The History of the Conquest of Peru

Gorgeous Temples. — Festivals. —

ctical consequences that might have been expected; and few of the American nations have shown much solicitude for the maintenance of a religious worship, or found in their faith a powerful spring of action. But, with progress in civilization, ideas more akin to those of civilized communities were gradually unfolded; a liberal provision was made, and a separate order instituted, for the services of religion, which were conducted with a minute and magnificent ceremonial, that challenged comparison, in some respects, with that of the most polished nations of Christendom. This was the case with t

exceedingly mean and puerile. Scarce one of their traditions — except the beautiful one respecting the founders of their royal dynasty — is worthy of note, or throws much light on their own antiquities, or the primitive history of

uced their descent, and that of the kindred tribes, in like manner, from seven persons who came from as many caves in Aztlan. (Conf. Acosta, lib. 6, cap. 19; lib. 7, cap. 2. — Ondegard

ed, the latter of which they fixed in the centre of the earth. The good they supposed were to pass a luxurious life of tranquillity and ease, which comprehended their highest notions of happiness. The wicked were to expiate their crimes by ages of wearisome labor. They

st. de las Ind., cap. 123. — Garcilasso,

little is said of their opinions as to the condition of these latter in a future life, while they are diffuse

th the deceased noble some of his apparel, his utensils, and, frequently, his treasures; and completed the gloomy ceremony by sacrificing his wives and favorite domestics, to bear him company and do him service in the happy regions beyond the clouds. 4 Vast mounds of an irregular, or, more frequently, oblong shape, penetrated by galleries running at right angles to each other, were raised over the dead, whose dried bodies or mummies have been

lications for embalming the body. The appearance of the royal mummies found at Cuzco, as reported both by

rdo, Rel

aved the life of more than one favorite domestic, who had fled to him for protection, as

he best authority in numerical estimates — says that treasures worth more than half a million of ducats had been found, within twenty years after the Conquest, in the tombs near Truxillo. (Oeuvres, ed. par Llorente, (Paris, 1

e Being, save one only in the valley which took its name from the deity himself, not far from the Spanish city of Lima. Even this temple had existed there before the country came under the sway of the Incas, and was the great resort o

and Viracocha combined. (See Balboa, Hist. du Perou, chap. 6. — Acosta, lib. 6, cap. 21.) An old Spaniard finds in the popular meaning of Vira

y Conq. Ms. — Sarmiento

of Pachacamac, attesting by their present appearance its ancient magnificence and stren

r the destinies of man; gave light and warmth to the nations, and life to the vegetable world; whom they reverenced as the father of their royal dynasty, the founder of their empire; and whose temples rose

y can be required on American antiquities. (Researches,

hough the fairest of them, Venus, known to the Peruvians by the name of Chasca, or the “youth with the long and curling locks,” was adored as the page of the Sun, whom he attends so closely in his rising and in his

ignation. (Hist. General, dec. 5, lib. 4, cap. 5.) These, and even rasher conclusions, (see Acosta, lib. 5, cap. 28,) are scouted by Garcilasso, as inventions of Indian converts, willing to please the imaginations of their Christian teachers. (Co

ed. It is contradicted, in a manner, by the admission of Garcilasso himself, that these several objects were all personified by the Indians as living beings, and had temples dedicated to them as such, with their effigies delineated in the same manner as was that of the Sun in his dwelling. Indeed, the effort of the historian to reduce the worship of the Incas to that of the Sun alone is not very

. 11 They adopted also a notion, not unlike that professed by some of the schools of ancient philosophy, that every thing on earth had its archetype or idea, its mother, as they emphatically styled it, which they held sacred, as, in some sort, its spiritual essence. 12 But their system, far from being limited even to these multiplied obje

rdo, Rel.

e, a tomb, any natural object remarkable for its size or shape, in short, a cloud of meanings, which by th

enia madre, i tenian le echo su vulto i sus adoratorios, i al fuego decian que tambien tenia madre i al mais i a las otras sementeras i a las ovejas iganado decian que tenian madre, i a la chocha que

arro, Descub

y en la casa del Sol le iban a hacer reverencia los que venian de su provincial para lo qual e sacrificios que se hacian proveian de su misma tierra ordinaria e muy abundantemente po

e were said to have proceeded. From this circumstance, this sanctuary was held in peculiar veneration. Every thing which belonged to it, even the broad fields of maize, which surrounded the temple, and formed part of its domain, imbibed a portion of its sanct

m. Real, Parte 1,

ilding and several chapels and inferior edifices, covering a large extent of ground in the heart of the city, and completely encompassed by a wall, which, with the edifices, was all constructed of stone. The work was of the kind already described in the other public buildings of the country,

tenian mezcla de tierra ni cal, sino con el betun que ellos suelen hacer sus edificios, y estan tan bien labradas estas piedras que no se les parece mezcla ni juntura ninguna. En toda Espana no he visto cosa que pueda comparar a estas paredes y

