CHAPTER VII: THE MYTHOLOGY OF PERU

The Religion of Ancient Peru

The religion of the ancient Peruvians had obviously developed in a much

shorter time than that of the Mexicans. The more ancient character

inherent in it was displayed in the presence of deities many of

which were little better than mere totems, and although a definite

monotheism or worship of one god appears to have been reached, it

was not by the efforts of the priestly caste that this was achieved,

but rather by the will of the Inca Pachacutic, who seems to have been

a monarch gifted with rare insight and ability--a man much after the

type of the Mexican Nezahualcoyotl.

In Inca times the religion of the people was solely directed by the

state, and regulated in such a manner that independent theological

thought was permitted no outlet. But it must not be inferred from this

that no change had ever come over the spirit of Peruvian religion. As

a matter of fact sweeping changes had been effected, but these had been

solely the work of the Inca race, the leaders of which had amalgamated

the various faiths of the peoples whom they had conquered into one

official belief.

Totemism

Garcilasso el Inca de la Vega, an early Spanish writer on matters

Peruvian, states that tradition ran that in ante-Inca times every

district, family, and village possessed its own god, each different

from the others. These gods were usually such objects as trees,

mountains, flowers, herbs, caves, large stones, pieces of jasper,

and animals. The jaguar, puma, and bear were worshipped for their

strength and fierceness, the monkey and fox for their cunning, the

condor for its size and because several tribes believed themselves to

be descended from it. The screech-owl was worshipped for its beauty,

and the common owl for its power of seeing in the dark. Serpents,

particularly the larger and more dangerous varieties, were especially

regarded with reverence.

Although Payne classes all these gods together as totems, it is plain

that those of the first class--the flowers, herbs, caves, and pieces

of jasper--are merely fetishes. A fetish is an object in which the

savage believes to be resident a spirit which, by its magic, will

assist him in his undertakings. A totem is an object or an animal,

usually the latter, with which the people of a tribe believe themselves

to be connected by ties of blood and from which they are descended. It

later becomes the type or symbol of the tribe.

Paccariscas

Lakes, springs, rocks, mountains, precipices, and caves were all

regarded by the various Peruvian tribes as paccariscas--places

whence their ancestors had originally issued to the upper world. The

paccarisca was usually saluted with the cry, "Thou art my birthplace,

thou art my life-spring. Guard me from evil, O Paccarisca!" In the

holy spot a spirit was supposed to dwell which served the tribe as a

kind of oracle. Naturally the paccarisca was looked upon with extreme

reverence. It became, indeed, a sort of life-centre for the tribe,

from which they were very unwilling to be separated.

Worship of Stones

The worship of stones appears to have been almost as universal in

ancient Peru as it was in ancient Palestine. Man in his primitive

state believes stones to be the framework of the earth, its

bony structure. He considers himself to have emerged from some

cave--in fact, from the entrails of the earth. Nearly all American

creation-myths regard man as thus emanating from the bowels of the

great terrestrial mother. Rocks which were thus chosen as paccariscas

are found, among many other places, at Callca, in the valley of the

Yucay, and at Titicaca there is a great mass of red sandstone on

the top of a high ridge with almost inaccessible slopes and dark,

gloomy recesses where the sun was thought to have hidden himself at

the time of the great deluge which covered all the earth. The rock

of Titicaca was, in fact, the great paccarisca of the sun itself.

We are thus not surprised to find that many standing stones were

worshipped in Peru in aboriginal times. Thus Arriaga states that rocks

of great size which bore some resemblance to the human figure were

imagined to have been at one time gigantic men or spirits who, because

they disobeyed the creative power, were turned into stone. According

to another account they were said to have suffered this punishment for

refusing to listen to the words of Thonapa, the son of the creator,

who, like Quetzalcoatl or Manco Ccapac, had taken upon himself the

guise of a wandering Indian, so that he might have an opportunity of

bringing the arts of civilisation to the aborigines. At Tiahuanaco

a certain group of stones was said to represent all that remained of

the villagers of that place, who, instead of paying fitting attention

to the wise counsel which Thonapa the Civiliser bestowed upon them,

continued to dance and drink in scorn of the teachings he had brought

to them.

Again, some stones were said to have become men, as in the old Greek

creation-legend of Deucalion and Pyrrha. In the legend of Ccapac Inca

Pachacutic, when Cuzco was attacked in force by the Chancas an Indian

erected stones to which he attached shields and weapons so that they

should appear to represent so many warriors in hiding. Pachacutic,

in great need of assistance, cried to them with such vehemence to come

to his help that they became men, and rendered him splendid service.

Huacas

Whatever was sacred, of sacred origin, or of the nature of a relic

the Peruvians designated a huaca, from the root huacan, to howl,

native worship invariably taking the form of a kind of howl, or

weird, dirge-like wailing. All objects of reverence were known as

huacas, although those of a higher class were also alluded to as

viracochas. The Peruvians had, naturally, many forms of huaca, the

most popular of which were those of the fetish class which could be

carried about by the individual. These were usually stones or pebbles,

many of which were carved and painted, and some made to represent

human beings. The llama and the ear of maize were perhaps the most

usual forms of these sacred objects. Some of them had an agricultural

significance. In order that irrigation might proceed favourably a huaca

was placed at intervals in proximity to the acequias, or irrigation

canals, which was supposed to prevent them leaking or otherwise failing

to supply a sufficiency of moisture to the parched maize-fields. Huacas

of this sort were known as ccompas, and were regarded as deities of

great importance, as the food-supply of the community was thought to

be wholly dependent upon their assistance. Other huacas of a similar

kind were called chichics and huancas, and these presided over the

fortunes of the maize, and ensured that a sufficient supply of rain

should be forthcoming. Great numbers of these agricultural fetishes

were destroyed by the zealous commissary Hernandez de Avendaño.

The Mamas

Spirits which were supposed to be instrumental in forcing the growth of

the maize or other plants were the mamas. We find a similar conception

among many Brazilian tribes to-day, so that the idea appears to have

been a widely accepted one in South American countries. The Peruvians

called such agencies "mothers," adding to the generic name that of

the plant or herb with which they were specially associated. Thus

acsumama was the potato-mother, quinuamama the quinua-mother, saramama

the maize-mother, and cocamama the mother of the coca-shrub. Of these

the saramama was naturally the most important, governing as it did

the principal source of the food-supply of the community. Sometimes

an image of the saramama was carved in stone, in the shape of an ear

of maize. The saramama was also worshipped in the form of a doll,

or huantaysara, made out of stalks of maize, renewed at each harvest,

much as the idols of the great corn-mother of Mexico were manufactured

at each harvest-season. After having been made, the image was watched

over for three nights, and then sacrifice was done to it. The priest

or medicine-man of the tribe would then inquire of it whether or not

it was capable of existing until that time in the next year. If its

spirit replied in the affirmative it was permitted to remain where

it was until the following harvest. If not it was removed, burnt,

and another figure took its place, to which similar questions were put.

The Huamantantac

Connected with agriculture in some degree was the Huamantantac (He

who causes the Cormorants to gather themselves together). This was

the agency responsible for the gathering of sea-birds, resulting in

the deposits of guano to be found along the Peruvian coast which are

so valuable in the cultivation of the maize-plant. He was regarded as

a most beneficent spirit, and was sacrificed to with exceeding fervour.

Huaris

The huaris, or "great ones," were the ancestors of the aristocrats of

a tribe, and were regarded as specially favourable toward agricultural

effort, possibly because the land had at one time belonged to them

personally. They were sometimes alluded to as the "gods of strength,"

and were sacrificed to by libations of chicha. Ancestors in general

were deeply revered, and had an agricultural significance, in that

considerable tracts of land were tilled in order that they might be

supplied with suitable food and drink offerings. As the number of

ancestors increased more and more land was brought into cultivation,

and the hapless people had their toil added to immeasurably by these

constant demands upon them.

Huillcas

The huillcas were huacas which partook of the nature of oracles. Many

of these were serpents, trees, and rivers, the noises made by

which appeared to the primitive Peruvians--as, indeed, they do to

primitive folk all over the world--to be of the quality of articulate

speech. Both the Huillcamayu and the Apurimac rivers at Cuzco were

huillca oracles of this kind, as their names, "Huillca-river" and

"Great Speaker," denote. These oracles often set the mandate of the

Inca himself at defiance, occasionally supporting popular opinion

against his policy.

The Oracles of the Andes

The Peruvian Indians of the Andes range within recent generations

continued to adhere to the superstitions they had inherited from their

fathers. A rare and interesting account of these says that they "admit

an evil being, the inhabitant of the centre of the earth, whom they

consider as the author of their misfortunes, and at the mention of

whose name they tremble. The most shrewd among them take advantage

of this belief to obtain respect, and represent themselves as his

delegates. Under the denomination of mohanes, or agoreros, they are

consulted even on the most trivial occasions. They preside over the

intrigues of love, the health of the community, and the taking of

the field. Whatever repeatedly occurs to defeat their prognostics,

falls on themselves; and they are wont to pay for their deceptions

very dearly. They chew a species of vegetable called piripiri, and

throw it into the air, accompanying this act by certain recitals

and incantations, to injure some, to benefit others, to procure rain

and the inundation of the rivers, or, on the other hand, to occasion

settled weather, and a plentiful store of agricultural productions. Any

such result, having been casually verified on a single occasion,

suffices to confirm the Indians in their faith, although they may

have been cheated a thousand times. Fully persuaded that they cannot

resist the influence of the piripiri, as soon as they know that

they have been solicited in love by its means, they fix their eyes

on the impassioned object, and discover a thousand amiable traits,

either real or fanciful, which indifference had before concealed from

their view. But the principal power, efficacy, and it may be said

misfortune of the mohanes consist in the cure of the sick. Every

malady is ascribed to their enchantments, and means are instantly

taken to ascertain by whom the mischief may have been wrought. For

this purpose, the nearest relative takes a quantity of the juice of

floripondium, and suddenly falls intoxicated by the violence of the

plant. He is placed in a fit posture to prevent suffocation, and

on his coming to himself, at the end of three days, the mohane who

has the greatest resemblance to the sorcerer he saw in his visions

is to undertake the cure, or if, in the interim, the sick man has

perished, it is customary to subject him to the same fate. When not

any sorcerer occurs in the visions, the first mohane they encounter

has the misfortune to represent his image." [17]

Lake-Worship in Peru

At Lake Titicaca the Peruvians believed the inhabitants of the earth,

animals as well as men, to have been fashioned by the creator,

and the district was thus sacrosanct in their eyes. The people of

the Collao called it Mamacota (Mother-water), because it furnished

them with supplies of food. Two great idols were connected with this

worship. One called Copacahuana was made of a bluish-green stone

shaped like a fish with a human head, and was placed in a commanding

position on the shores of the lake. On the arrival of the Spaniards

so deeply rooted was the worship of this goddess that they could only

suppress it by raising an image of the Virgin in place of the idol. The

Christian emblem remains to this day. Mamacota was venerated as the

giver of fish, with which the lake abounded. The other image, Copacati

(Serpent-stone), represented the element of water as embodied in the

lake itself in the form of an image wreathed in serpents, which in

America are nearly always symbolical of water.

