Christoval de Molina. An Account of the Fables and Rites of the Yncas, 1580. Кристобаль де Молина. Доклад о Сказаниях и Обычаях Инков, 1580.

Кристобаль де Молина. Доклад о Сказаниях и Обычаях Инков, 1580.
Christoval de Molina. An Account of the Fables and Rites of the Yncas.

THE FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS,

BY
CHRISTOVAL DE MOLINA,
Priest of the Parish of Our Lady of Healing of the Hospital for
Natives in the City of Cuzco ;l
Addressed to the Most Reverend LORD BISHOP DON SEBASTIAN DF
ARTAUN,2 of the Council of His Majesty.

As in the account which I submitted to your most illustrious
Lordship of the origin, lives, and customs of the Yncas,
Lords of this land, of the names and number of their wives,
of the laws they gave and the wars they waged, and of the
tribes and nations they conquered ; I also treated, in some
places, of the ceremonies and worship they established,
though not very fully; I now propose, chiefly by reason of
the wish expressed by your reverend Lordship, to take
similar pains to describe the ceremonies, worship, and idola-
tries of these Indians. For this purpose I assembled a
number of aged persons who had seen and participated in
them in the days of Huayna Ccapac, of Huascar Ynca, and
of Manco Ynca, as well as some leaders and priests of those
days.
1 For an account of the origin of this hospital, see my translation of
O. de la Vega, ii, p. 258.
2 Bishops of Cuzco—
1534. Fray Vicente de Valverde.
1543. Fray Juan Solano, to 1550.
1570. SEBASTIAN DE ARTAUN. Died at Lima 1584, at a Pro-
vincial Council.
1584-93. Fray Gregorio de Montalvo.

4

AN ACCOUNT OF THE

And first with regard to the origin of their idolatries, it
is so that these people had no knowledge of writing. But,
in a house of the Sun called Poquen Cancha, which is near
Cuzco, they had the life of each one of the Yncas, with the
lands they conquered, painted with figures on certain boards,
and also their origin. Among these paintings the following
fable was represented.
In the life of Manco Ccapac, who was the first Ynca, and
from whom they began to be called children of the Sun,
and to worship the Sun, they had a full account of the
deluge. They say that all people and all created things
perished in it, insomuch that the water rose above all the
highest mountains in the world. No living things survived
except a man and a woman who remained in a box, and when
the waters subsided, the wind carried them to Huanaco,3
which will be over seventy leagues from Cuzco, a little more
or less. The Creator of all things commanded them to
remain there as mitimas ;4 and there, in Tiahuanaco, the
Creator began to raise up the people and nations that are
in that region, making one of each nation of clay, and
painting the dresses that each one was to wear. Those that
were to wear their hair, with hair ; and those that were to
be shorn, with hair cut; and to each nation was given
the language that was to be spoken, and the songs to be
sung, and the seeds and food that they were to sow. When
the Creator had finished painting and making the said
nations and figures of clay, he gave life and soul to each one,
as well men as women, and ordered that they should pass
under the earth. Thence each nation came up in the places
to which he ordered them to go. Thus they say that some
came out of caves, others issued from hills, others from
fountains, others from the trunks of trees. From this cause,
and owing to having come forth and commenced to multiply,
s Tia-lmanacu.
* Mitimae, a colonist or settler.— See G. de la Vega, i, lib. iii, cap. 19.

