How the brothers, being in Tampu Quiru, beheld him whom they had shut up in the cave by deceit, come forth with wings; and how he told them that he went to found the great city of Cuzco; and how they departed from Tampu Quiru.

PROCEEDING with the narrative that I took down in Cuzco, the Orejones say that, after the two Incas had settled in Tampu Quiru, careless now about seeing Ayar Cachi again, they beheld him coming in the air with great wings of coloured feathers, and they, by reason of the great fear that this visit caused them, wanted to flee away; but he quickly removed their terror by saying to them, “Do not fear, neither be afflicted; for I only come that the empire of the Incas may begin to be known. Wherefore leave this settlement that you have made, and advance further down until you see a valley, and there found the Cuzco, which will be of great note. For here are only hamlets, and of little importance; but that will be a great city, where the sumptuous temple must be built that will be so honoured and frequented, and where the sun will be so worshipped. I shall always have to pray to God for you, and to intercede that you may soon become great lords. I shall remain in the form and fashion that you will see on a hill not distant from here; and will be for you and your descendants a place of sanctity and worship, and its name shall be Guanacaure. And in return for the good things that you will have received from me, I pray that you will always adore me as God, and set up altars in that place, at which to offer sacrifices. If you do this, you shall receive help from me in war; and as a sign that from henceforward you are to be esteemed, honoured, and feared, your ears shall be bored in the manner that you now behold in mine.” And when he had so spoken they say that he appeared with ear ornaments of gold set round as with a gem.

The brothers, astonished at what they saw, were as men struck dumb and without speech. When their perturbation had ceased, they replied that they were content to do as he commanded, and presently they went in haste to the hill called the Hill of Guanacaure, which, from that time forward, was accounted sacred. In the highest part of it, they again saw Ayar Cachi, who, without doubt, must have been some devil, if there is any truth in what they relate; and, God permitting, he made them understand his desire that they should worship and sacrifice to him under these false appearances. They say that he again spoke to them, telling them to assume the fringe or crown of empire, such of them as were to be sovereign lords, and how they should order the arming of youths to make them knights and nobles. The brothers answered that they would comply with all his commands, as they had already promised, and in sign of obedience, with hands joined and heads bowed down, they made the mocha[78] or reverence, that he might the better understand them. The Orejones further say that the practice of assuming the fringe and of arming the knights began here, so I put it in this place, that there may be no necessity for repeating it further on.

This may be received as pleasant and very certain history, for Manco Inca assumed the fringe or sovereign crown in Cuzco, and many Spaniards are still living who were present at the ceremony, and I have heard it from them. It is true that the Indians say that the ceremony was more solemn and magnificent in former times, and was performed with such sumptuous riches as could not be enumerated.

It would seem that these lords arranged the ceremony for assuming the fringe or crown, and they say that Ayar Cachi dressed in the same manner, on this same hill of Guanacaure. He who was to become Inca was dressed, on one day, in a black shirt painted with red patterns and no collar, and on his head a fawn-coloured plait twisted round. And he wore a long grey mantle, in which dress he came forth from his lodging and went into the fields to gather a wisp of straw, and he had to stay out all day doing this, without eating or drinking, for it was his duty to fast. And the mother and sisters of the former Inca had to remain spinning with such diligence that, during that one day, they had to spin and weave four dresses, fasting all the time. One of these dresses consisted of a grey shirt and white mantle, and another had to be all white, and the other had to be blue, with cords and trimmings. He who was to become Inca had to wear these dresses, and to fast for the appointed time, which is one month, and they call this fast zaziy.[79] It is kept in a lodging of the royal palace, without seeing light or having connection with a woman. During this time of fasting the ladies of his lineage have to work very hard to make a great quantity of chicha with their own hands, making it from maize, and they must be richly dressed. After the time of fasting is passed, he who was to be lord came forth, carrying a halberd of gold and silver in his hands, and he proceeded to the house of some venerable relative, where his hair had to be shorn. Then, clothed in one of these dresses, he left Cuzco, where this festival was held, and went to the hill of Guanacaure, and performed certain ceremonies and sacrifices. He then proceeded to where the wine was kept, and drank. The Inca then went to a hill called Anaquar, and from the foot of it he ran, that the people might see whether he was agile, and would be valiant in war. Presently he came down, carrying a little wool on the halberd, in token that when he fought with his enemies, he would bring away their hair and the heads with it. This done, the Inca returned to the hill of Guanacaure. Here he and his courtiers gathered straw, and he who was to be Inca had a very large bundle of it, made of very fine gold of equal lengths. With this he went to another hill called Yahuira, and there he put on another of the dresses, and on his head a plait or llautu called pillaca,[80] which is like a crown, underneath which were ear-ornaments of gold, and on the top a tuft of feathers sewn like a diadem, which they call puruchuco.[81] On the halberd they fastened a girdle of gold which reached to the ground, and on his breast was placed a moon of gold. In this dress, and before all who were present, he killed a sheep, the body and blood being divided among all the principal people, to be eaten raw. The signification of the ceremony was that if they were not valiant their enemies would eat them, as they were eating the sheep that had been killed.