The Lost Island

A strange legend is recounted of this lake-goddess. She was chiefly

worshipped as the giver of rain, but Huaina Ccapac, who had modern

ideas and journeyed through the country casting down huacas, had

determined to raise on an island of Lake Titicaca a temple to Yatiri

(The Ruler), the Aymara name of the god Pachacamac in his form of

Pachayachachic. He commenced by raising the new shrine on the island of

Titicaca itself. But the deity when called upon refused to vouchsafe

any reply to his worshippers or priests. Huaina then commanded that

the shrine should be transferred to the island of Apinguela. But the

same thing happened there. He then inaugurated a temple on the island

of Paapiti, and lavished upon it many sacrifices of llamas, children,

and precious metals. But the offended tutelary goddess of the lake,

irritated beyond endurance by this invasion of her ancient domain,

lashed the watery waste into such a frenzy of storm that the island

and the shrine which covered it disappeared beneath the waves and

were never thereafter beheld by mortal eye.

The Thunder-God of Peru

The rain-and-thunder god of Peru was worshipped in various parts

of the country under various names. Among the Collao he was known

as Con, and in that part of the Inca dominions now known as Bolivia

he was called Churoquella. Near the cordilleras of the coast he was

probably known as Pariacaca, who expelled the huaca of the district

by dreadful tempests, hurling rain and hail at him for three days and

nights in such quantities as to form the great lake of Pariacaca. Burnt

llamas were offered to him. But the Incas, discontented with this local

worship, which by no means suited their system of central government,

determined to create one thunder-deity to whom all the tribes in the

empire must bow as the only god of his class. We are not aware what

his name was, but we know from mythological evidence that he was

a mixture of all the other gods of thunder in the Peruvian Empire,

first because he invariably occupied the third place in the triad

of greater deities, the creator, sun, and thunder, all of whom were

more or less amalgamations of provincial and metropolitan gods, and

secondly because a great image of him was erected in the Coricancha at

Cuzco, in which he was represented in human form, wearing a headdress

which concealed his face, symbolic of the clouds, which ever veil the

thunder-god's head. He had a special temple of his own, moreover, and

was assigned a share in the sacred lands by the Inca Pachacutic. He was

accompanied by a figure of his sister, who carried jars of water. An

unknown Quichuan poet composed on the myth the following graceful

little poem, which was translated by the late Daniel Garrison Brinton,

an enthusiastic Americanist and professor of American archæology in

the University of Pennsylvania:

Bounteous Princess,

Lo, thy brother

Breaks thy vessel

Now in fragments.

From the blow come

Thunder, lightning,

Strokes of lightning;

And thou, Princess,

Tak'st the water,

With it rainest,

And the hail or

Snow dispensest,

Viracocha,

World-constructor.

It will be observed that the translator here employs the name Viracocha

as if it were that of the deity. But it was merely a general expression

in use for a more than usually sacred being. Brinton, commenting upon

the legend, says: "In this pretty waif that has floated down to us

from the wreck of a literature now for ever lost there is more than

one point to attract the notice of the antiquary. He may find in it

a hint to decipher those names of divinities so common in Peruvian

legends, Contici and Illatici. Both mean 'the Thunder Vase,' and both

doubtless refer to the conception here displayed of the phenomena

of the thunderstorm." Alluding to Peruvian thunder-myth elsewhere,

he says in an illuminating passage: "Throughout the realms of the

Incas the Peruvians venerated as maker of all things and ruler of the

firmament the god Ataguju. The legend was that from him proceeded

the first of mortals, the man Guamansuri, who descended to the

earth and there wedded the sister of certain Guachimines, rayless

ones or Darklings, who then possessed it. They destroyed him, but

their sister gave birth to twin sons, Apocatequil and Piguerao. The

former was the more powerful. By touching the corpse of his mother

he brought her to life, he drove off and slew the Guachimines, and,

directed by Ataguju, released the race of Indians from the soil by

turning it up with a spade of gold. For this reason they adored him

as their maker. He it was, they thought, who produced the thunder and

the lightning by hurling stones with his sling. And the thunderbolts

that fall, said they, are his children. Few villages were willing

to be without one or more of these. They were in appearance small,

round stones, but had the admirable properties of securing fertility

to the fields, protecting from lightning, and, by a transition easy

to understand, were also adored as gods of fire as well material as

of the passions, and were capable of kindling the dangerous flames

of desire in the most frigid bosoms. Therefore they were in great

esteem as love-charms. Apocatequil's statue was erected on the

mountains, with that of his mother on one hand and his brother on

the other. 'He was Prince of Evil, and the most respected god of the

Peruvians. From Quito to Cuzco not an Indian but would give all he

possessed to conciliate him. Five priests, two stewards, and a crowd

of slaves served his image. And his chief temple was surrounded by a

very considerable village, whose inhabitants had no other occupation

but to wait on him.'" In memory of these brothers twins in Peru were

always deemed sacred to the lightning.

There is an instance on record of how the huillca could refuse on

occasion to recognise even royalty itself. Manco, the Inca who had

been given the kingly power by Pizarro, offered a sacrifice to one of

these oracular shrines. The oracle refused to recognise him, through

the medium of its guardian priest, stating that Manco was not the

rightful Inca. Manco therefore caused the oracle, which was in the

shape of a rock, to be thrown down, whereupon its guardian spirit

emerged in the form of a parrot and flew away. It is probable that

the bird thus liberated had been taught by the priests to answer

to the questions of those who came to consult the shrine. But we

learn that on Manco commanding that the parrot should be pursued it

sought another rock, which opened to receive it, and the spirit of

the huillca was transferred to this new abode.

The Great God Pachacamac

Later Peruvian mythology recognised only three gods of the first

rank, the earth, the thunder, and the creative agency. Pachacamac,

the great spirit of earth, derived his name from a word pacha, which

may be best translated as "things." In its sense of visible things it

is equivalent to "world," applied to things which happen in succession

it denotes "time," and to things connected with persons "property,"

especially clothes. The world of visible things is thus Mamapacha

(Earth-Mother), under which name the ancient Peruvians worshipped

the earth. Pachacamac, on the other hand, is not the earth itself,

the soil, but the spirit which animates all things that emerge

therefrom. From him proceed the spirits of the plants and animals

which come from the earth. Pachamama is the mother-spirit of the

mountains, rocks, and plains, Pachacamac the father-spirit of the

grain-bearing plants, animals, birds, and man. In some localities

Pachacamac and Pachamama were worshipped as divine mates. Possibly

this practice was universal in early times, gradually lapsing into

desuetude in later days. Pachamama was in another phase intended to

denote the land immediately contiguous to a settlement, on which the

inhabitants depended for their food-supply.

Peruvian Creation-Stories

It is easy to see how such a conception as Pachacamac, the spirit

of animated nature, would become one with the idea of a universal or

even a partial creator. That there was a pre-existing conception of a

creative agency can be proved from the existence of the Peruvian name

Conticsi-viracocha (He who gives Origin, or Beginning). This conception

and that of Pachacamac must at some comparatively early period have

clashed, and been amalgamated probably with ease when it was seen how

nearly akin were the two ideas. Indeed, Pachacamac was alternatively

known as Pacharurac, the "maker" of all things--sure proof of his

amalgamation with the conception of the creative agency. As such he

had his symbol in the great Coricancha at Cuzco, an oval plate of gold,

suspended between those of the sun and the moon, and placed vertically,

it may be hazarded with some probability, to represent in symbol that

universal matrix from which emanated all things. Elsewhere in Cuzco

the creator was represented by a stone statue in human form.

Pachayachachic

In later Inca days this idea of a creator assumed that of a direct

ruler of the universe, known as Pachayachachic. This change was

probably due to the influence of the Inca Pachacutic, who is known to

have made several other doctrinal innovations in Peruvian theology. He

commanded a great new temple to the creator-god to be built at the

north angle of the city of Cuzco, in which he placed a statue of

pure gold, of the size of a boy of ten years of age. The small size

was to facilitate its removal, as Peruvian worship was nearly always

carried out in the open air. In form it represented a man with his

right arm elevated, the hand partially closed and the forefinger

and thumb raised, as if in the act of uttering the creative word. To

this god large possessions and revenues were assigned, for previously

service rendered to him had been voluntary only.

Ideas of Creation

It is from aboriginal sources as preserved by the first Spanish

colonists that we glean our knowledge of what the Incas believed the

creative process to consist. By means of his word (ñisca) the creator,

a spirit, powerful and opulent, made all things. We are provided with

the formulæ of his very words by the Peruvian prayers still extant:

"Let earth and heaven be," "Let a man be; let a woman be," "Let there

be day," "Let there be night," "Let the light shine." The sun is here

regarded as the creative agency, and the ruling caste as the objects

of a special act of creation.

