Of the provinces of Canas, and of Ayavire.

AFTER leaving the province of Canches, that of Canas[481] is entered, which is the name of another tribe, and the names of the villages are Hatuncana, Chiquana, Horuro, Cacha, and others which I shall not enumerate.[482] These Indians all wear clothes, both men and women, and they have large, round, high woollen caps on their heads. Before they were subjugated by the Yncas, they had their villages in the mountain fastnesses, whence they came forth to make war; afterwards they descended into the valley. Their customs with regard to burials are the same as those of the Canches. In the province of these Canas there was a temple which they called Ancocahua, where they performed sacrifices, in their blindness; and in the village of Cacha there were great edifices, built by order of Tupac Ynca Yupanqui. On the other side of the river there is a small enclosure, within which they found some gold. This temple was built in memory of their god Huira-ccocha, whom they call the Creator. Within it there was a stone idol the height of a man, with a robe, and a crown or tiara on the head. Some said that this might be the statue of some apostle who arrived in this land.[483] In the second part of this work I shall treat of what I believe, and of what I was able to collect respecting the report that fire came down from heaven, and converted many stones into cinders. Throughout this province of Canas the climate is cold, as well as in Canches, but the country is well supplied with provisions and flocks. To the west is the South Sea, and to the east the forests of the Andes. From the village of Chiquana, in this province of Canas, to Ayavire the distance is fifteen leagues, within which limits there are some villages of the Canas, many plains, and great meadows well suited for flocks, if it were not so cold. Now the great quantity of herbage is only useful for guanacos and vicuÑas.

In ancient times it was a grand thing to see this town of Ayavire, and the place is still worthy of note, especially the great tombs, which are so numerous that they occupy more space than the habitations of the living. The Indians positively assert that the natives of this town of Ayavire are of the same descent and lineage as those of Canas; and that the Ynca Yupanqui waged wars and fought battles with them, in which they suffered so severely that they submitted to his service, to save themselves from entire destruction. But as some of the Yncas were vindictive, after the Ynca had killed a great number of the Indians of Copacopa and other villages in the forests of the Andes, whom he had got into his power by deceit, he did the same to the natives of Ayavire, in such sort that few or none were left alive. It is notorious that those who escaped wandered in the fields for a long time, calling on their dead, and mourning with groans and great sorrow over the destruction that had come upon their people. As Ayavire is a large district, through which a good river flows, the Ynca Yupanqui ordered that a great palace should be built here, which was accordingly done, together with many buildings where the tribute was stored up. A temple of the sun was also built, as one of the most important things. The Ynca then ordered that Indians (who are called Mitimaes) should come here with their wives, for there were few natives left, and the Mitimaes became lords of the soil, and heirs to the dead natives, and they were directed to form a large town near the temple of the sun and the principal edifices. The town went on increasing until the Spaniards arrived in this kingdom, but since that time, what with the civil wars and other calamities, it has greatly decreased, like all the others.

I entered it at the time when it was held in encomienda by Juan de Pancorbo, a citizen of Cuzco; and I learnt these particulars, which I have written down, from the best information within my reach. Near this town there is a ruined temple, where once they offered up sacrifices. And the multitude of tombs which appear all round this town is held to be a notable sight.