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

5

from those places, and to having had the beginning of their
lineage in them, they made huacas and places of worship
of them in memory of the origin of their lineage which
proceeded from them. Thus each nation uses the dress with
which they invest their huaca; and they say that the first
that was born from that place was there turned into stones,
others say the first of their lineages were turned into falcons,
condors, and other animals and birds. Hence the huacas
they use and worship are in different shapes.
There are other nations which say that when the deluge
came, all people were destroyed except a few who escaped on
hills, in caves, or trees, and that these were very few, but
that they began to multiply, and that, in memory of the first
of their race who escaped in such places, they made idols of
stone, giving the name of him who had thus escaped to each
Jiuaca. Thus each nation worshipped and offered sacrifices
of such things as they used. There were, however, some
nations who had a tradition of a Creator of all things. They
made some sacrifices to him, but not in such quantity, or
with so much veneration as to their idols or huacas. But to
return to the fable. They say that the Creator was in
Tiahuanaco, and that there was his chief abode, hence the
superb edifices, worthy of admiration, in that place. On these
edifices were painted many dresses of Indians, and there
were many stones in the shape of men and women, who had
been changed into stone for not obeying the commands of
the Creator. They say that it was dark, and that there he
made the sun, moon, and stars, and that he ordered the sun,
moon, and stars to go to the island of Titicaca, which is near
at hand, and thence to rise to heaven. They also declare
that when the sun, in the form of a man, was ascending
into heaven, very brilliant, it called to the Yncas and to
Manco Ccapac,as their chief, and said :—” Thou and thy
descendants are to be Lords, and are to subjugate many
nations. Look upon me as thy father, and thou shalt be my

6

AN ACCOUNT OP THE

children, and thou shalt worship me as thy father.” And
with these words it gave to Manco Ccapac, for his insignia
and arms, the suntur-paucar5 and the cliamjñ,6 and the other
ensigns that are used by the Yncas, like sceptres. And at
that point the sun, moon, and stars were commanded to
ascend to heaven, and to fix themselves in their places, and
they did so. At the same instant Manco Ccapac and his
brothers and sisters, by command of the Creator, descended
under the earth and came out again in the cave of Paccari-
tambo,7 though they say that other nations also came out
of the same cave, at the point where the Sun rose on the
first day after the Creator had divided the night from the
day. Thus it was that they were called children of the Sun,
and that the Sun was worshipped and revered as a father.
They also have another fable, in which they say that the
Creator had two sons, the one called Ymaymana Viracocha,
and the other Tocapo Viracocha. Having completed the
tribes and nations, and assigned dresses and languages to
them, the Creator sent the sun up to heaven, with the moon
and stars, each one in its place. The Creator, who in the
language of the Indians is called Pachayachachi8 and
Tecsiviracocha, which means the incomprehensible God,
then went by the road of the mountains, from Tiahuanaco,
visiting and beholding all the nations, and examining how
they had begun to multiply, and how to comply with his com-
mands. He found that some nations had rebelled and had
not obeyed his commands; so he turned a large number of
them-into stones of the shape of men and women, with the
same dress that they had worn. These conversions into
stone were made at the following places : in Tiahuanaco,
and in Pucara, and Xauxa, where they say that he turned
5 One name for the Ynca’s head-dress. The ” brilliant circle”.
6 The battle-axe used with one hand.—G. de la Vega, i, lib. 9, cap. 31.
i Near Cuzco. From Paccari, the dawn, and tompu, an inn.
8 u Teacher of the World.”

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

7

the huaca called Huarivilca into stone, and in Pachacamac
and Cajarmarca, and in other parts. In truth there are
great blocks of stone in those places, some of which are
nearly the size of giants. They must have been made by
human hands in very ancient times ; and, by reason of the
loss of memory, and the absence of writing, they invented
this fable, saying that people had been turned into stones
for their disobedience, by command of the Creator. They
also relate that in Pucara, which is forty leagues from the
city of Cuzco on the Collao road, fire came down from
heaven and destroyed a great part of the people, while those
who were taking to flight were turned into stones.
The Creator, who is said to be the father of Ymaymana
Viracocha, and of Tocapo9 Viracocha, commanded that the
elder, named Ymaymana Viracocha, in whose power all
things were placed, should set out from this point, and go
by the way of the mountains and forests through all the
land, giving names to the large and small trees, and to the
flowers and fruits that they bear, and teaching the people
which were good for food or for medicine, and which should
be avoided. He also gave names to all the herbs, and ex-
plained which had healing virtues and which were poison-
ous. The other son, named Tocapo Viracocha, which
means in their language ” the maker,” was ordered to go
by the way of the plains, visiting the people, and giving
names to the rivers and trees, and instruction respecting
the fruits and flowers. Thus they went until they reached
the sea, whence they ascended to heaven, after having
accomplished all they had to do in this world.
They also relate, in this same fable, that at Tiahuanaco,
where all mankind was created, all the different kinds of
birds were made, male and female, and that each was given
the songs they were to sing; those that were to live in the
9 The ” Tocay” of the tradition given by G. de la Vega, i, lib. i,
cap. 18.