Pacari Tampu

Pacari Tampu (House of the Dawn) was the place of origin, according to

the later Inca theology, of four brothers and sisters who initiated the

four Peruvian systems of worship. The eldest climbed a neighbouring

mountain, and cast stones to the four points of the compass, thus

indicating that he claimed all the land within sight. But his youngest

brother succeeded in enticing him into a cave, which he sealed up with

a great stone, thus imprisoning him for ever. He next persuaded his

second brother to ascend a lofty mountain, from which he cast him,

changing him into a stone in his descent. On beholding the fate of

his brethren the third member of the quartette fled. It is obvious

that we have here a legend concocted by the later Inca priesthood

to account for the evolution of Peruvian religion in its different

stages. The first brother would appear to represent the oldest religion

in Peru, that of the paccariscas, the second that of a fetishistic

stone-worship, the third perhaps that of Viracocha, and the last

sun-worship pure and simple. There was, however, an "official" legend,

which stated that the sun had three sons, Viracocha, Pachacamac, and

Manco Ccapac. To the last the dominion of mankind was given, whilst

the others were concerned with the workings of the universe. This

politic arrangement placed all the power, temporal and spiritual,

in the hands of the reputed descendants of Manco Ccapac--the Incas.

Worship of the Sea

The ancient Peruvians worshipped the sea as well as the earth, the

folk inland regarding it as a menacing deity, whilst the people of the

coast reverenced it as a god of benevolence, calling it Mama-cocha,

or Mother-sea, as it yielded them subsistence in the form of fish,

on which they chiefly lived. They worshipped the whale, fairly common

on that coast, because of its enormous size, and various districts

regarded with adoration the species of fish most abundant there. This

worship can have partaken in no sense of the nature of totemism,

as the system forbade that the totem animal should be eaten. It was

imagined that the prototype of each variety of fish dwelt in the upper

world, just as many tribes of North American Indians believe that the

eponymous ancestors of certain animals dwell at the four points of the

compass or in the sky above them. This great fish-god engendered the

others of his species, and sent them into the waters of the deep that

they might exist there until taken for the use of man. Birds, too, had

their eponymous counterparts among the stars, as had animals. Indeed,

among many of the South American races, ancient and modern, the

constellations were called after certain beasts and birds.

Viracocha

The Aymara-Quichua race worshipped Viracocha as a great culture

hero. They did not offer him sacrifices or tribute, as they thought

that he, being creator and possessor of all things, needed nothing

from men, so they only gave him worship. After him they idolised the

sun. They believed, indeed, that Viracocha had made both sun and moon,

after emerging from Lake Titicaca, and that then he made the earth and

peopled it. On his travels westward from the lake he was sometimes

assailed by men, but he revenged himself by sending terrible storms

upon them and destroying their property, so they humbled themselves

and acknowledged him as their lord. He forgave them and taught them

everything, obtaining from them the name of Pachayachachic. In the

end he disappeared in the western ocean. He either created or there

were born with him four beings who, according to mythical beliefs,

civilised Peru. To them he assigned the four quarters of the earth,

and they are thus known as the four winds, north, south, east, and

west. One legend avers they came from the cave Pacari, the Lodging

of the Dawn.

Sun-Worship in Peru

The name "Inca" means "People of the Sun," which luminary the

Incas regarded as their creator. But they did not worship him

totemically--that is, they did not claim him as a progenitor, although

they regarded him as possessing the attributes of a man. And here we

may observe a difference between Mexican and Peruvian sun-worship. For

whereas the Nahua primarily regarded the orb as the abode of the

Man of the Sun, who came to earth in the shape of Quetzalcoatl,

the Peruvians looked upon the sun itself as the deity. The Inca

race did not identify their ancestors as children of the sun until

a comparatively late date. Sun-worship was introduced by the Inca

Pachacutic, who averred that the sun appeared to him in a dream

and addressed him as his child. Until that time the worship of the

sun had always been strictly subordinated to that of the creator,

and the deity appeared only as second in the trinity of creator,

sun, and thunder. But permanent provision was made for sacrifices

to the sun before the other deities were so recognised, and as the

conquests of the Incas grew wider and that provision extended to

the new territories they came to be known as "the Lands of the Sun,"

the natives observing the dedication of a part of the country to the

luminary, and concluding therefrom that it applied to the whole. The

material reality of the sun would enormously assist his cult among a

people who were too barbarous to appreciate an unseen god, and this

colonial conception reacting upon the mother-land would undoubtedly

inspire the military class with a resolve to strengthen a worship so

popular in the conquered provinces, and of which they were in great

measure the protagonists and missionaries.

The Sun's Possessions

In every Peruvian village the sun had considerable possessions. His

estates resembled those of a territorial chieftain, and consisted of

a dwelling-house, a chacra, or portion of land, flocks of llamas and

pacos, and a number of women dedicated to his service. The cultivation

of the soil within the solar enclosure devolved upon the inhabitants

of the neighbouring village, the produce of their toil being stored

in the inti-huasi, or sun's house. The Women of the Sun prepared the

daily food and drink of the luminary, which consisted of maize and

chicha. They also spun wool and wove it into fine stuff, which was

burned in order that it might ascend to the celestial regions, where

the deity could make use of it. Each village reserved a portion of

its solar produce for the great festival at Cuzco, and it was carried

thither on the backs of llamas which were destined for sacrifice.

Inca Occupation of Titicaca

The Rock of Titicaca, the renowned place of the sun's origin, naturally

became an important centre of his worship. The date at which the

worship of the sun originated at this famous rock is extremely remote,

but we may safely assume that it was long before the conquest of

the Collao by the Apu-Ccapac-Inca Pachacutic, and that reverence for

the luminary as a war-god by the Colla chiefs was noticed by Tupac,

who in suppressing the revolt concluded that the local observance at

the rock had some relationship to the disturbance. It is, however,

certain that Tupac proceeded after the reconquest to establish at

this natural centre of sun-worship solar rites on a new basis, with

the evident intention of securing on behalf of the Incas of Cuzco such

exclusive benefit as might accrue from the complete possession of the

sun's paccarisca. According to a native account, a venerable colla

(or hermit), consecrated to the service of the sun, had proceeded

on foot from Titicaca to Cuzco for the purpose of commending this

ancient seat of sun-worship to the notice of Tupac. The consequence

was that Apu-Ccapac-Inca, after visiting the island and inquiring

into the ancient local customs, re-established them in a more regular

form. His accounts can hardly be accepted in face of the facts which

have been gathered. Rather did it naturally follow that Titicaca

became subservient to Tupac after the revolt of the Collao had been

quelled. Henceforth the worship of the sun at the place of his origin

was entrusted to Incas resident in the place, and was celebrated

with Inca rites. The island was converted into a solar estate and

the aboriginal inhabitants removed. The land was cultivated and the

slopes of the hills levelled, maize was sown and the soil consecrated,

the grain being regarded as the gift of the sun. This work produced

considerable change in the island. Where once was waste and idleness

there was now fertility and industry. The harvests were skilfully

apportioned, so much being reserved for sacrificial purposes, the

remainder being sent to Cuzco, partly to be sown in the chacras,

or estates of the sun, throughout Peru, partly to be preserved in

the granary of the Inca and the huacas as a symbol that there would

be abundant crops in the future and that the grain already stored

would be preserved. A building of the Women of the Sun was erected

about a mile from the rock, so that the produce might be available

for sacrifices. For their maintenance, tribute of potatoes, ocas, and

quinua was levied upon the inhabitants of the villages on the shores

of the lake, and of maize upon the people of the neighbouring valleys.

Pilgrimages to Titicaca

Titicaca at the time of the conquest was probably more frequented

than Pachacamac itself. These two places were held to be the

cardinal shrines of the two great huacas, the creator and the sun

respectively. A special reason for pilgrimage to Titicaca was to

sacrifice to the sun, as the source of physical energy and the giver

of long life; and he was especially worshipped by the aged, who

believed he had preserved their lives, Then followed the migration

of pilgrims to Titicaca, for whose shelter houses were built at

Capacahuana, and large stores of maize were provided for their use. The

ceremonial connected with the sacred rites of the rock was rigorously

observed. The pilgrim ere embarking on the raft which conveyed him

to the island must first confess his sins to a huillac (a speaker

to an object of worship); then further confessions were required

at each of the three sculptured doors which had successively to be

passed before reaching the sacred rock. The first door (Puma-puncu)

was surmounted by the figure of a puma; the others (Quenti-puncu and

Pillco-puncu) were ornamented with feathers of the different species of

birds commonly sacrificed to the sun. Having passed the last portal,

the traveller beheld at a distance of two hundred paces the sacred

rock itself, the summit glittering with gold-leaf. He was permitted

to proceed no further, for only the officials were allowed entry into

it. The pilgrim on departing received a few grains of the sacred maize

grown on the island. These he kept with care and placed with his own

store, believing they would preserve his stock, The confidence the

Indian placed in the virtue of the Titicaca maize may be judged from

the prevalent belief that the possessor of a single grain would not

suffer from starvation during the whole of his life.

Sacrifices to the New Sun

The Intip-Raymi, or Great Festival of the Sun, was celebrated by

the Incas at Cuzco at the winter solstice. In connection with it

the Tarpuntaita-cuma, or sacrificing Incas, were charged with a

remarkable duty, the worshippers journeying eastward to meet one of

these functionaries on his way. On the principal hill-tops between

Cuzco and Huillcanuta, on the road to the rock of Titicaca, burnt

offerings of llamas, coca, and maize were made at the feast to greet

the arrival of the young sun from his ancient birthplace. Molina

has enumerated more than twenty of these places of sacrifice. The

striking picture of the celebration of the solar sacrifice on these

bleak mountains in the depth of the Peruvian winter has, it seems,

no parallel in the religious rites of the ancient Americans. Quitting

their thatched houses at early dawn, the worshippers left the valley

below, carrying the sacrificial knife and brazier, and conducting

the white llama, heavily laden with fuel, maize, and coca leaves,

wrapped in fine cloth, to the spot where the sacrifice was to be

made. When sunrise appeared the pile was lighted. The victim was slain

and thrown upon it. The scene then presented a striking contrast to

the bleak surrounding wilderness. As the flames grew in strength and

the smoke rose higher and thicker the clear atmosphere was gradually

illuminated from the east. When the sun advanced above the horizon the

sacrifice was at its height. But for the crackling of the flames and

the murmur of a babbling stream on its way down the hill to join the

river below, the silence had hitherto been unbroken. As the sun rose

the Incas marched slowly round the burning mass, plucking the wool

from the scorched carcase, and chanting monotonously: "O Creator,

Sun and Thunder, be for ever young! Multiply the people; let them

ever be in peace!"

