_How the brothers, being in Tampu Quiru, beheld him whom they had shut
up in the cave by deceit, come forth with wings; and how he told them
that he went to found the great city of Cuzco; and how they departed
from Tampu Quiru._
Proceeding with the narrative that I took down in Cuzco, the Orejones
say that, after the two Incas had settled in Tampu Quiru, careless now
about seeing Ayar Cachi again, they beheld him coming in the air with
great wings of coloured feathers, and they, by reason of the great fear
that this visit caused them, wanted to flee away; but he quickly removed
their terror by saying to them, “Do not fear, neither be afflicted; for
I only come that the empire of the Incas may begin to be known.
Wherefore leave this settlement that you have made, and advance further
down until you see a valley, and there found the Cuzco, which will be of
great note. For here are only hamlets, and of little importance; but
that will be a great city, where the sumptuous temple must be built that
will be so honoured and frequented, and where the sun will be so
worshipped. I shall always have to pray to God for you, and to intercede
that you may soon become great lords. I shall remain in the form and
fashion that you will see on a hill not distant from here; and will be
for you and your descendants a place of sanctity and worship, and its
name shall be Guanacaure. And in return for the good things that you
will have received from me, I pray that you will always adore me as God,
and set up altars in that place, at which to offer sacrifices. If you do
this, you shall receive help from me in war; and as a sign that from
henceforward you are to be esteemed, honoured, and feared, your ears
shall be bored in the manner that you now behold in mine.” And when he
had so spoken they say that he appeared with ear ornaments of gold set
round as with a gem.
The brothers, astonished at what they saw, were as men struck dumb and
without speech. When their perturbation had ceased, they replied that
they were content to do as he commanded, and presently they went in
haste to the hill called the Hill of Guanacaure, which, from that time
forward, was accounted sacred. In the highest part of it, they again saw
Ayar Cachi, who, without doubt, must have been some devil, if there is
any truth in what they relate; and, God permitting, he made them
understand his desire that they should worship and sacrifice to him
under these false appearances. They say that he again spoke to them,
telling them to assume the fringe or crown of empire, such of them as
were to be sovereign lords, and how they should order the arming of
youths to make them knights and nobles. The brothers answered that they
would comply with all his commands, as they had already promised, and in
sign of obedience, with hands joined and heads bowed down, they made the
_mocha_[78] or reverence, that he might the better understand them. The
Orejones further say that the practice of assuming the fringe and of
arming the knights began here, so I put it in this place, that there may
be no necessity for repeating it further on.
This may be received as pleasant and very certain history, for Manco
Inca assumed the fringe or sovereign crown in Cuzco, and many Spaniards
are still living who were present at the ceremony, and I have heard it
from them. It is true that the Indians say that the ceremony was more
solemn and magnificent in former times, and was performed with such
sumptuous riches as could not be enumerated.
It would seem that these lords arranged the ceremony for assuming the
fringe or crown, and they say that Ayar Cachi dressed in the same
manner, on this same hill of Guanacaure. He who was to become Inca was
dressed, on one day, in a black shirt painted with red patterns and no
collar, and on his head a fawn-coloured plait twisted round. And he wore
a long grey mantle, in which dress he came forth from his lodging and
went into the fields to gather a wisp of straw, and he had to stay out
all day doing this, without eating or drinking, for it was his duty to
fast. And the mother and sisters of the former Inca had to remain
spinning with such diligence that, during that one day, they had to spin
and weave four dresses, fasting all the time. One of these dresses
consisted of a grey shirt and white mantle, and another had to be all
white, and the other had to be blue, with cords and trimmings. He who
was to become Inca had to wear these dresses, and to fast for the
appointed time, which is one month, and they call this fast _zaziy_.[79]
It is kept in a lodging of the royal palace, without seeing light or
having connection with a woman. During this time of fasting the ladies
of his lineage have to work very hard to make a great quantity of
_chicha_ with their own hands, making it from maize, and they must be
richly dressed. After the time of fasting is passed, he who was to be
lord came forth, carrying a halberd of gold and silver in his hands, and
he proceeded to the house of some venerable relative, where his hair had