old of enormous dimensions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones. 16 It was so situated in front of the great eastern portal, that the rays of the morning sun fell directly upon it at its rising, lighting up the whole apartment with an effulgence that seemed more than natural, and which was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and ceiling were everywhere inc

ru, Ms — Cieza de Leon

brada muy primamente engastonada en muchas pie

e era lagrimas que el Sol llora

Ms., cap. 24. — Antig. y

de dentro en cada bohio o casa i aposento.” (Conq. i Pob. del Piru, Ms.) “Tenia una cinta de plancha

e, as well as all the decorations of the building, was of silver, as suited to the pale, silvery light of the beautiful planet. There were three other chapels, one of which was dedicated to the host of Stars, who formed the bright court of the Sister of the Sun; another was consecrated to his dread ministers of vengeance

rcilasso, Com. Real., Parte 1, lib. 3, cap

ifice, the pipes which conducted it through subterraneous channels into the buildings, the reservoirs that received it, even the agricultural implements used in the gardens of the temple, were all of the same rich materials. The gardens, like those described, belonging to the royal palaces, sparkled with flowers of g

e horones de plata blanca que dos hombres no abrazarian cada uno quadrados, i eran mas altos que una buena pi

nce, and so large that two men with outspread arms could barely encompass them! As this might, perhaps, embarra

asso, Com. Real., Parte 1, lib. 3, cap.

s bientos no se arrancaban. Sin todo esto tenian hechas mas de veinte obejas de oro con sus Corderos y los Pastores con sus ondas y cayados que las guardaban hecho de este metal; havia mucha cantidad de Tinajas de oro y de Plata y

s, that the glowing picture I have given is warranted by those who saw these buildings in their pride, or shortly after they had been despoiled by the cupidity of their countrymen. Many of the costly articles were buried by the natives, or thrown into the waters of the rivers and the lakes; but enough remained to attest the unprecedented opulence of these religious establishments. Such things as were in their nature portable were speedily removed, to gratify the craving of the Conquerors, who even tore away the solid cornices and frieze of gold from the great temple, filling the vacant places with the cheaper, but — since it affor

moirs, vol. II

spot, venerated not only as the abode of the Incas, but of all those deities who presided over the motley nations of the empire. It was the city beloved of the Sun; where his worship was maintained in its splendor; “where ever

ua y media de la redonda quatrocientos y tantos lugares, donde se hacian sacrifi

s, e ansi no habia en toda ella fuente ni paso ni pared que

e, that almost rivalled that of the metropolis. The attendants on these composed an army of themselves. The whole number of fun

i Pob. de

of Bilcas, on the route to Chili, amounted to 40,000! (Cronica, cap. 89.) Every thing relating to these Houses

he, in turn, appointed to all the subordinate stations of his own order. This order was very numerous. Those members of it who officiated in the House of the Sun, in Cuzco, were taken exclusively from the sacred race of the Incas. The ministers in the provincial temples were drawn from t

n, Ms., cap. 27. — Co

sso, from the estates of the Sun. At other times, they were to get their support from their own lands, which, if he is co

e priest in contact with the great body of the people, — as was the case in Mexico. The cause of this peculiarity may probably be traced to the existence of a superior order, like that of the Inca nobles, whose sanctity of birth so far transcended all human appointments, that they in a manner engrossed whatever there was

e its character, was no easy acquisition; for the ritual of the Incas involved a routine of observances, as complex and elaborate as ever distinguished that of any nation, whether pagan or Christian. Each month had its appropriate festival, or rather festivals. The four principal had reference to the Sun, and commemorated the great periods of his annual progress, the solstices and equinoxes. Perhaps the most

ne by the attendants over their heads, gave to the great square, and the streets that emptied into it, the appearance of being spread over with one vast and magnificent awning. Eagerly they watched the coming of their deity, and, no sooner did his first yellow rays strike the turrets and loftiest buildings of the capital, than a shout of gratulation broke forth from the assembled multitude, accompanied by songs of triumph, and the wild melody of barbaric instruments, that swelled louder and loud

l., Ms. — Sarmiento, R

festivals in Marmontel’s romance of Les Incas. The French author saw in their gorgeo

ere made to commence the sacrifice. This, with the Peruvians, consisted of animals, grain, flowers, and sweet-scented gums; sometimes of human beings, on which occasions a child or beautiful maiden was usually selected as the victim. But such sacrifices were rare, being reserved to celebrate some great public event, as a coronation, the birth of a royal heir, o