The Citoc Raymi

The most picturesque if not the most important solar festival was

that of the Citoc Raymi (Gradually Increasing Sun), held in June,

when nine days were given up to the ceremonial. A rigorous fast was

observed for three days previous to the event, during which no fire

must be kindled. On the fourth day the Inca, accompanied by the people

en masse, proceeded to the great square of Cuzco to hail the rising

sun, which they awaited in silence. On its appearance they greeted

it with a joyous tumult, and, joining in procession, marched to the

Golden Temple of the Sun, where llamas were sacrificed, and a new

fire was kindled by means of an arched mirror, followed by sacrificial

offerings of grain, flowers, animals, and aromatic gums. This festival

may be taken as typical of all the seasonal celebrations. The Inca

calendar was purely agricultural in its basis, and marked in its great

festivals the renewal or abandonment of the labours of the field. Its

astronomical observations were not more advanced than those of the

calendars of many American races otherwise inferior in civilisation.

Human Sacrifice in Peru

Writers ignorant of their subject have often dwelt upon the absence

of human sacrifice in ancient Peru, and have not hesitated to

draw comparisons between Mexico and the empire of the Incas in this

respect, usually not complimentary to the former. Such statements are

contradicted by the clearest evidence. Human sacrifice was certainly

not nearly so prevalent in Peru, but that it was regular and by no

means rare is well authenticated. Female victims to the sun were

taken from the great class of Acllacuna (Selected Ones), a general

tribute of female children regularly levied throughout the Inca

Empire. Beautiful girls were taken from their parents at the age of

eight by the Inca officials, and were handed over to certain female

trainers called mamacuna (mothers). These matrons systematically

trained their protégées in housewifery and ritual. Residences or

convents called aclla-huasi (houses of the Selected) were provided

for them in the principal cities.

Methods of Medicine-Men

A quaint account of the methods of the medicine-men of the Indians

of the Peruvian Andes probably illustrates the manner in which the

superstitions of a barbarian people evolve into a more stately ritual.

"It cannot be denied," it states, "that the mohanes [priests] have,

by practice and tradition, acquired a knowledge of many plants and

poisons, with which they effect surprising cures on the one hand,

and do much mischief on the other, but the mania of ascribing the

whole to a preternatural virtue occasions them to blend with their

practice a thousand charms and superstitions. The most customary

method of cure is to place two hammocks close to each other, either

in the dwelling, or in the open air: in one of them the patient

lies extended, and in the other the mohane, or agorero. The latter,

in contact with the sick man, begins by rocking himself, and then

proceeds, by a strain in falsetto, to call on the birds, quadrupeds,

and fishes to give health to the patient. From time to time he rises

on his seat, and makes a thousand extravagant gestures over the sick

man, to whom he applies his powders and herbs, or sucks the wounded

or diseased parts. If the malady augments, the agorero, having been

joined by many of the people, chants a short hymn, addressed to the

soul of the patient, with this burden: 'Thou must not go, thou must

not go.' In repeating this he is joined by the people, until at length

a terrible clamour is raised, and augmented in proportion as the sick

man becomes still fainter and fainter, to the end that it may reach

his ears. When all the charms are unavailing, and death approaches,

the mohane leaps from his hammock, and betakes himself to flight, amid

the multitude of sticks, stones, and clods of earth which are showered

on him. Successively all those who belong to the nation assemble,

and, dividing themselves into bands, each of them (if he who is in

his last agonies is a warrior) approaches him, saying: 'Whither goest

thou? Why dost thou leave us? With whom shall we proceed to the aucas

[the enemies]?' They then relate to him the heroical deeds he has

performed, the number of those he has slain, and the pleasures he

leaves behind him. This is practised in different tones: while some

raise the voice, it is lowered by others; and the poor sick man is

obliged to support these importunities without a murmur, until the

first symptoms of approaching dissolution manifest themselves. Then

it is that he is surrounded by a multitude of females, some of whom

forcibly close the mouth and eyes, others envelop him in the hammock,

oppressing him with the whole of their weight, and causing him to

expire before his time, and others, lastly, run to extinguish the

candle, and dissipate the smoke, that the soul, not being able to

perceive the hole through which it may escape, may remain entangled

in the structure of the roof. That this may be speedily effected, and

to prevent its return to the interior of the dwelling, they surround

the entrances with filth, by the stench of which it may be expelled.

Death by Suffocation

"As soon as the dying man is suffocated by the closing of the mouth,

nostrils, &c., and wrapt up in the covering of his bed, the most

circumspect Indian, whether male or female, takes him in the arms in

the best manner possible, and gives a gentle shriek, which echoes to

the bitter lamentations of the immediate relatives, and to the cries of

a thousand old women collected for the occasion. As long as this dismal

howl subsists, the latter are subjected to a constant fatigue, raising

the palm of the hand to wipe away the tears, and lowering it to dry it

on the ground. The result of this alternate action is, that a circle

of earth, which gives them a most hideous appearance, is collected

about the eyelids and brows, and they do not wash themselves until

the mourning is over. These first clamours conclude by several good

pots of masato, to assuage the thirst of sorrow, and the company next

proceed to make a great clatter among the utensils of the deceased:

some break the kettles, and others the earthen pots, while others,

again, burn the apparel, to the end that his memory may be the sooner

forgotten. If the defunct has been a cacique, or powerful warrior, his

exequies are performed after the manner of the Romans: they last for

many days, all the people weeping in concert for a considerable space

of time, at daybreak, at noon, in the evening, and at midnight. When

the appointed hour arrives, the mournful music begins in front of the

house of the wife and relatives, the heroical deeds of the deceased

being chanted to the sound of instruments. All the inhabitants of

the vicinity unite in chorus from within their houses, some chirping

like birds, others howling like tigers, and the greater part of them

chattering like monkeys, or croaking like frogs. They constantly

leave off by having recourse to the masato, and by the destruction

of whatever the deceased may have left behind him, the burning of his

dwelling being that which concludes the ceremonies. Among some of the

Indians, the nearest relatives cut off their hair as a token of their

grief, agreeably to the practice of the Moabites, and other nations....

The Obsequies of a Chief

"On the day of decease, they put the body, with its insignia, into a

large earthen vessel, or painted jar, which they bury in one of the

angles of the quarter, laying over it a covering of potter's clay, and

throwing in earth until the grave is on a level with the surface of the

ground. When the obsequies are over, they forbear to pay a visit to it,

and lose every recollection of the name of the warrior. The Roamaynas

disenterre their dead, as soon as they think that the fleshy parts

have been consumed, and having washed the bones from the skeleton,

which they place in a coffin of potter's clay, adorned with various

symbols of death, like the hieroglyphics on the wrappers of the

Egyptian mummies. In this state the skeleton is carried home, to the

end that the survivors may bear the deceased in respectful memory,

and not in imitation of those extraordinary voluptuaries of antiquity,

who introduced into their most splendid festivals a spectacle of

this nature, which, by reminding them of their dissolution, might

stimulate them to taste, before it should overtake them, all the

impure pleasures the human passions could afford them. A space of

time of about a year being elapsed, the bones are once more inhumed,

and the individual to whom they belonged forgotten for ever." [18]

Peruvian Myths

Peru is not so rich in myths as Mexico, but the following legends

well illustrate the mythological ideas of the Inca race:

The Vision of Yupanqui

The Inca Yupanqui before he succeeded to the sovereignty is said to

have gone to visit his father, Viracocha Inca. On his way he arrived

at a fountain called Susur-pugaio. There he saw a piece of crystal

fall into the fountain, and in this crystal he saw the figure of an

Indian, with three bright rays as of the sun coming from the back of

his head. He wore a hautu, or royal fringe, across the forehead like

the Inca. Serpents wound round his arms and over his shoulders. He

had ear-pieces in his ears like the Incas, and was also dressed like

them. There was the head of a lion between his legs, and another lion

was about his shoulders. Inca Yupanqui took fright at this strange

figure, and was running away when a voice called to him by name telling

him not to be afraid, because it was his father, the sun, whom he

beheld, and that he would conquer many nations, but he must remember

his father in his sacrifices and raise revenues for him, and pay him

great reverence. Then the figure vanished, but the crystal remained,

and the Inca afterwards saw all he wished in it. When he became king

he had a statue of the sun made, resembling the figure as closely

as possible, and ordered all the tribes he had conquered to build

splendid temples and worship the new deity instead of the creator.

The Bird Bride

The Canaris Indians are named from the province of Canaribamba, in

Quito, and they have several myths regarding their origin. One recounts

that at the deluge two brothers fled to a very high mountain called

Huacaquan, and as the waters rose the hill ascended simultaneously,

so that they escaped drowning. When the flood was over they had to

find food in the valleys, and they built a tiny house and lived on

herbs and roots. They were surprised one day when they went home

to find food already prepared for them and chicha to drink. This

continued for ten days. Then the elder brother decided to hide himself

and discover who brought the food. Very soon two birds, one Aqua,

the other Torito (otherwise quacamayo birds), appeared dressed as

Canaris, and wearing their hair fastened in the same way. The larger

bird removed the llicella, or mantle the Indians wear, and the man

saw that they had beautiful faces and discovered that the bird-like

beings were in reality women. When he came out the bird-women were

very angry and flew away. When the younger brother came home and found

no food he was annoyed, and determined to hide until the bird-women

returned. After ten days the quacamayos appeared again on their old

mission, and while they were busy the watcher contrived to close the

door, and so prevented the younger bird from escaping. She lived with

the brothers for a long time, and became the mother of six sons and

daughters, from whom all the Canaris proceed. Hence the tribe look

upon the quacamayo birds with reverence, and use their feathers at

their festivals.

