When The Spaniards Broke Up These
Sepulchres On Purpose To Take Possession Of Their Buried Treasures, The
Peruvians Requested Of Them Not To Disturb The Bones Of The Dead, That
They Might Not Be Hindered In Their Resurrection.
In the burial ceremony,
the relations of the deceased used to pour some of the liquor formerly
mentioned, named _Chica_, into the grave, of which a portion was conveyed
by some hollow canes into the mouth of the dead person.
On the top of the
tomb or sepulchre, wooden images were placed, representing the appearance
of the deceased; but on the graves of the lower orders, they satisfied
themselves by some painted emblems of their profession or employment, more
especially if they happened to be warriors.
In all the provinces of Peru there were certain nobles or principal
persons, of whom the chiefs or rulers were named _curacas_, similar in
every respect to the caciques of the islands. As the Spaniards who
conquered Peru had been accustomed to name many things according to the
language of Hispaniola and Cuba, and were at first ignorant of the
Peruvian language, they continued to employ the terms to which they had
been accustomed; and the Peruvians have so far accommodated themselves to
this language, especially in speaking to the Spaniards, that they mostly
use these terms. Thus they call those chiefs _caciques_, who in their own
language are named _curacas_, their bread corn and drink, which in the
Peruvian are _zara_ and _azua_, they denominate _maize_ and _chica_, which
names were brought from the islands by the Spaniards. These curacas or
caciques were the judges and protectors of their subjects in peace, and
their leaders in war against the neighbouring tribes. The whole people of
Peru lived in that manner for many years under a multiplicity of
independent chiefs, having no king or supreme chief; until at length a
warlike nation came from the environs of the great lake Titicaca named the
Incas in the language of Peru. These men had their heads close shaven, and
their ears pierced, in which they wore large round pendents of gold, by
which their ears were dragged down upon their shoulders, in consequence of
which they were called _ringrim_, or the large ears. Their chief was
called _Zapalla Inca_[30], or the only king; though others say that he was
named _Inca Vira cocha_, or the king from the scum of the lake, because
the astonished natives, not knowing the origin of their invaders, believed
that they had started into existence from the scum or mud of the great
lake. This great lake of Titicaca is about eighty leagues in circumference,
from which a large river runs to the southwards, which in some places is
half a league in breadth, and which discharges its waters into a small
lake about forty leagues from the great lake, which has no outlet. This
circumstance gives great astonishment to many, who are unable to
comprehend how so vast a body of water should disappear in so small a
reservoir.
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