8

AN ACCOUNT OF THE

forest being sent there, and each kind to its respective
place. In like manner all the different beasts were created,
male and female, and all the serpents and lizards that are
met with in the land; and the people were taught the
names and qualities of each of these birds, beasts, and
reptiles.
These Indians believed for a certainty that neither the
Creator nor his sons were born of woman, that they were
unchangeable and eternal. The tribes have many other
fables teaching their origin, insomuch that if all were to be
told, there would be no end. I will, therefore, only insert
some of these fables.
In the kingdom of Quito, there is a province called
Cañaribamba, and the Cañaris Indians are so named from
their province.1 These Cañaris say that, at the time of the
deluge, two brothers escaped to a very high mountain called
Huaca-ynan. As the waters rose the hill also increased in
height, so that the waters never reached them. After the
flood had subsided, their store of provisions being ended,
they came forth and sought for food in the hills and valleys.
They built a very small house in which they dwelt, living on
herbs and roots, and suffering much from hunger and
fatigue. One day, after going out in search of food, they
returned to their little house, and found food to eat and
chicha to drink, without knowing who could have prepared
or brought it. This happened for ten days, at the end of
which time they consulted how they should see and know the
being who did them so much good in their great need. So
the elder of the two agreed to remain concealed. Presently
he saw two birds, of the kind called agua, and by another
name torito. In our language they are called guacamayos.2
They came dressed as Cañaris, with hair on their heads
fastened in front as they now wear it. The concealed
1 See my translation of G. de la Vega, ii, pp. 211, 335, 527.
7 A macaw.

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

9

Indian saw them begin to prepare the food they brought
with them, as soon as they came to the house, the larger
one taking off the lliclla or mantle worn by the Indians.
When the concealed man saw that they were beautiful, and
that they had the faces of women, he came forth ; but as
soon as they saw him, they were enraged and flew away
without leaving anything to eat on that day. When the
younger brother came home from searching for food, and
found nothing cooked and ready as on former days, he asked
his brother the reason, who told him, and they were very
angry. On the next day the younger brother resolved to
remain in concealment, and to watch whether the birds
returned. At the end of three days the two guacamayos
came back, and began to prepare the food. The men
(watched for an opportune time when they had finished
cooking, and shutting the door, enclosed them inside. The
birds showed great anger; but while they were holding the
smaller one, the larger went away. Then they had carnal
knowledge of the smaller one, and had by it six sons and
daughters. It lived with them for a long time on that hill,
aud they subsisted on the seeds they sowed, which were
brought by the guacamayo. And they say that from these
brothers and sisters, children of the guacamayo, all the
Cañaris proceed. Hence they look upon the hill Huaca
yv&n as a huaca, and they hold the guacamayos in great
veneration, and value their feathers very highly, for use at
their festivals.
In the province of Ancasmarca, which is five leagues from
Cuzco, in the Anti-suyu division, the Indians have the
following fable.
They say that a month before the flood came, their sheep
displayed much sadness, eating no food in the day-time, and
watching the stars at night. At last the shepherd, who had
charge of them, asked what ailed them, and they said that
the conjunction of stars showed that the world would be