zado; ni ninguno, aunque fuese mui grand Senor, entrava en

. du Perou, chap. 5, 8, — Cieza de Leon, Cronica, cap. 72, — Ondegardo, Rel. Seg., Ms., — Acosta, lib. 5, cap. 19, — and I might add, I suspect, were I to pursue the inquiry, by nearly every ancient writer of authority; some of whom, having come into the country soon after the Conquest, while its primitive institutions were in vigor, are entitled to more deference in a matter of this kind than Garcilasso himself. It was natural that the descendant of the Inc

exhibited to read the lesson of the mysterious future. If the auguries were unpropitious, a second victim was slaughtered, in the hope of receiving some more comfort

ptimis auspiciis ea geri, quae pro reipubli

e, as a most rare, if not a solitary, instance of the kind among the nations of the New Wo

the course of the year, the event was regarded as a calamity that boded some strange disaster to the monarchy. 31 A burnt offering of the victims was then made on the altars of the deity. This sacrifice was but the prelude to the slaughter of a great number of llamas, part of the flocks of the Sun, which furnished a banquet not only for the Inca and his Court, but for the people, who made amends at these festivals for the frugal fare to which they were usually condemned. A fine bread or cake, kneaded of maize flour by the fair hands of the Virgins of the Sun, was als

averat ignem, Excub

Romans for kindling the sacred fire, as concave instruments of brass

29. — Garcilasso, Com. Real.

coincidences, which they considered as the contrivance of Satan, who thus endeavoured to delude his victims by counterfeiting the blessed rites of Christianity. 35 Others, in a different vein, imagined that they saw in such analogies the evidence, that some of the primitive teachers of the Gospel, perhaps an apostle himself, had paid a visit to these distant regions, and scattered over them the seeds of religious truth. 36

but also in certain ceremonies, our sacraments, which Jesus Christ our Lord instituted, and the holy Church uses, having especially prete

dec. 5, lib. 4, cap. 4. —

nfession, and in his idolatries sought to be honored with ceremoni

ous wood-cuts representing the Prince of Evil in bodily presence with the usual accompaniments of tail, claws, &c., as if to reenforce the homilies in his text! The Pe

quaries consider St. Thomas as having had charge of the mission to the people of Anahuac. These two apostles, then, would seem to have divided the New World, at least the civilized portions of it, between them. How the

uest of Mexico,” vol. III., Appendix, No. 1.; since the same usages in tha

hangings for the temples, and the apparel for the Inca and his household. 40 It was their duty, above all, to watch over the sacred fire obtained at the festival of Raymi. From the moment they entered the establishment, they were cut off from all connection with the world, even with their own family and friends. No one but the Inca, and the Coya or queen, might enter the consecrated precincts. The greatest attention was paid to their morals, and visitors were sent every year to inspect the institutions, and to report on the state of their discipline. 41 Woe to the unhappy maiden who was detected in an intrigue! By the stern law of the In

scogian. o por Linage, o por Hermosura.” Gar

rdo, Rel.

f of this compound word, as already noticed, meaning “mot

rro, Descub.

la Aud. R

, Hist. del Peru, Parte 2, lib. 3, cap. 11. — G

.” (Com. Real., Parte 1, lib. 4, cap. 3.) Other writers contend, on the contrary, that these Virgins had very little claim to the reputation of Vestals. (See Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y Conq., Ms. — Gomara, Hist. de las Ind., cap. 121.) Such imputations are common enough on the inhabitant

ded by great personal attractions, from the lower classes of the people. 43 The “Houses of the Virgins of the Sun” consisted of low ranges of stone buildings, covering a large extent of ground, surrounded by high walls, which excluded those within entirely from observation. Th

nq., Ms. — Garcilasso, Com. Re

4, cap. 5. — Cieza de

aglio. The full complement of this amounted in time not only to hundreds, but thousands, who all found accommodations in his different palaces throughout the country. When the monarch was disposed to lessen the number of his establishment, the concubine with whose society he was willing t

Com. Real., Parte 1, lib. 4, cap.4. — Mont

d taking the hands of the different couples who were to be united, he placed them within each other, declaring the parties man and wife. The same was done by the curacas towards all persons of their own or inferior degree in their several districts. This was the simple form of marriage in Peru. No one was allowed to select a wife beyond the community to which he belonged, which generally comprehended all his own kindred; 46 nor was any but the sovereign authorized to dispense with the law of nature — or at least, the usual law of nations — so far as to marry his own sister. 47 No marriage was esteemed valid without the consent of the parents; and the preference of the parties, it is said, was also to be consulted; though,

eage. But this narrow rule had a most liberal interpretation, since all of the same town, and even

at it might well be deemed to violate the law of nature, must not, however, be regarded as altogether

., Parte lib. 6, cap. 36. — Dec. de la Aud Real., M

al matters in which none but himself, or his family at most, might be supposed to be interested. No Peruvian was too low for the fostering vigilance of government. None was so high that he was not made to feel his dependence upon it in every act of his life. His very existence as an individual was absorbed in that of the