Thonapa

Some myths tell of a divine personage called Thonapa, who appears

to have been a hero-god or civilising agent like Quetzalcoatl. He

seems to have devoted his life to preaching to the people in the

various villages, beginning in the provinces of Colla-suya. When

he came to Yamquisupa he was treated so badly that he would not

remain there. He slept in the open air, clad only in a long shirt

and a mantle, and carried a book. He cursed the village. It was soon

immersed in water, and is now a lake. There was an idol in the form

of a woman to which the people offered sacrifice at the top of a high

hill, Cachapucara. This idol Thonapa detested, so he burnt it, and

also destroyed the hill. On another occasion Thonapa cursed a large

assembly of people who were holding a great banquet to celebrate a

wedding, because they refused to listen to his preaching. They were

all changed into stones, which are visible to this day. Wandering

through Peru, Thonapa came to the mountain of Caravaya, and after

raising a very large cross he put it on his shoulders and took it to

the hill Carapucu, where he preached so fervently that he shed tears. A

chief's daughter got some of the water on her head, and the Indians,

imagining that he was washing his head (a ritual offence), took him

prisoner near the Lake of Carapucu. Very early the next morning a

beautiful youth appeared to Thonapa, and told him not to fear, for he

was sent from the divine guardian who watched over him. He released

Thonapa, who escaped, though he was well guarded. He went down into

the lake, his mantle keeping him above the water as a boat would have

done. After Thonapa had escaped from the barbarians he remained on

the rock of Titicaca, afterwards going to the town of Tiya-manacu,

where again he cursed the people and turned them into stones. They

were too bent upon amusement to listen to his preaching. He then

followed the river Chacamarca till it reached the sea, and, like

Quetzalcoatl, disappeared. This is good evidence that he was a solar

deity, or "man of the sun," who, his civilising labours completed,

betook himself to the house of his father.

A Myth of Manco Ccapac Inca

When Manco Ccapac Inca was born a staff which had been given to his

father turned into gold. He had seven brothers and sisters, and at

his father's death he assembled all his people in order to see how

much he could venture in making fresh conquests. He and his brothers

supplied themselves with rich clothing, new arms, and the golden

staff called tapac-yauri (royal sceptre). He had also two cups of

gold from which Thonapa had drunk, called tapacusi. They proceeded

to the highest point in the country, a mountain where the sun rose,

and Manco Ccapac saw several rainbows, which he interpreted as a

sign of good fortune. Delighted with the favouring symbols, he sang

the song of Chamayhuarisca (The Song of Joy). Manco Ccapac wondered

why a brother who had accompanied him did not return, and sent one

of his sisters in search of him, but she also did not come back,

so he went himself, and found both nearly dead beside a huaca. They

said they could not move, as the huaca, a stone, retarded them. In

a great rage Manco struck this stone with his tapac-yauri. It spoke,

and said that had it not been for his wonderful golden staff he would

have had no power over it. It added that his brother and sister had

sinned, and therefore must remain with it (the huaca) in the lower

regions, but that Manco was to be "greatly honoured." The sad fate of

his brother and sister troubled Manco exceedingly, but on going back

to the place where he first saw the rainbows he got comfort from them

and strength to bear his grief.

Coniraya Viracocha

Coniraya Viracocha was a tricky nature spirit who declared he was

the creator, but who frequently appeared attired as a poor ragged

Indian. He was an adept at deceiving people. A beautiful woman,

Cavillaca, who was greatly admired, was one day weaving a mantle at

the foot of a lucma tree. Coniraya, changing himself into a beautiful

bird, climbed the tree, took some of his generative seed, made it into

a ripe lucma, and dropped it near the beautiful virgin, who saw and

ate the fruit. Some time afterwards a son was born to Cavillaca. When

the child was older she wished that the huacas and gods should meet

and declare who was the father of the boy. All dressed as finely as

possible, hoping to be chosen as her husband. Coniraya was there,

dressed like a beggar, and Cavillaca never even looked at him. The

maiden addressed the assembly, but as no one immediately answered

her speech she let the child go, saying he would be sure to crawl

to his father. The infant went straight up to Coniraya, sitting in

his rags, and laughed up to him. Cavillaca, extremely angry at the

idea of being associated with such a poor, dirty creature, fled to

the sea-shore. Coniraya then put on magnificent attire and followed

her to show her how handsome he was, but still thinking of him in

his ragged condition she would not look back. She went into the sea

at Pachacamac and was changed into a rock. Coniraya, still following

her, met a condor, and asked if it had seen a woman. On the condor

replying that it had seen her quite near, Coniraya blessed it, and said

whoever killed it would be killed himself. He then met a fox, who said

he would never meet Cavillaca, so Coniraya told him he would always

retain his disagreeable odour, and on account of it he would never be

able to go abroad except at night, and that he would be hated by every

one. Next came a lion, who told Coniraya he was very near Cavillaca,

so the lover said he should have the power of punishing wrongdoers,

and that whoever killed him would wear the skin without cutting off

the head, and by preserving the teeth and eyes would make him appear

still alive; his skin would be worn at festivals, and thus he would be

honoured after death. Then another fox who gave bad news was cursed,

and a falcon who said Cavillaca was near was told he would be highly

esteemed, and that whoever killed him would also wear his skin at

festivals. The parrots, giving bad news, were to cry so loud that

they would be heard far away, and their cries would betray them to

enemies. Thus Coniraya blessed the animals which gave him news he

liked, and cursed those which gave the opposite. When at last he

came to the sea he found Cavillaca and the child turned into stone,

and there he encountered two beautiful young daughters of Pachacamac,

who guarded a great serpent. He made love to the elder sister, but

the younger one flew away in the form of a wild pigeon. At that time

there were no fishes in the sea, but a certain goddess had reared a

few in a small pond, and Coniraya emptied these into the ocean and

thus peopled it. The angry deity tried to outwit Coniraya and kill

him, but he was too wise and escaped. He returned to Huarochiri,

and played tricks as before on the villagers.

Coniraya slightly approximates to the Jurupari of the Uapès Indians

of Brazil, especially as regards his impish qualities. [19]

The Llama's Warning

An old Peruvian myth relates how the world was nearly left without

an inhabitant. A man took his llama to a fine place for feeding, but

the beast moaned and would not eat, and on its master questioning it,

it said there was little wonder it was sad, because in five days the

sea would rise and engulf the earth. The man, alarmed, asked if there

was no way of escape, and the llama advised him to go to the top of

a high mountain, Villa-coto, taking food for five days. When they

reached the summit of the hill all kinds of birds and animals were

already there. When the sea rose the water came so near that it washed

the tail of a fox, and that is why foxes' tails are black! After five

days the water fell, leaving only this one man alive, and from him

the Peruvians believed the present human race to be descended.

The Myth of Huathiacuri

After the deluge the Indians chose the bravest and richest man

as leader. This period they called Purunpacha (the time without a

king). On a high mountain-top appeared five large eggs, from one of

which Paricaca, father of Huathiacuri, later emerged. Huathiacuri,

who was so poor that he had not means to cook his food properly,

learned much wisdom from his father, and the following story shows

how this assisted him. A certain man had built a most curious house,

the roof being made of yellow and red birds' feathers. He was very

rich, possessing many llamas, and was greatly esteemed on account

of his wealth. So proud did he become that he aspired to be the

creator himself; but when he became very ill and could not cure

himself his divinity seemed doubtful. Just at this time Huathiacuri

was travelling about, and one day he saw two foxes meet and listened

to their conversation. From this he heard about the rich man and

learned the cause of his illness, and forthwith he determined to

go on to find him. On arriving at the curious house he met a lovely

young girl, one of the rich man's daughters. She told him about her

father's illness, and Huathiacuri, charmed with her, said he would

cure her father if she would only give him her love. He looked so

ragged and dirty that she refused, but she took him to her father

and informed him that Huathiacuri said he could cure him. Her father

consented to give him an opportunity to do so. Huathiacuri began his

cure by telling the sick man that his wife had been unfaithful, and

that there were two serpents hovering above his house to devour it,

and a toad with two heads under his grinding-stone. His wife at first

indignantly denied the accusation, but on Huathiacuri reminding her

of some details, and the serpents and toad being discovered, she

confessed her guilt. The reptiles were killed, the man recovered,

and the daughter was married to Huathiacuri.

Huathiacuri's poverty and raggedness displeased the girl's

brother-in-law, who suggested to the bridegroom a contest in dancing

and drinking. Huathiacuri went to seek his father's advice, and the old

man told him to accept the challenge and return to him. Paricaca then

sent him to a mountain, where he was changed into a dead llama. Next

morning a fox and its vixen carrying a jar of chicha came, the fox

having a flute of many pipes. When they saw the dead llama they laid

down their things and went toward it to have a feast, but Huathiacuri

then resumed his human form and gave a loud cry that frightened away

the foxes, whereupon he took possession of the jar and flute. By the

aid of these, which were magically endowed, he beat his brother-in-law

in dancing and drinking.

Then the brother-in-law proposed a contest to prove who was the

handsomer when dressed in festal attire. By the aid of Paricaca

Huathiacuri found a red lion-skin, which gave him the appearance of

having a rainbow round his head, and he again won.

The next trial was to see who could build a house the quickest and

best. The brother-in-law got all his men to help, and had his house

nearly finished before the other had his foundation laid. But here

again Paricaca's wisdom proved of service, for Huathiacuri got animals

and birds of all kinds to help him during the night, and by morning

the building was finished except the roof. His brother-in-law got

many llamas to come with straw for his roof, but Huathiacuri ordered

an animal to stand where its loud screams frightened the llamas away,

and the straw was lost. Once more Huathiacuri won the day. At last

Paricaca advised Huathiacuri to end this conflict, and he asked

his brother-in-law to see who could dance best in a blue shirt with

white cotton round the loins. The rich man as usual appeared first,

but when Huathiacuri came in he made a very loud noise and frightened

him, and he began to run away. As he ran Huathiacuri turned him into

a deer. His wife, who had followed him, was turned into a stone,

with her head on the ground and her feet in the air, because she had

given her husband such bad advice.

The four remaining eggs on the mountain-top then opened, and four

falcons issued, which turned into four great warriors. These warriors

performed many miracles, one of which consisted in raising a storm

which swept away the rich Indian's house in a flood to the sea.