10

AN ACCOUNT OP THE

destroyed by water. When he heard this, the shepherd
consulted with his six children, and they agreed to collect
all the food and sheep they could, and to go to the top of a
very high mountain, called Ancasmarca. They say that
as the waters rose, the hill grew higher, so that it was
never covered by the flood ; and when the waters subsided,
the hill also grew smaller. Thus, the six children of that
shepherd returned to people the province. These and other
tales are told, which I do not insert, to avoid prolixity. The
chief cause of the invention of these fables, was the ignor-
ance of God, and the abandonment of these people to idola-
tries and vices. If they had known the use of writing they
would not have been so dull and blind. Nevertheless, they
had a very cunning method of counting by strings of wool
and knots, the wool being of different colours. They call
them quipus, and they are able to understand so much by
their means, that they can give an account of all the events
that have happened in their land for more than five hundred
years. They had expert Indians who were masters in the
art of reading the quipus, and the knowledge was handed
down from generation to generation, so that the smallest
thing was not forgotten. By the quipus, which are like these
strings that old women use for praying in Spain, only with
ends hanging from them, they keep such an account of the
years and months, that no error is committed in the record.
The system became more complete under the Ynca Yupan-
qui, who first began to conquer this land, for before his
time the Yncas had not advanced beyond the vicinity of
Cuzco, as appears from the account now in the hands of your
Reverence. This Ynca appears to have been the first to
order and settle ceremonies and religions. He it was who
established the twelve months of the year, giving a name
to each, and ordaining the ceremonies that were to be
observed in each. For although his ancestors used months
and years counted by the quipus, yet they were never pre-

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

1L

viously regulated in such order until the time of this Lord.
He was of such clear understanding, that he reflected upon
the respect and reverence shown by his ancestors to the
Sun, who worshipped it as God. He observed that it never
had any rest, and that it daily journeyed round the earth ;
and he said to those of his council that it was not possible
that the Sun could be the God who created all things, for if
he was he would not permit a small cloud to obscure his
splendour; and that if he was creator of all things he would
sometimes rest, and light up the whole world from one
spot. Thus, it cannot be otherwise but that there is some-
one who directs him, and this is the Pacha-Yachachi or
creator. Influenced by this reasoning and knowledge, he
ordered the houses and temple of Quisuar-cancha3 to be
made, which are above the houses of Diego Ortiz de Guz-
man,4 coming towards the great square of Cuzco, where
Hernan Lopez de Segovia now lives. Here he raised a
statue of gold to the creator, of the size of a boy of ten
years of age. It was in the shape of a man standing up,
the right arm raised and the hand almost closed, the fingers
and thumb raised as one who was giving an order.
Although the Yncas had a knowledge of a creator of all
things from the first, whom they reverenced and to whom
they offered sacrifices; yet he never was held in such
great veneration as from the time of this Ynca, who gave
orders to the heads of provinces throughout his dominions
that temples should be erected to him, and that he should
have flocks, servants, farms, and estates, out of which the
sacrifices should be provided. This also was the Ynca who
so sumptuously erected the house of the Sun at Cuzco : for
3 Quisuar is the name of a tree (Buddleia Incana). Cancha, a
place.
4 See G. de la Vega, i, p. 295, and ii, p. 243, of my translation; and
the plan of Cuzco. There is still an ancient wall, with serpents carved
on it, at this spot.

