121 / 1060
/
J3ooK
IV.
Royal
Commentaries.
ment of the Temples of the Sun, which were very numerous, and _of the C loi–
fiers of thofe Virgins, which were
equall~
conGderable, and to. embelhfh the
~oyal
Palaces with agreeable pomp and
magm~cence;
the
qua~tity
_confu_med m the
Services of
Curacas
and great Men was little, and that
chiefly
m
their Cups,
or
drinking
Veffels,
~hich
was
alfo
limited and moderated according
to
fuch a de–
gree of Weight and Number
as
the
!~ca
was pleafed to allo:v them ;
the~e
was
alfo
fome finall matter licenfed
for
their Garments and Cloathmg,
when
the grand
Fellivals were celebrated.
It
is a great
errour
and mifl:ake of thofe who report, that any of thefe fepa rated
Virgins might bwfully be given.
for
Wives
to
the great
_Commander~
and Cap–
.tains by any favour or difpenfauon of the
In~a
;
for
being once ded1q1ted and
1
conCecrated for Wives of the
Inca,
and admitted
to
that profeffion, they were
ever after rendred uncapable of fo low
a
condefcenGon as to own any other Hus–
band;
for
that were
to
prophane that Sacred Charaeter whereby they \Vere de–
dicated
to
the
Inca,
and an injury to the Woman, who thereby would be forced
to renounce
all the
grandeur and privileges fhe enjoyed, under the
Rever~nd
Title
of
one Married to the
Inca,
that ilie might receive the lefs honourable condition
of a
private perfon. And fince
it
was
a
fundamental Law amongfi them,
Thdt
none
wa1
to be
injured,
much lefs ought any diminution to be offered to their Kings,
who,
as
we have
faid,
were honoured and adored by them under the Notion
of GQds.
.
.·
CH A .
P.
What
·Woni~n
thofe were
whom the
Inca
prefeizted
and be:.
.
flowe~
in Marriage-.
105
T
HE truth
is,
there were fome Women, of whom the
ir1ta
made Prefents
/
to
fuch
Curacas
and Captains, who
by
their Services had merited rewarqs
from
him;
but
then
thefe were but the Daughters of other
Curaca; ,
which
the
Inca
took from them to bellow inMarriage upon thofe who had deferved well
from
him,
which
feemed
a
favour to them both ; unto the one that the
Inca
would
vouchfafe
to receive
a~d
prefer h_is Daughter; and to the other, that he
was
plea-
f~d
to bellow her on
brm
wit~
his own hand, being for that reafon efl:eemed pre-
t10us ; for not
fo
m~ch
the
gift,
as
the Donor being regarded, rendred the lealt
prefe!"lt.
fr_om
the
Incas
h~nd ~qual
to
the
highefl
treafure,
as
if
it had fomething
of Divm1ty conferred with
it.
Sometimes, though
bur:
feldom, the
lnctU
pre–
ferred their
n~tural
Paugh.ters of
the
Royal Bloud to the
Curacas,
and Gover-
nours of
Proymc~
for _Wives,
~
fignals of
his
favour, and as engagements
to
them to contmue m their Loyalty ; of which fort the
Inca
having many to bell:ow
~broad,
had
no necefficy to have recourfe to thofe for
a
(upply, who were entred
m
the.Sacred and Royal
Fm~ndations
; for
that
would have been
a
diminution
t<?
their
exa.lted Degree, a violation
to
their
Religion, and
an impiety
to
mix di- , ·
vme race
with
prophane
Bloud.
CH AP.