Of what is said concerning the origin of these Collas, of their
appearance, and how they buried their dead.
Many of these Indians say that they have heard from their fathers that,
in times past, there was a great deluge, in the manner described by me
in the third chapter of the second part. They also declare that the
origin of their ancestors was very ancient, and they relate so many
sayings and fictions that I shall not stop to write them down, for some
say that their ancestors came out of a fountain, others from a rock, and
others out of a lake, so that no sense can be learnt from them
concerning their origin. But they all agree that their ancestors lived
in a wild state before they were subjugated by the Yncas, that they had
strongholds in the mountains whence they came out to fight, and that
they had many vicious customs. Afterwards they learnt from the Yncas all
that had been made known to the other vassals, and they built their
villages in the same way as they have them now. Both men and women are
clothed in woollen dresses. They say that, before marriage, the women
may go loosely, but that they are punished with death if they are guilty
of infidelity after they have been delivered to husbands. These people
wear woollen caps called _chucos_ on their heads. Their heads are very
long, and flattened behind, because they are pressed and forced into
what shape they choose during childhood. The women wear hoods on their
heads, almost of the same shape as those worn by friars. Before the
Yncas conquered the country, many of the Indians declare that there were
two great lords in the Colloa, the one called Sapana and the other Cari,
who conquered many _pucaras_, which are their fortresses. They add that
one of these chiefs entered the large island in the lake of Titicaca,
and found there a white people who had beards; that they fought with
them in such a manner that all were killed; and that they also fought
great battles with the Canas and Canches. After they had performed
notable deeds, these tyrants, or lords, who had risen up in the Collao,
turned their arms against each other, seeking also for the friendship of
the Ynca Huira-ccocha, who then reigned in Cuzco. The Ynca made a treaty
of peace with Cari at Chucuito, and intrigued so skilfully that he
became lord of a great part of the Collao without fighting. The
principal chiefs of this country go about with a large retinue, and,
when they travel, they are carried in litters, and treated with great
respect by all the Indians. They had their temples and _huacas_ in
secret places, where they adored their gods, and those who were selected
for that duty conversed with the devil.
The things which, to my mind, are most worthy of notice in the Collao,
are the tombs of the dead. When I travelled over this country I stopped
to write down all that deserved mention concerning the Indians; and I
was truly astonished to see how little they cared for having large and
handsome houses for the living, while they bestowed so much care on the
tombs where the dead were interred, as if all happiness did not consist
in something else. Thus, in the plains and meadows near their villages,
the tombs were built in the form of small towers, some of stones only,
and others of stones mixed with earth, some broad and others narrow,
according to the rank and wealth of those who built them.[490] Some of
them were roofed with straw, and others with large slabs. I observed
that the doors of these towers were towards the east. When the natives
of the Collao died they were mourned for during many days, the women
holding staves in their hands, and putting ashes on their bodies. The
relations of the deceased each contributed something, as well sheep,
lambs, and maize, as other things, and, before they buried the corpse,
they killed sheep, put the cooked meat into the rooms of their houses,
and made much drink from the maize. The deceased is honoured according
to the quantity of this beverage that is made. When the drink is ready,
and the sheep and lambs killed, they carry the corpse to the place where
the tomb is prepared, accompanied, if the deceased was a chief, by the
people of the village. Then they burnt ten, twenty, or more sheep,
according to the rank of the dead man, and killed the women, boys and
servants who were to accompany him, according to their vain belief. All
these are buried in the same tomb with the body, into which they also
put some people alive. Having interred the deceased in this manner, they
all return to the house whence they had taken the body, and there eat
the food and drink the _chicha_, coming out from time to time to dance
mournful dances in the appointed places near the house. This goes on for
some days, at the end of which the poorest men and women are assembled,
and given what remains of the food and _chicha_. If the deceased was a
great chief, they did not bury him immediately, but, before doing so,
they practised superstitious vanities for some days, which I shall not
describe. When these are finished, the women and servant-girls who have
not been killed come out into the village in their mantles and hoods,
some carrying the arms of the chief, others his ornamental head-dress,
and others his clothes and other things. They walk along uttering sad
and sorrowful words, while an Indian goes before them mourning and
playing on a drum. Thus they traverse the greater part of the village,
declaring, in their songs, the deeds of the dead chief, and other things
concerning him. I remember that when I was going to Charcas in company
with Diego de Uzeda, who now lives in the city of La Paz, we saw certain
women walking in this way through the village of Nicasio,[491] and we
learnt from the people of the village that they were saying what I have
described in this chapter. One of the Indians added that when these
women had finished their lamentations, they would be made drunk, and
some of them would be killed to accompany the dead man. In many other
villages I have seen them mourn for the dead during many days, and put
ropes of sedge round their heads as a sign of grief.