ccapac had
his captain or delegate, with a number of _Mitimaes_, and stores and
provisions for their maintenance, as well as for the troops that passed
that way. They also say that a lion and a very fierce tiger were placed
in the fortress and ordered to be well guarded. These must have been the
beasts which made as if they would tear the Captain Pedro de Candia in
pieces,[308] at the time when the governor Don Francisco Pizarro, with
his thirteen companions (who were the discoverers of Peru, as I shall
relate in the third part of my work) reached this coast. In the fortress
of Tumbez there were a great number of silversmiths who made vases of
gold and silver, and many other ornaments both for the service and
adornment of the temple, which these people considered sacred, and for
the use of the Ynca himself. They also had to prepare the plates of
these metals, to line the walls of the temples and palaces. The women,
who were dedicated to the service of the temple, only understood how to
spin and weave very fine woollen cloth, which they did with great skill.
As I shall write very fully and copiously of these things in my second
part, which will treat of the kingdom of the Yncas in Peru, from Manco
Ccapac, who was the first, to Huascar, who was the last, I shall say no
more in this chapter than is necessary to make the narrative clear. As
soon, then, as Huayna Ccapac had made himself master of the province of
the Guancavilcas and of Tumbez, he sent to Tumbala, the lord of Puna, to
order him to come and do homage. When the lord of the island of
Puna[309] heard what the Ynca’s message conveyed, he was much moved,
for, being a chief, and having received that dignity from his ancestors,
he held it to be a great calamity to lose that liberty which is so much
esteemed by all the nations of the earth, and to receive a stranger as
sole lord of his island; for he was not only required to serve him, but
to allow his edifices and fortresses to be built on the island, and to
give up his most beautiful women, which was what he felt most. Finally,
however, those of the island consulted one with another touching the
present calamity, and, considering how small their power was to resist
that of the Ynca, they agreed that it would be prudent to seek for his
friendship, and to feign submission. Tumbala then sent messengers to
Huayna Ccapac with presents, and invited him to visit the island of Puna
for a few days. The Ynca was satisfied with this humility, and Tumbala,
with the chiefs of the island, sacrificed to the gods, seeking what they
should do to escape from the Ynca, who sought to be supreme lord over
all. It is said that messengers were sent to all the neighbouring
provinces to try the temper of the people, and to excite them to resist
Huayna Ccapac. This was done very secretly, and in the meanwhile the
Ynca went to the island of Puna, where he was honourably received, and
lodged in buildings which had been prepared for him. The _Orejones_ and
the chiefs of the island assembled, and showed signs of real and not
simulated friendship.
As many of the natives of the main land desired to live as their
ancestors had done, and as a foreign yoke is always heavy and
distasteful, while that of a countryman is easy and light, they
conspired with the natives of the island of Puna to kill all those who
came into the country with the Ynca. At that time Huayna Ccapac ordered
certain of his captains, with a large force, to visit some of the
villages on the mainland, and to arrange affairs connected with his
service; and he ordered the islanders to convey them in _balsas_ across
the sea, and to disembark them in a river whence it would be convenient
to go to their destination. Having arranged these and other matters on
the island, Huayna Ccapac returned to Tumbez, or to some place near it.
The _Orejones_, noble youths of Cuzco, then got into the _balsas_, with
their captains, a large and well-appointed fleet. They were crossing the
water without suspicion, when the islanders treacherously unfastened the
cords by which the poles of the _balsas_ were secured, so that the poor
_Orejones_ fell into the water, where they were all cruelly murdered by
the islanders with the arms which they had secretly brought with them.
By killing some and drowning others, they put an end to all the
_Orejones_, and nothing was left of them but some mantles and a few of
their ornaments. As soon as the aggressors had committed these murders,
their joy was very great, and they talked and complimented each other in
the _balsas_ to such an extent, that it might have been supposed that
the Ynca and all his troops were in their power. They enjoyed their
victory, and appropriated the treasures and ornaments of these people of
Cuzco, but they finally met a fate very different from their thoughts,
as I am about to relate. The _Orejones_ who came in the _balsas_ being
dead, the murderers quickly returned to the place whence they had
started, to take more people on board. The rest of the _Orejones_,
unaware of the trick which had been played on their companions, then
embarked with their clothes, ornaments, and provisions, and were all
killed in the same way, so that not one escaped. If any that knew how to
swim tried to save their lives, they were killed by fierce and cruel
blows, and if they dived, and thus strove to fly from their enemies by
seeking favour of the fishes that dwell in the depths of the sea, it was
of no avail, for the islanders, who live much in the sea, employed in
their fisheries, swim as well as the fishes, and easily overtook the
fugitives and strangled them. The sea was full of blood, the sign of a
sad spectacle. As soon as all the _Orejones_ who went in the _balsas_
were killed, those of Puna, with the other Indians who had conspired
with them, returned to the island.
When these events were made known to the King Huayna Ccapac, he was
enraged and deeply distressed that so many of his nobles should have no
tombs. In truth they think more of the building and adorning of their
tombs where they are to be put after death, than of the houses where
they dwell while living. Presently the Ynca assembled all his remaining
forces, and resolved to punish the barbarians in such a manner that
neither resistance nor submission should avail them, for their offence
was held to be so grave, that it was more necessary to punish with
severity than to pardon with clemency and humanity. Thus thousands were
put to death in various ways, and the chiefs who formed the conspiracy
were impaled or hung.[310] After he had inflicted a great and terrible
punishment on these Indians, Huayna Ccapac ordered that the misfortune
which had befallen his followers should be recorded in songs, and sung
in seasons of mourning; for such subjects are recited in their languages
in elegies. He also ordered a causeway to be made along the river of
Guayaquil, which, judging from some parts that may still be seen, must
have been a superb work, but it was never finished. It is called the
“passage of Huayna Ccapac.” Having inflicted this punishment, he ordered
that all the natives should obey his governor, who was in the fortress
of Tumbez, and having arranged other matters, the Ynca departed from
this province. There are other districts and villages within the
jurisdiction of the city of Guayaquil, but I have nothing to say
concerning them, except that the manners and dress of the inhabitants
are the same as those already described, and that their country is the
same.