Paricaca

Having assisted in the performance of several miracles, Paricaca set

out determined to do great deeds. He went to find Caruyuchu Huayallo,

to whom children were sacrificed. He came one day to a village where

a festival was being celebrated, and as he was in very poor clothes no

one took any notice of him or offered him anything, till a young girl,

taking pity on him, brought him chicha to drink. In gratitude Paricaca

told her to seek a place of safety for herself, as the village would be

destroyed after five days, but she was to tell no one of this. Annoyed

at the inhospitality of the people, Paricaca then went to a hill-top

and sent down a fearful storm and flood, and the whole village was

destroyed. Then he came to another village, now San Lorenzo. He saw a

very beautiful girl, Choque Suso, crying bitterly. Asking her why she

wept, she said the maize crop was dying for want of water. Paricaca

at once fell in love with this girl, and after first damming up the

little water there was, and thus leaving none for the crop, he told

her he would give her plenty of water if she would only return his

love. She said he must get water not only for her own crop but for all

the other farms before she could consent. He noticed a small rill,

from which, by opening a dam, he thought he might get a sufficient

supply of water for the farms. He then got the assistance of the

birds in the hills, and animals such as snakes, lizards, and so on,

in removing any obstacles in the way, and they widened the channel so

that the water irrigated all the land. The fox with his usual cunning

managed to obtain the post of engineer, and carried the canal to near

the site of the church of San Lorenzo. Paricaca, having accomplished

what he had promised, begged Choque Suso to keep her word, which she

willingly did, but she proposed living at the summit of some rocks

called Yanacaca. There the lovers stayed very happily, at the head of

the channel called Cocochallo, the making of which had united them;

and as Choque Suso wished to remain there always, Paricaca eventually

turned her into a stone.

In all likelihood this myth was intended to account for the invention

of irrigation among the early Peruvians, and from being a local legend

probably spread over the length and breadth of the country.

Conclusion

The advance in civilisation attained by the peoples of America must

be regarded as among the most striking phenomena in the history

of mankind, especially if it be viewed as an example of what can

be achieved by isolated races occupying a peculiar environment. It

cannot be too strongly emphasised that the cultures and mythologies

of old Mexico and Peru were evolved without foreign assistance or

intervention, that, in fact, they were distinctively and solely the

fruit of American aboriginal thought evolved upon American soil. An

absorbing chapter in the story of human advancement is provided

by these peoples, whose architecture, arts, graphic and plastic,

laws and religions prove them to have been the equals of most of the

Asiatic nations of antiquity, and the superiors of the primitive races

of Europe, who entered into the heritage of civilisation through the

gateway of the East. The aborigines of ancient America had evolved for

themselves a system of writing which at the period of their discovery

was approaching the alphabetic type, a mathematical system unique

and by no means despicable, and an architectural science in some

respects superior to any of which the Old World could boast. Their

legal codes were reasonable and founded upon justice; and if their

religions were tainted with cruelty, it was a cruelty which they

regarded as inevitable, and as the doom placed upon them by sanguinary

and insatiable deities and not by any human agency.

In comparing the myths of the American races with the deathless

stories of Olympus or the scarcely less classic tales of India,

frequent resemblances and analogies cannot fail to present themselves,

and these are of value as illustrating the circumstance that in

every quarter of the globe the mind of man has shaped for itself a

system of faith based upon similar principles. But in the perusal of

the myths and beliefs of Mexico and Peru we are also struck with the

strangeness and remoteness alike of their subject-matter and the type

of thought which they present. The result of centuries of isolation

is evident in a profound contrast of "atmosphere." It seems almost

as if we stood for a space upon the dim shores of another planet,

spectators of the doings of a race of whose modes of thought and

feeling we were entirely ignorant.

For generations these stories have been hidden, along with the memory

of the gods and folk of whom they tell, beneath a thick dust of

neglect, displaced here and there only by the efforts of antiquarians

working singly and unaided. Nowadays many well-equipped students

are striving to add to our knowledge of the civilisations of Mexico

and Peru. To the mythical stories of these peoples, alas! we cannot

add. The greater part of them perished in the flames of the Spanish

autos-de-fé. But for those which have survived we must be grateful,

as affording so many casements through which we may catch the glitter

and gleam of civilisations more remote and bizarre than those of the

Orient, shapes dim yet gigantic, misty yet many-coloured, the ghosts

of peoples and beliefs not the least splendid and solemn in the roll

of dead nations and vanished faiths.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following bibliography is not intended to be exhaustive, but merely

to indicate to those who desire to follow up the matter provided in

the preceding pages such works as will best repay their attention.

Mexico

Acosta, José de: Historia Natural y Moral de las Yndias. Seville, 1580.

Alzate y Ramirez: Descripcion de las Antiguedades de Xochicalco. 1791.

Bancroft, H. H.: Native Races of the Pacific States of America. 1875. A

compilation of historical matter relating to aboriginal America,

given almost without comment. Useful to beginners.

Boturini Benaduci, L.: Idea de una Nueva Historia General de la

America Septentrional. Madrid, 1746. Contains a number of valuable

original manuscripts.

Bourbourg, Abbé Brasseur de: Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique

et de l'Amérique Centrale. Paris, 1857-59. The Abbé possessed much

knowledge of the peoples of Central America and their ancient history,

but had a leaning toward the marvellous which renders his works of

doubtful value.

Charnay, Désiré: Ancient Cities of the New World. London, 1887. This

translation from the French is readable and interesting, and is of

assistance to beginners. It is, however, of little avail as a serious

work of reference, and has been superseded.

Chevalier, M.: Le Mexique Ancien et Moderne. Paris, 1886.

Clavigero, Abbé: Storia Antica del Messico. Cesena, 1780. English

translation, London, 1787. Described in text.

Diaz, Bernal: Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de Nueva

España. 1837. An eye-witness's account of the conquest of Mexico.

Enock, C. Reginald: Mexico, its Ancient and Modern Civilisation,

&c. London, 1909.

Gomara, F. L. de: Historia General de las Yndias. Madrid, 1749.

Herrera, Antonio de: Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos

en las Islas y Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano. 4 vols. Madrid, 1601.

Humboldt, Alex. von: Vues des Cordillères. Paris, 1816. English

translation by Mrs. Williams.

Ixtlilxochitl, F. de Alva: Historia Chichimeca; Relaciones. Edited

by A. Chavero. Mexico, 1891-92.

Kingsborough, Lord: Antiquities of Mexico. London, 1830.

Lumholtz, C.: Unknown Mexico. 1903.

MacNutt, F. C.: Letters of Cortés to Charles V. London, 1908.

Nadaillac, Marquis de: Prehistoric America. Translation. London, 1885.

Noll, A. H.: A Short History of Mexico. Chicago, 1903.

Nuttall, Zelia: The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World

Civilisations. 1901.

Payne, E. J.: History of the New World called America. London,

1892-99. By far the best and most exhaustive work in English upon

the subject. It is, however, unfinished.

Peñafiel, F.: Monumentos del Arte Mexicano Antiguo. Berlin, 1890.

Prescott, W. H.: History of the Conquest of Mexico. Of romantic

interest only. Prescott did not study Mexican history for more than

two years, and his work is now quite superseded from a historical

point of view. Its narrative charm, however, is unassailable.

Sahagun, Bernardino de: Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva

España. Mexico, 1829.

Seler, E.: Mexico and Guatemala. Berlin, 1896.

Serra, Justo (Editor): Mexico, its Social Evolution, &c. 2

vols. Mexico, 1904.

Spence, Lewis: The Civilization of Ancient Mexico. A digest of the

strictly verifiable matter of Mexican history and antiquities. All

tradition is eliminated, the author's aim being to present the beginner

and the serious student with a series of unembellished facts.

Starr, F.: The Indians of Southern Mexico. 1899.

Thomas, Cyrus, and Magee, W. J.: The History of North America. 1908.

Torquemada, Juan de: Monarquia Indiana. Madrid, 1723.

Bulletin 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology contains translations

of valuable essays by the German scholars Seler, Schellhas, Förstemann,

&c.

Many of the above works deal with Central America as well as with

Mexico proper.

Central America

Cogolludo, D. Lopez: Historia de Yucathan. 1688. Very scarce.

Diego de Landa: Relacion de Cosas de Yucatan. Paris, 1836. Translation

by Brasseur.

Dupaix, Colonel: Antiquités Mexicaines. Paris, 1834-36.

Maudslay, A. P.: Biologia Centrali-Americana. Publication

proceeding. Contains many excellent sketches of ruins, &c.

Spence, Lewis: The Popol Vuh. London, 1908.

Peru

Enock, C. R.: Peru: its Former and Present Civilisation, &c. London,

1908.

Markham, Sir Clements R.: History of Peru. Chicago, 1892.

Prescott, W. H.: History of the Conquest of Peru. 3 vols. Philadelphia,

1868.

Squier, E. G.: Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land

of the Incas. London, 1877.

Tschudi, J. J. von: Reisen durch Südamerika. 5 vols. Leipsic,

1866-68. Travels in Peru. London, 1847.

Vega, Garcilasso el Inca de la: Royal Commentaries of the Incas,

1609. Hakluyt Society's Publications.

In seeking the original sources of Peruvian history we must refer to

the early Spanish historians who visited the country, either at the

period of the conquest or immediately subsequent to it. From those

Spaniards who wrote at a time not far distant from that event we have

gained much valuable knowledge concerning the contemporary condition

of Peru, and a description of the principal works of these pioneers

will materially assist the reader who is bent on pursuing the study

of Peruvian antiquities.

Pedro de Cieza de Leon composed a geographical account of Peru in

1554, devoting the latter part of his chronicle to the subject of the

Inca civilisation. This work has been translated into English by Sir

Clements R. Markham, and published by the Hakluyt Society.

Juan José de Betanzos, who was well acquainted with the Quichua

language, and who married an Inca princess, wrote an account of the

Incas in 1551, which was edited and printed by Señor Jimenes de la

Espada in 1880.

Polo de Ondegardo, a lawyer and politician, wrote his two Relaciones

in 1561 and 1571, making valuable reports on the laws and system of

administration of the Incas. One of these works has been translated

by Sir Clements R. Markham, and printed by the Hakluyt Society.

Augustin de Zarate, accountant, who arrived in Peru with Blasco Nuñez

Vela, the first Viceroy, is the author of the Provincia del Peru,

which was published at Antwerp in 1555.

Fernando de Santillan, judge of the Linia Audience, contributed an

interesting Relacion in 1550, edited and printed in 1879 by Señor

Jimenes de la Espada.