to be shorn. Then, clothed in one of these dresses, he left Cuzco, where
this festival was held, and went to the hill of Guanacaure, and
performed certain ceremonies and sacrifices. He then proceeded to where
the wine was kept, and drank. The Inca then went to a hill called
Anaquar, and from the foot of it he ran, that the people might see
whether he was agile, and would be valiant in war. Presently he came
down, carrying a little wool on the halberd, in token that when he
fought with his enemies, he would bring away their hair and the heads
with it. This done, the Inca returned to the hill of Guanacaure. Here
he and his courtiers gathered straw, and he who was to be Inca had a
very large bundle of it, made of very fine gold of equal lengths. With
this he went to another hill called Yahuira, and there he put on another
of the dresses, and on his head a plait or _llautu_ called
_pillaca_,[80] which is like a crown, underneath which were
ear-ornaments of gold, and on the top a tuft of feathers sewn like a
diadem, which they call _puruchuco_.[81] On the halberd they fastened a
girdle of gold which reached to the ground, and on his breast was placed
a moon of gold. In this dress, and before all who were present, he
killed a sheep, the body and blood being divided among all the principal
people, to be eaten raw. The signification of the ceremony was that if
they were not valiant their enemies would eat them, as they were eating
the sheep that had been killed.
At this place they took a solemn vow, according to their usage, in the
name of the Sun, that they would maintain the order of knighthood, and
would die in defence of Cuzco, if it should be necessary. Next their
ears were opened, and the apertures were so large that they could hold a
geme each one in circumference. This done, they put on the heads of
fierce lions, and returned to the square of Cuzco with great noise. In
the square there was a great chain of gold going all round, and
supported on prongs of gold and silver. Here they danced, and there were
marvellous great festivities, according to their fashion. Those who had
been made knights had on the heads of lions, as a sign that they would
be valiant and fierce. At the end of the dancing the knights remained
armed, and were called Orejones. They had privileges and enjoyed great
dignities, and are worthy, if selected, to assume the crown, which is
the fringe.
When this was given to the lord who was to be sovereign, greater
festivities were held, a vast concourse of people assembled, and he who
is about to be Emperor must first take his own sister for his wife, that
no base lineage may succeed. He also performed the great _zaziy_, which
is the fast. And during the intervals that these ceremonies occupied,
the lord being engaged in the business of sacrifices and fasting, he
could not attend to private or public concerns. It was, therefore, a law
among the Incas that, when the sovereign died, or handed over the crown
or fringe to another, one of the principal nobles was selected, who,
with mature counsel and great authority, might govern the whole empire
of the Incas, as if he were the lord himself, during these days, and he
was allowed to have a guard and to be addressed with reverence.
These ceremonies being completed, and the blessings having been given in
the temple of Curicancha, the Inca received the fringe, which was large
and descended from the _llautu_ that he had on his head, so as to fall
over his eyes, and he was then held and reverenced as the sovereign.
At the festivals were present the principal lords for more than five
leagues round, and there appeared in Cuzco very great store of gold and
silver and precious stones, and rich plumes, all round the long chain of
gold, and the marvellous figure of the Sun. This chain was of such size
that it weighed, according to what the Indians assert for a certainty,
more than four thousand hundred weights of gold. If the Sovereign did
not receive the fringe in Cuzco, they looked upon it as an absurdity
that he should be called Inca, for his possession was not assured. Thus
Atahuallpa is not counted among the kings, although, owing to his great
valour and to his having killed so many people, he was obeyed by many
nations from fear.
Returning to those who were on the hill of Guanacaure, after Ayar Cacha
had spoken of the order that was to be taken for the arming of knights,
the Indians relate that turning to his brother Ayar Manco, he told him
to go on with the two women to the valley he had pointed out, and to
found there the Cuzco, without forgetting to come and perform sacrifices
in that place, as he had commanded. And as soon as he had done speaking,
both he and the other brother were turned into two figures of stone in
the shape of men. This was seen by Ayar Manco, who, taking the women
with him, went to the place where Cuzco now stands and founded a city,
naming himself from that time forward Manco Capac,[82] which means the
rich King and Lord.