12

AX ACCOUNT OF THE

before his time it was very small and poor. The cause of
this is related in the following fable.
They say that, before he succeeded, he went one day to
visit his father Viracocha Ynca, who was in Sacsahuana,
five leagues from Cuzco. As he came up to a fountain
called Susur-puquio,5 he saw a piece of crystal fall into it,
within which he beheld the figure of an Indian in the fol-
lowing shape. Out of the back of his head there issued
three very brilliant rays like those of the Sun. Serpents
were twined round his arms, and on his head there was a
Uautu6 like that of the Ynca. His ears were bored, and
ear-pieces, like those used by the Yncas, were inserted.
He was also dressed like the Ynca. The head of a lion
came out from between his legs, and on his shoulders there
was another lion whose legs appeared to join over the
shoulders of the man; while a sort of serpent also twined
over the shoulders. On seeing this figure the Ynca Yupan-
qui fled, but the figure of the apparition called him by his
name from within the fountain, saying :—” Come hither,
my son, and fear not, for I am the Sun thy father. Thou
shalt conquer many nations : therefore be careful to pay
great reverence to me, and remember me in thy sacrifices.”
The apparition then vanished, while the piece of crystal
remained. The Ynca took care of it, and they say that he
afterwards saw everything he wanted in it. As soon as he
was Lord, he ordered a statue of the Sun to be made, as
nearly as possible resembling the figure he had seen in the
crystal. He gave orders to the heads of the provinces in
all the lands he had conquered, that they should make grand
temples richly endowed, and he commanded all his subjects
to adore and reverence the new Deity, as they had hereto-
fore worshipped the Creator. In the narrative of his life,
which your Lordship has, it is related that all his conquests
5 Puquio, a spring or source.
6 The royal fringe, worn across the forehead.

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

13

were made in the name of the Sun his Father, and of the
Creator. It was this Ynca, also, who commanded all the
nations he conquered to hold their huacas in great venera-
tion, and to propitiate them by sacrifices, saying that thus
they would not be enraged at not receiving their due quan-
tity of reverence and worship. He also caused worship to
be offered to the thunder, and he had a statue of a man
erected in gold, in a temple in the city of Cuzco. This
huaca also had a temple, near that of the Sun, in all the
provinces, with estates, flocks, and servants for the celebra-
tion of sacrifices. But as my intention is to touch upon
worship and ceremonies, and not to treat of laws and cus-
toms, I will pass on to the other points of my present treatise.
They also had, in some nations, many huacas and temples
where the devil gave answers; and in the city of Cuzco
there was the huaca of Huanacauri.7 There were many kinds
of wizards in the provinces, with names and attributes differ-
ing one from the other. The names and offices were as
follows :—
Calparicu, which means those who bring luck and suc-
cess, and were expected to obtain the things that were
desired. With this object they killed birds, lambs, and
sheep, and, inflating the lungs, through a certain vein, they
discerned certain signs, by which they declared what was
about to happen.
There were others called Virajpiricuc, who burnt the
breasts of sheep and coca in the fire, and foretold what
would occur from certain signs at the time the things were
burning. Those who consulted them said that they were
the least to be relied on, because they always lied.
7 Mentioned four times by Garcilasso de la Vega, i, pp. 65, 66, and ii,
pp. 169 and 230. He says that the first settlement, made in the valley
of Cuzco, was on the hill called Huanacauri, and that a temple was
built there. It was looked upon as very sacred, and was the spot
whence races were run.

14

AN ACCOUNT OP THE

Others were called Achicoc, who were the sorcerers that
told fortunes by maize and the dung of sheep. They gave
their replies to those who consulted them, according as the
things came out in odd or even numbers.
Others were called Camascas, who declared that their
grace and virtue was derived from the thunder; saying that,
when a thunder-bolt fell, and one of them was struck with
terror, after he came to himself he proclaimed how the
thunder had revealed to him the art of curing by herbs, and
how to give replies to those who consulted them. In like
manner, when one escaped from some great danger, they
said that the devil had appeared ; and those who wished to
be cured by herbs were also said to be instructed. Hence
many Indians are great herbalists. Others were shown the
poisonous herbs, and these were called Camascas.
Others were called Yacarcaes, and these were natives of
Huaro. They had mighty pacts with the devil, as appears
from the ceremony they performed, which was as follows :—
They took certain tubes of copper mixed with silver, about
the length of an ordinary arquebus; and some brass vessels
in which they light fires with charcoal, which they blew and
made to blaze up by means of the tubes. It was in these
fires that the devils delivered their replies, and the sorcerers
said that it was concerning the soul of such a man or woman
that they were making inquiry, who might be in Quito or
in any other part of the empire which the Yncas had con-
quered. The principal questions they asked were whether
such an one was against the Sun his father, or whether such
others were thieves, murderers, or adulterers. By means
of this invocation the Ynca knew all that passed in his
dominions, with the help of the devil. These Yacarcaes
were much feared, as well by the Ynca as by the people,
and he took them with him wherever he went.
There were other sorcerers who had charge of the huacas,
among whom there were some who conferred with the devil,