Juan de Matienzo, a lawyer contemporary with Ondegardo, was the author

of the valuable work Gobierno de el Peru, not yet translated.

Christoval de Molina, priest of Cuzco, wrote an interesting story of

Inca ceremonial and religion between 1570 and 1584, which has been

published by the Hakluyt Society. The translator is Sir C. R. Markham.

Miguel Cavello Balboa, of Quito, gives us the only particulars we

possess of Indian coast history, and the most valuable information on

the war between Huascar and Atauhuallpa, in his splendid Miscellanea

Austral, 1576, translated into French in 1840 by Ternaux-Compans.

A Jesuit priest, José de Acosta, compiled a Natural History of the

Indies, which was published for the first time in 1588. An English

translation of the work is provided by the Hakluyt Society.

Fernando Montesinos in his Memorias Antiguas Historiales del Peru and

Anales Memorias Nuevas del Peru quotes a long line of sovereigns who

preceded the Incas. These works were translated into French in 1840.

Relacion de los Costombras Antiguas de los Naturales del Peru, written

by an anonymous Jesuit, records an account of Inca civilisation. The

work was published in Spain in 1879. Another Jesuit, Francisco de

Avila, wrote on the superstitions of the Indians of Huarochiri and

their gods. His work was translated into English and published by

the Hakluyt Society.

Pablo José de Arriaga, a priest who policed the country, destroying

the false gods, compiled in 1621 Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Peru,

describing the downfall of the ancient Inca religion.

Antonio de la Calancha compiled an interesting history of the Incas

in his work on the Order of St. Augustine in Peru (1638-1653).

In his Historia de Copacabana y de su Milagrosa Imagen (1620) Alonzo

Ramos Gavilan disclosed much information concerning the colonists

during the time of the Inca rule.

A valuable history of the Incas is provided by Garcilasso el Inca de

la Vega in his Commentarios Reales. The works of previous authors

are reviewed, and extracts are given from the compilations of the

Jesuit Blas Valera, whose writings are lost. The English translation

is published by the Hakluyt Society.

Relacion de Antiguedades deste Reyno del Peru, by Pachacuti Yamqui

Salcamayhua, an Indian of the Collao, was translated into English by

Sir C. R. Markham, and published by the Hakluyt Society.

The Historia del Reino del Quinto, compiled by Juan de Velasco,

was translated into French by Ternaux-Compans in 1840.

Antonio de Herrera gives a brief account of the history and

civilisation of the Inca people in his General History of the Indies.

In his History of America Robertson was the first to compile a thorough

account of the Incas. Prescott, however, in 1848 eclipsed his work

by his own fascinating account. Sir Arthur Helps has also given a

résumé of Inca progress in his Spanish Conquest (1855).

The Peruvian Sebastian Lorente published in 1860 a history of ancient

Peru, which presents the subject more broadly than the narratives

of the American and English authors, and as the result of many years

of further research he contributed a series of essays to the Revista

Peruana.

One of the best works dealing with the antiquities of the Inca period

is Antiguedades Peruanas, by Don Mariano Rivero (English translation

by Dr. Hawkes, 1853). The compilation on Peru by E. G. Squier (1877),

and a similar narrative by C. Weiner (Paris, 1880), both of which

stand in accuracy above the others, are also worthy of mention.

The work of Reiss and Stubel, narrating their excavations at Ancon,

is richly presented in three volumes, with 119 plates.

The works of Sir Clements Markham are the best guide to English

scholars on the subject.

INDEX AND GLOSSARY

NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE MEXICAN, MAYAN, AND PERUVIAN LANGUAGES

Mexican

As the Spanish alphabet was that first employed to represent Mexican

or Nahuatl phonology, so Mexican words and names must be pronounced,

for the most part, according to the Castilian system. An exception

is the letter x, which in Spanish is sometimes written as j and

pronounced as h aspirate; and in Nahuatl sometimes as in English,

at other times as sh or s. Thus the word "Mexico" is pronounced

by the aboriginal Mexican with the hard x, but by the Spaniard

as "May-hee-co." The name of the native author Ixtlilxochitl is

pronounced "Ishtlilshotshitl," the ch being articulated as tsh,

for euphony. Xochicalco is "So-chi-cal-co." The vowel sounds are

pronounced as in French or Italian. The tl sound is pronounced with

almost a click of the tongue.

Mayan

The Maya alphabet consists of twenty-two letters, of which c, ch,

k, pp, th, tz are peculiar to the language, and cannot be properly

pronounced by Europeans. It is deficient in the letters d, f, g, j, q,

r, s. The remaining letters are sounded as in Spanish. The letter x

occurring at the beginning of a word is pronounced ex. For example,

Xbalanque is pronounced "Exbalanke." The frequent occurrence of

elisions in spoken Maya renders its pronunciation a matter of great

difficulty, and the few grammars on the language agree as to the

hopelessness of conveying any true idea of the exact articulation

of the language by means of written directions. Norman in his work

entitled Rambles in Yucatan remarks: "This perhaps accounts for the

disappearance of all grammars and vocabularies of the Maya tongue from

the peninsula of Yucatan, the priests finding it much easier to learn

the language directly from the Indian than to acquire it from books."

Peruvian

The two languages spoken in Peru in ancient times were the Quichua,

or Inca, and the Aymara. These still survive. The former was the

language of the Inca rulers of the country, but both sprang from one

common linguistic stock. As these languages were first reduced to

writing by means of a European alphabet, their pronunciation presents

but little difficulty, the words practically begin pronounced as they

are written, having regard to the "Continental" pronunciation of the

vowels. In Quichua the same sound is give to the intermediate c before

a consonant and to the final c, as in "chacra" and "Pachacamac." The

general accent is most frequently on the penultimate syllable.

INDEX AND GLOSSARY

A

Aac, Prince. In the story of Queen Móo, 240, 244-245, 246

Acalan. District in Guatemala;

race-movements and, 150

Acllacuna (Selected Ones). Body of maidens from whom victims for

sacrifice were taken in Peru, 313

Aclla-huasi. Houses in which the Acllacuna lived, 313

Acolhuacan. District in Mexico, 26

Acolhuans (or Acolhuaque) (People of the Broad Shoulder). Mexican

race, 26;

said to have founded Mexico, 26;

a pure Nahua race, perhaps the Toltecs, 26;

their supremacy, 48

Acolhuaque. See Acolhuans

Acosta, José de. Work on Mexican lore, 58

Acsumama. Guardian spirit of the potato plant in Peru, 295

Acxitl. Toltec king, son of Huemac II, 17, 19

Acxopil. Ruler of the Kiche, 158-159

Agoreros (or Mohanes). Members of Peruvian tribes who claimed power

as oracles, 297-298, 314

Ahuizotl. Mexican king, 30

Ah-zotzils. A Maya tribe, 172

Akab-sib (Writing in the Dark). A bas-relief at El Castillo,

Chichen-Itza, 190

Aké. Maya ruins at, 186-187

America. Superficial resemblance between peoples, customs, and

art-forms of Asia and, 1;

civilisation, native origin of, 1-2, 3, 328;

animal and plant life peculiar to, 2;

man, origin of, in, 2;

geographical connection between Asia and, 3;

traditions of intercourse between Asia and, 3;

Chinese Fu-Sang and, 3;

possible Chinese and Japanese visits to, 3-4;

Coronado's expedition to, 4;

legends of intercourse between Europe and, 4;

"Great Ireland" probably the same as, 4;

St. Brandan's voyage and, 4;

reached by early Norsemen, 5;

the legend of Madoc and, 5-6;

early belief in, respecting incursions from the east, 6;

prophecy of Chilan Balam re coming of white men to, 8

America, Central. Indigenous origin of civilisation of, 1;

legend of Toltec migration to, 20

Anahuac (By the Water). Native name of the Mexican plateau, 18.

See Mexico

Ancestor-worship in Peru, 296

Andeans. The prehistoric civilisation of, 249-250;

architectural remains of, 250

Antahuayllas. Peruvian tribe, 284

Antilia. Legends of, have no connection with American myth, 6

Anti-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient Peru, 255

Apinguela. Island on Lake Titicaca; Huaina Ccapac and the lake-goddess

and, 299

Apocatequil. Peruvian thunder-god, the "Prince of Evil";

in a creation-myth, 301-302

Apu-Ccapac (Sovereign Chief). Title of the Inca rulers, 248

"Apu-Ollanta." A drama-legend of the Incas, 251-253

Apurimac (Great Speaker). River in Peru;

regarded as an oracle, 296

Aqua. A bird-maiden; in the myth of origin of the Canaris, 319

Arara (Fire-bird). Same as Kinich-ahau, which see

Architecture. I. Of the Nahua, 31-34.

II. Of the Maya, 149-150, 178-198;

the most individual expression of the people, 178;

Yucatan exhibits the most perfect specimens, and the decadent

phase, 178;

methods of building, 178-179;

ignorance of some first principles, 179;

mural decoration, 179;

pyramidal buildings, 180;

definiteness of design, 180;

architectural districts, 181;

not of great antiquity, 182;

Father Burgoa on the palace at Mitla, 199-201.

