Which treats of what there is to be said concerning the other Indian villages as far as the buildings of Tumebamba.

THESE buildings of Riobamba, as I have already said, are in the province of the Puruaes, which is one of the best and most populous within the jurisdiction of the city of Quito. The men go dressed, as well as the women. They have the same customs as their neighbours, but are distinguished by the band round their heads. They all wear very long hair, and plait it in very small tails. The women do the same. They worship the sun, and those who are selected as most fit for such a business, converse with the devil. They have other rites and abuses, the same as those of the Yncas who conquered them. When a chief dies they dig a deep square tomb, into which they put the body, with the arms and other effects of the deceased. Some of these tombs are made within the houses of the inhabitants. They have the same customs as the other natives of these parts; that is to say, they bury the most beautiful of the women of the deceased with the body. I have been told by the Indians that this is done because some among them, who are looked upon as men of credit (God permitting that, for their sins and idolatries they may at times be deceived by the illusions of the devil), have seen, or thought they saw, those who had long been dead walking, adorned with the things that were buried with them, and accompanied by their wives who had been buried alive. Seeing this, they concluded that where the souls went, women and gold should also be sent, and so they do as I have described. The reason why the son of the sister inherits, and not the son of the brother, I will relate hereafter.

There are many villages in this province of the Puruaes, which I shall not further allude to, in order to avoid prolixity. To the east of Riobamba there are other villages in the forests near the sources of the river MaraÑon, and the mountain called Tinguragua, round which there are also many villages. The inhabitants have the same customs as all the others, they wear clothing, and their houses are built of stone. They were conquered by the Kings Yncas, and their captains speak the general language of Cuzco, although they have their own tongue as well. To the westward there is a snowy region thinly inhabited, called Urcolaso. Near this land a road leads to the city of Santiago, which is called Guayaquil.

Leaving Riobamba, some other buildings are reached, called Cayambe. All this country is bare and very cold. Beyond Cayambe are the tampus, or lodgings of Teocaxas, situated on a large and bitterly cold plain, where the Indian natives fought the battle with the captain Sebastian de Belalcazar, which is called Teocaxas. Although it lasted all day, and was very obstinately contested, neither party obtained the victory.

Three leagues further on are the important buildings called Tiquisambi, which have the forests of Guayaquil on the right, and on the left Pomallata, Quizna, Macas, and other regions as far as the great river. The road then descends to the buildings of Chanchan, where, the country being warm, it is called by the natives Yunca, which means a warm land. There being no snow nor cold, the trees grow abundantly, besides other things which are not to be had in cold countries. For this reason all those who live in warm and genial countries are called Yuncas; they have this name now, and will never lose it while they exist, although ages should pass away. The distance between these buildings and the sumptuous royal edifices of Tumebamba is nearly twenty leagues, the whole intervening country being scattered over with depÔts and other buildings, at intervals of two or three or four leagues. Amongst these there are two principal stations, one called CaÑaribamba and the other HatuncaÑari,[288] whence the natives and their province took the name of CaÑaris, as they are now called. Right and left of the road there are numerous villages and provinces, which I shall not further mention, because the natives, having been conquered by the Kings Yncas, have the same customs as all the rest, speak the general language of Cuzco, and wear clothes, both men and women. In the order of their marriages, rules of inheritance, and custom of burying food, arms, and live women with their dead, they are also the same as their neighbours. They all believe the sun to be god, but that there was also a Creator of all things, whom, in the language of Cuzco, they call Huiracocha.[289] Although they now have this belief, they formerly worshipped trees, stones, and the moon, being prompted by the devil, our enemy, with whom some of them converse, and they obey him in many things. In our time, the wrath of God having been raised, the sacred evangel will be preached, and the light of faith spread abroad, so that they will abhor the devil. Already in many places where he was esteemed and venerated, he is now detested, and the temples of the accursed idols are destroyed, insomuch that there is no sign of an image, and many Indians have become Christians. There are now few villages in Peru without a friar or clergyman who teaches the people; and, in order that the Indians may more readily be made to understand their errors, and induced to embrace our holy religion, a grammar has been made, by which to speak their language, so that the priests and Indians may understand each other. The reverend father Don Domingo de Santo Tomas has laboured much in this work.[290]

All along the road there are rivers, some small others larger, and all with excellent water. Over some there are bridges to pass from one side to the other. In former times, before the Spaniards gained this kingdom, there were great quantities of sheep in these mountains of the kind peculiar to this country, and a still greater number of huanacos and vicuÑas. But the Spaniards have slaughtered so many, that now there are scarcely any left. No wolves nor other mischievous animals have been met with in these parts, except the tigers, which I mentioned in describing the forests of Buenaventura, and some small lions. In the wooded ravines there are also some snakes, and in all parts there are foxes of the country, and other wild creatures. Of partridges, pigeons, doves, and deer, there is abundance, and in the vicinity of Quito there are many rabbits. Dantas, or tapirs, are met with in the forests.