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

15

and received his replies, telling the people what they wished
to know, but they very seldom gave correct answers. Ac-
cording to the accounts they give, all the people of the land
confessed to the sorcerers who had charge of the huacas \
and these confessions were made publicly. In order to test
the truth of the confessions, the sorcerers tried them by
consulting signs, and in this way, with the aid of the devil,
they discovered who had confessed falsely, and upon these
they inflicted severe punishments. Those who had grave
crimes to confess, which merited death, confessed them in
secret to the sorcerer.
The Yncas, and tho people of Cuzco, always made their
confessions in secret, and generally they confessed to those
Indian sorcerers of Huaro who were employed for this office.
In their confessions they accused themselves of not having
reverenced the sun, the moon, and the huacas, with not
having celebrated the feasts of the Raymis, which are those
in each month of the year, with all their hearts; with having
committed fornication against the law of the Ynca not to
touch a strange woman or to seduce a virgin unless given
by the Ynca, and not because fornication was a sin. For
they did not understand this. They also accused themselves
of any murder or theft, which we hold to be grave sins, as
also were murmurs, especially if they had been against the
Ynca or against the Sun.
They also confess, O most reverend Sir, that the people
before the flood were made, with all other things, by the
Creator; but they are ignorant of the order in which they
were made, nor how, beyond what has already been said
concerning Tiahuanaco. This is what I have been able to
learn, touching their fables and their origin, from all the old
men with whom I have conversed on this subject. The
form of the worship and sacrifices that they established for
each month, was as follows :—

10

AN ACCOUNT OP THE

MAY.
They commenced to count the year in the middle of May,
a few days more or less, on the first day of the moon; which
month, being the first of their year, was called Hauca and
Llusque, and in it they performed the following ceremonies,
called Yutip-Raymi, or the festivals of the Sun. In this month
they sacrificed to the Sun a great quantity of sheep of all
colours. Those called huacar-paña were white and woolly.
Others were called huanacos; and others, also white and
woolly, were called pacos-cuyllos. Others, which were females
with a reddish woolly fleece, were called paucar-paco. Other
pacos were called uqui-paco. Other large sheep were called
chumpi, which was their colour, being almost that of a lion’s
coat. Other sheep were called llanca-llama, which were
black and woolly. At this season they also sacrificed lambs
of the same colours. The sacrifices were performed in the
following order :—
They went to Curicancha8 in the morning, at noon, and
at night, bringing the sheep that were to be sacrificed on
that day, which they carried round the idols and huacas
called Punchao Ynca,9 which means the Sun; and Pachaya-
chachi,1 another idol in the shape of a man. The word
means a Creator; and Ghuqui yllayllapa,2 which was the
huaca of lightning and thunder, and thunderbolt. It also
was in the form of a person, though the face could not be
seen, and it had a llautu of gold, and ear-rings of gold, and
medals of gold called canipo. These huacas were placed
on a bench, and the live sheep were taken round them,
while the Priests said :—
” 0 Creator, and Sun, and Thunder, be for ever young !
do not grow old. Let all things be at peace! let the people
9 ” Place of gold.” The temple of the Sun at Cuzco.
” Punchau, u day”. A name for the Sun.
1 ” Teacher of the World.” 2 Thunder and lightning.