At this place they took a solemn vow, according to their usage, in the name of the Sun, that they would maintain the order of knighthood, and would die in defence of Cuzco, if it should be necessary. Next their ears were opened, and the apertures were so large that they could hold a geme each one in circumference. This done, they put on the heads of fierce lions, and returned to the square of Cuzco with great noise. In the square there was a great chain of gold going all round, and supported on prongs of gold and silver. Here they danced, and there were marvellous great festivities, according to their fashion. Those who had been made knights had on the heads of lions, as a sign that they would be valiant and fierce. At the end of the dancing the knights remained armed, and were called Orejones. They had privileges and enjoyed great dignities, and are worthy, if selected, to assume the crown, which is the fringe.

When this was given to the lord who was to be sovereign, greater festivities were held, a vast concourse of people assembled, and he who is about to be Emperor must first take his own sister for his wife, that no base lineage may succeed. He also performed the great zaziy, which is the fast. And during the intervals that these ceremonies occupied, the lord being engaged in the business of sacrifices and fasting, he could not attend to private or public concerns. It was, therefore, a law among the Incas that, when the sovereign died, or handed over the crown or fringe to another, one of the principal nobles was selected, who, with mature counsel and great authority, might govern the whole empire of the Incas, as if he were the lord himself, during these days, and he was allowed to have a guard and to be addressed with reverence.

These ceremonies being completed, and the blessings having been given in the temple of Curicancha, the Inca received the fringe, which was large and descended from the llautu that he had on his head, so as to fall over his eyes, and he was then held and reverenced as the sovereign.

At the festivals were present the principal lords for more than five leagues round, and there appeared in Cuzco very great store of gold and silver and precious stones, and rich plumes, all round the long chain of gold, and the marvellous figure of the Sun. This chain was of such size that it weighed, according to what the Indians assert for a certainty, more than four thousand hundred weights of gold. If the Sovereign did not receive the fringe in Cuzco, they looked upon it as an absurdity that he should be called Inca, for his possession was not assured. Thus Atahuallpa is not counted among the kings, although, owing to his great valour and to his having killed so many people, he was obeyed by many nations from fear.

Returning to those who were on the hill of Guanacaure, after Ayar Cacha had spoken of the order that was to be taken for the arming of knights, the Indians relate that turning to his brother Ayar Manco, he told him to go on with the two women to the valley he had pointed out, and to found there the Cuzco, without forgetting to come and perform sacrifices in that place, as he had commanded. And as soon as he had done speaking, both he and the other brother were turned into two figures of stone in the shape of men. This was seen by Ayar Manco, who, taking the women with him, went to the place where Cuzco now stands and founded a city, naming himself from that time forward Manco Capac,[82] which means the rich King and Lord.