III. Of the Incas, 268-269;

the art in which the race showed greatest advance, 268;

Sir Clements Markham on, 269

Arriaga, P. J. de. On stone-worship in Peru, 293

Art. Early American, superficial resemblance to that of Asia, 1;

native origin and unique character of American, 1-2;

Toltec, 23;

Peruvians weak in, 248

Asia. Origin of early American culture erroneously attributed to, 1;

man originally came to America from, 2;

former land-connection between America and, 3;

traditions of intercourse between America and, 3

Ataguju. Supreme divinity of the Peruvians; in a creation-myth, 301

Atamalqualiztli (Fast of Porridge-balls and Water). Nahua festival, 77

Atatarho. Mythical wizard-king of the Iroquois, 72

Atauhuallpa. Son of the Inca Huaina Ccapac; strives for the crown

with Huascar, 289-290

Atl (Water). Mexican deity; often confounded with the moon-goddess, 106

Atlantis. Legends of, have no connection with American myth, 6

Auqui (Warrior). Peruvian order of knighthood; instituted by

Pachacutic, 287

Avendaño, Hernandez de. And Peruvian fetishes, 295

Avilix. The god assigned to Balam-Agab in the Kiche story of the

creation, 230;

turned into stone, 231

Axaiacatzin, King. Father of Chachiuhnenetzin, the vicious wife of

Nezahualpilli, 129

Axayacatl. Mexican king, 92

Aymara. Peruvian race, 254-255;

fusion with Quichua, 285-286

Azangaro. The Sondor-huasi at, 269

Azcapozalco. Mexican town, 26;

rivalry with Tezcuco, 49;

Aztecs and, 52

Aztecs (or Aztecâ) (Crane People). A nomad Mexican tribe, 27, 50-51;

racial affinities, 27;

character, 27-28;

Tlascalans and, 26;

founders of Tenochtitlan (Mexico), 27;

their science, 43;

in bondage to Colhuacan, 51;

allied with Tecpanecs, 51;

war with Tecpanecs, 52;

development of the empire, 52;

commercial expansion, 52;

their tyranny, 52-53;

their conception of eternity, 55;

the priesthood, 114-117;

idea of the origin of mankind, 123;

a migration myth of, 233

Aztlan (Crane Land). Traditional place of origin of Nahua, 11;

Aztecs and, 50, 233

B

Bacabs. Genii in Maya mythology, 170

Balam-Agab (Tiger of the Night). One of the first men of the Popol

Vuh myth, 229, 230

Balam-Quitze (Tiger with the Sweet Smile).

An ancestor of the Maya, 188;

one of the first men of the Popol Vuh myth, 229, 230

Balon Zacab. Form of the Maya rain-god, 176

Bat. Typical of the underworld, 96

Bat-god. Maya deity, known also as Camazotz, 171-172

Birth-cycle. In Mexican calendar, 39, 41

Bochica. Sun-god of the Chibchas, 276

Bogota. City at which the Zippa of the Chibchas lived, 276

Boturini Benaduci, L. His work on Mexican lore, 58

Bourbourg, The Abbé Brasseur de. Version of Nahua flood-myth, 122-123

Brandan, St. Probable voyage to America, 4

Brinton, D. G. Theory as to the Toltecs, 21;

on Quetzalcoatl, 81;

translation of a poem on the Peruvian thunder-god myth, and comments

on the myth, 300-301

Burgoa, Father. Account of a confession ceremony, 108-110;

description of Mitla, 199-206

C

Cabrakan (Earthquake). Son of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche myth in the

Popol Vuh, 211, 213, 216-219

Cabrera, Don Felix. And the Popol Vuh, 207

Cachapucara. Hill; Thonapa and, 319-320

Caha-Paluma (Falling Water). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh

myth, 230

Cakixa (Water of Parrots). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh

myth, 230

Cakulha-Hurakan (Lightning). A sub-god of Hurakan, 237

Calderon, Don José. And Palenque, 182

Calendar. I. The Mexican, 38-41;

an essential feature in the national life, 38;

resemblance to Maya and Zapotec calendric systems, 38, 169;

possible Toltec origin, 39;

the year, 39;

the "binding of years," 39, 40;

the solar year, 39;

the nemontemi, 39;

the "birth-cycle," 39, 41;

the cempohualli, or "months," 39-40;

the ecclesiastical system, 40;

the xiumalpilli, 40;

the ceremony of toxilmolpilia, 41.

II. The Maya; similarities to calendar of the Nahua, 38, 169.

III. The Peruvian, 265-266, 313

Callca. Place in Peru; sacred rocks found at, 293

Camaxtli. War-god of the Tlascalans, 111

Camazotz. The bat-god, called also Zotzilaha Chimalman, 171-172, 226;

a totem of the Ahzotzils, a Maya tribe, 172

Camulatz. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209

Canaris. Indian tribe; the myth of their origin, 318-319

Canek. King of Chichen-Itza; the story of, 189

Cannibalism. Among the Mexicans, 45

Capacahuana. Houses for pilgrims to Titicaca at, 311

Carapucu. I. Hill; in myth of Thonapa, 320.

II. Lake; in myth of Thonapa, 320

Caravaya. Mountain; in myth of Thonapa, 320

Carmenca. The hill of, at Cuzco; pillars on, for determining the

solstices, 265-266, 287

Caruyuchu Huayallo. Peruvian deity to whom children were sacrificed;

in a myth of Paricaca, 326

Casa del Adivino (The Prophet's House). Ruin at Uxmal, called also

"The Dwarf's House," 192;

the legend relating to, 192-194

Casa del Gobernador (Governor's Palace). Ruin at Uxmal, 191

Casas Grandes (Large Houses). Mexican ruin, 32

Castillo, El. Ruined pyramid-temple at Chichen-Itza, 188, 190

Cauac. A minor Maya deity, 170

Cavillaca. A maiden; the myth of Coniraya Viracocha and, 321-323

Caxamarca. Inca fortress, 290

Cay Hun-Apu (Royal Hunter). The Kakchiquels and the defeat of, 159

Ccapac-cocha. Sacrificial rite, instituted by Pachacutic, 286

Ccapac-Huari. Eleventh Inca, 288, 289

Ccapac Raymi. The chief Peruvian festival, 267;

Auqui, order of knighthood, conferred at, 287

Ccapac Situa (or Ccoya Raymi) (Moon Feast). Peruvian festival, 267

Ccapac Yupanqui. Fifth Inca, 283

Ccompas. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294

Cempohualli. The Mexican month, 40

Centeotl. I. Group of maize-gods, 85.

II. A male maize-spirit, 85, 90;

God E similar to, 174.

III. Mother of II, known also as Teteoinnan and Tocitzin, 85, 90

Centzonuitznaua. Mythical Indian tribe; in myth of Huitzilopochtli's

origin, 70-72

Chac. Maya rain-god, tutelar of the cast, 170;

has affinities with Tlaloc, 176;

God K not identical with, 176

Chacamarca. River in Peru; Thonapa and, 320

Chachiuhnenetzin. Wife of Nezahualpilli, 129-132

Chacras. Estates dedicated to the sun by the Peruvians, 310

Chalcas. Aztec tribe, 233

Chalchihuitlicue (Lady of the Emerald Robe). Wife of Tlaloc, 75,

77, 110;

assists the maize-goddess, 86

Chalchiuh Tlatonac (Shining Precious Stone). First king of the

Toltecs, 14

"Chamayhuarisca" (The Song of Joy). Manco Ccapac sings, 321

Chanca. A Peruvian people; and the Incas, 282

Charnay, D. Excavations on the site of Teotihuacan, 33;

excavations at Tollan, 34;

and Lorillard, 195

Chasca. The Peruvian name for the planet Venus; the temple of, at

Cuzco, 262

Chiapas. Mexican province; the nucleus of Maya civilisation lay in,

144, 149

Chibchas. A Peruvian race, 275-277

Chichan-Chob. Ruin at Chichen-Itza, 189

Chichen-Itza. Sacred city of the Maya; founded by Itzaes, 153;

overthrown by Cocomes, 153, 155;

assists in conquering Cocomes, 156;

abandoned, 156;

ruins at, 188-190;

and the story of Canek, 189

Chichicastenango. The Convent of; and the Popol Vuh, 207

Chichics. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294

Chichimecs. Aztec tribe; invade Toltec territory, 18;

the great migration, 20;

supreme in Toltec country, 20;

probably related to Otomi, 25;

allied with Nahua and adopt Nahua language, 26;

conquered by Tecpanecs, 51

Chicomecohuatl (Seven-serpent). Chief maize-goddess of Mexico, 85-88;

image of, erroneously called Teoyaominqui by early Americanists,

88-90

Chicomoztoc (The Seven Caverns). Nahua said to have originated at, 11;

and Aztec idea of origin of mankind, 123;

identified with "seven cities of Cibola" and the Casas Grandes, 123;

parallel with the Kiche Tulan-Zuiva, 230

Chicuhcoatl. In the story of the vicious princess, 130

Chihuahua. Mexican province, 31

Chilan Balam. Maya priest; the prophecy of, 8

Chimalmat. Wife of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche myth, 211-213

Chimalpahin. Mexican chronicler, 42

Chimu. The plain of; ruined city on, 271;

the palace, 271-272;

the ruins display an advanced civilisation, 272-273

Chinchero. Inca ruins at, 269

Chipi-Cakulha (Lightning-flash). A sub-god of Hurakan, 237

Choima (Beautiful Water). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh

myth, 230

Cholula. Sacred city inhabited by Acolhuans, 47, 48;

the pottery of, 23

Chontals. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23

Choque Suso. Maiden; the myth of Paricaca and, 327

Chulpas. Megalithic mummy tombs of Peru, 263

Churoquella. A name of the Peruvian thunder-god, 299

"Citadel," The, at Teotihuacan, 33

Citallatonac. Mexican deity; in a flood-myth, 123

Citallinicue. Mexican deity; in a flood-myth, 123

Citatli (Moon). A form of the Mexican moon-goddess, 106

Citlalpol (The Great Star). Mexican name of the planet Venus, 96

Citoc Raymi (Gradually Increasing Sun). Peruvian festival, 312-313

Ciuapipiltin (Honoured Women). Spirits of women who had died in

childbed, 108, 138

Civilisation.

I. Of Mexico, 1-53;

indigenous origin of, 1;

type of, 9.

II. Of Peru, 248-290;

indigenous origin of, 1, 259;

inferior to the Mexican and Mayan, 248.

III. Of the Andeans, 249

Clavigero, The Abbé. His work on Mexican lore, 57-58

"Cliff-dwellers." Mexican race related to the Nahua, 24, 25

Cliff Palace Cañon, Colorado, 229

Coaapan. Place in Mexico, 65

Coatepec.

I. Mexican province, 62, 63.

II. Mountain, 70

Coati. An island on Lake Titicaca; ruined temple on, 270-271

Coatlantona (Robe of Serpents). A name of Coatlicue, Huitzilopochtli's

mother, 73

Coatlicue. Mother of Huitzilopochtli, 70-71;

as Coatlantona, 73

Cocamama. Guardian spirit of the coca-shrub in Peru, 295

Cochtan. Place in Mexico, 65

Cocochallo. An irrigation channel; in a myth of Paricaca, 327