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

17

multiply, and their food, and let all other things continue
to increase.”
These sayings were addressed to the Creator, and to the
Sun they prayed that he might always be young, and con-
tinue to give light and splendour. They did not know the
Sun as their Creator, but as created by the Creator. To
the thunder and lightning they prayed that it might rain,
in order that they might have food. They also knew that
the rain came with thunder and lightning, by command of
the Creator.
Then, in the morning, they sent a sheep to Huanacauri,
which is their principal huaca, where it was killed and
burnt by the tarpuntaes,3 who were those that had the duty
of supplying food to the huacas. While the sacrifice was
burning, at the rising of the Sun, many Yncas and Caciques
came, and, pulling the wool off the sacrifice before it was
consumed, walked round it with the wool in their hands,
crying out and saying :—
” 0 Creator, O Sun, and 0 Thunder, be for ever young,
multiply the people, and let them always be at peace.”
At noon, in the same order, they burnt another in the
court of the Coricancha or house of the Sun, which is now
the cloister of the Friars of the Lord St. Domingo : and in
the evening they took another to the hill called Achpiran,
because there the Suu sets, which they sacrificed with the
same ceremonies. They also offered up to the same huacas,
certain cestos* of coca, called paucar-runcu, and others called
paucar-quintu like coca, and some toasted maize, and red
and yellow sea shells called mullu, in the shape of maize.
In addition to these ceremonies, on every other day of this
month, they went to burn sheep and the other offerings at
the following places: on a hill called Succanca, on another
called Omoto-yanacauri, on another called Ccapac-itilca, which
3 Priests. The word does not occur in Garcilasso de la Vega. Tar-
pun i is the verb ” to sow”. 4 Baskets.

18

AN ACCOUNT OP THE

is three leagues from Huanacauri, and on others called
Queros-huanacauri, Rontoca which is in the Quehuares,5
Gollapata in Pumacancha, fourteen leagues from the city, on
a plain called Yana-yana, on another hill called Guti in the
puna of Pumacancha, and continuing along the same road
they came on the next day to Vilcañota, which is twenty-six
leagues from Cuzco. The reason for taking this direction
in this month is because they say that the Sun was born in
that part,6 and thus they went on that road, performing
the sacrifices. On a plain near Eurucache they made the
same offering, as” well as on another hill called Suntu, near
to Sihuana in Cacha, in another hill called Gacha-JJiracocha,
in another called Yacalla-huaca, and in another called
Rurama, on the plain of Quiquijana.7 The same was done
in Mullipampa, in TJrcos, on a hill called TJrcos TJiracocha,
on a plain called Anta-huaylla,8 on another plain near Anta-
huayla, called Rati, on another called Acahuara, on a hill in
Quispicancha, and on another called Sulcanca. The Tar-
puntaes went by one road and came back by another. The
Ynca, with all his lords, went to Mantucalla, and there
remained to drink and enjoy himself in revelry and taquis.9
They called this taqui Huallina,1 and it was a dance with
singing, which was performed four times in the day. The
Yncas alone celebrated this feast; and the mama-cunas,
women of the Sun, gave drink to those who performed it;
their own wives did not enter the place where the Yncas
were, but remained outside in a court. All the vases and
utensils from which they ate and drank, and with which
they cooked the food weie of gold. Thus they performed the
5 A tribe south of Cuzco.
6 On leaving Cuzco, this road is nearly east.
7 All these places are in the vale of Vilca-mayu, up which the road
passes from Cuzco to lake Titicaca.
8 Not Andahuaylas, but a village near Cuzco, now called Andahuay-
lillas. 9 Music.
1 More correctly Huayllina, a song.

FABLES AND RTTES OF THE YNCAS.

19

taqui called Huayllina, and in it they worshipped the Creator.
At this festival they brought out the two female figures
called Pallasillu and Ynca uillu, covered with very rich
clothes and small plates of gold, called llancapata, colcapata
and paucaruncu. In front they bore the suntur-paucar and
certain great figures of the size of sheep, two of gold and
two of silver, with cloths placed over the loins in the fashion
of horse cloths. They were carried on litters, and this was
done in memory of the sheep which, they say, came forth
from the tambo with them. The Indians who carried them
were principal lords, dressed in very rich clothes, and they
call the figures of gold and silver sheep corinapa collque-
napa? The Ynca remained at Mantucalla until the end of
the month, and when that time arrived he went to the square
in front of the church of Cuzco, called uacay-pata, the path
by which he came being strewn with plumes of bird’s
feathers of all colours. There he drank during the remainder
of the day, and at night he went to his house. Thus this
month was ended.
JUNE.
The month of June was called Ganay, and by another
name Chahuarhuay. The people were entirely occupied in
irrigating their fields, and in arranging the distribution of
water from the channels.
JULY/
They called the month of July Moronpassa tarpuiquilla,3
and in it they celebrated the festivals called yahuayra, when
they besought the Creator to grant them a full harvest in
that year, for this was the month for sowing the seeds.
The following ceremonies were then performed.
The Tarpuntaes, who are a sort of priests, were careful
2 Ccuri, gold; Collque, silver ; Napa, salutation.
3 Tarpuy-quilla, the sowing month.

20

AN ACCOUNT OF THE

to fast from the time the maize was sown until it was a
finger’s length out of the ground. Their wives and children
also fasted, eating nothing during that time but boiled
maize and herbs. They drank no chicha, but only muddy
stuff called concho, and they chewed no coca. In this
season they carried a little row of maize in their chuspas,
which they put in their mouths. All the common people
celebrated a feast called yahuayra, from the name of the
song they chaunted in which they besought the Creator to
grant them a prosperous year. They sang it dressed in
red shirts reaching to the feet, and no mantles. Then they
came out to sing and dance in the place now called by the
Spaniards Limapampa,4 which is beyond the square of San
Domingo. Here the Priests of the Creator sacrificed a white
sheep, maize, coca, plumes of coloured feathers, and sea shells
.called mullu, in the morning; beseeching the Creator to
grant a prosperous year, and that, as He had made all things
out of nothing and given them being, so he would be pleased
to comply with their prayer. The Priests of the Sun,
called Tarpuntaes, and the Priests of the Thunder also
offered up sacrifices, praying the Sun to give warmth that
so their food might be produced, and the Thunder, called
Ghuqui Yllapa, to send its waters to assist in the production,
and not to bring down hail. As soon as the sacrifices were
completed, the labourers went to their work, and the nobles
/ to the house of the lord Ynca, until the month, which in
their language was called quispe,5 was ended.
AUGUST. . ‘
The month of August was called Goya-raymi; and in it
“they celebrated the Situa. In order to perform the cere-
monies of this festival, they brought the figures of their
huacas from all parts of the land, from-Quito to Chile, and
placed them in the houses they had in Cuzco, for the pur-
4 Rimac-parapa.— G. de la Vega, ii, p. 239. *• Quespi, crystal.

FABLES AND RITES OF THE YNCAS.

21

pose which we shall presently explain. The reason for
celebrating the feast called Situa, in this month, was,
because the rains commenced, and with the first rains there
was generally much sickness. They besought the Creator
that, during the year, he would be pleased to shield them
from sickness, as well in Cuzco, as throughout the territory
conquered by the Yncas. On the day of the conjunction of
the moon, at noon the Ynca, with all the chiefs of his coun-
cil, and the other principal lords who were in Cuzco, went
to the Ccuricancha, which is the house and temple of the
Sun, where they agreed together on the way in which the
festival should be celebrated; for in one year they added,
and in another they reduced the number of ceremonies,
according to circumstances.
All things having been arranged, the High Priest
addressed the assembly, and said that the ceremonies of the
Situa should be performed, that the Creator might drive