4000003870

BooK

IV.

Royal

Commentariei'.

...Children in

th~ir

minority. At the Ceremonies ofMatrimony the

I nca

fiood be–

tween the1wo Perfons and calling his Eyes upon them both, he called the

Man

by his Name, and then' the W ornan, and

t~king

their hands

il!to

his, joined them

together, whidi being the bond of

~atr.1mony,

the Funchon was performed;

and being by the

Inca

conGgned to their

Par~nts,

they went home to the Houfe. of

the Bridegroom's Father, where the Weddmg was kept

_for

four or

days

w~rh

great rejoycing: This was the manner and form of their legal Marriages, wluch

for the great Favour and Honour the

Inca

had perfor£!led in

~his J?anc~ion;

were

called in their Language, the.

Jncan

Couple.

The Kmg having m

this

manner

matched- thofe of hi own Lineage, then the next day follo\Y ing the Officer

for

this Employment joined the

~eighbourhood

_of

~he

City! wi,ch refpec to char.Di–

vilion, which we have mentioned at the begmnmg of chis Hrltory, of the Upper

.-and

the

La~

Couo.

The Houfes which were appointed for the Habitation

the

new

married

Couples, who were

Inc.u,

(concerning whom we treat

prefenr) were prepared

by the

Indi4ns

of tho[e Provinces, wnofe charge

was, according to fuch provi–

fion

was made

that cafe. All the Furnirnre and

tenfil of die Houles were

provided at the charge of the Pa.rents; every one of their Kindred

giving

them

fomething toward Houfe-keeping, which was all the Cet·emony or Sacrifice per–

formed

that Solemnity; and diough many

Spanifh

Hill:orians report divers other ·

barbarous Cuil:oms in ufe at Marriages, it · for want of a dill:inCl: knowledge of

the

Rites

of one Province from another; for in thofe Provinces indeed which

were remote from

Couo,

and where the Seigniority and Rule of the

IncM

had not

yet

arrived, there

may

have been many abfurd and impious Ceremonies

ufe

which ftnce have been correCl:ed, and abolHhed by the more wife and refined Go:

vernment of the

l11cas.

But

to the true Politicks of the

lncM,

they obferved no ocher

ltrm

,gf

Marri–

age than this before recited, according to which the

CuractU

in their Provinces,

and the Governours in their refpeltive Divifions conformed their difcipline and

Fathers and Lords of their Countrey, pratlifed

the fame manner

did

the

I~a.

And

though the

Inca,

who was Go ernour,

\~as

prefent at the

Mar–

riages which the

Curaca

folemnized; yet it was not to interpofe, or diminifh

the

Authority of the

Curaca

therein~

but onely

approve that in the name

rhe

~ing

which the

Curaca

had performed by virtue of the power he e ercifed over

his

~wn

Vaffals. . '\i\Then the

~ommonal~y,

or ordinary

fort

manied, the Com–

munity of the

~eople

were obliged

build, and provide them Houfe , and rhe

P~rems

to furn1fh them.

was

not lawfull for any to marry out of

his

mYn Pro–

vm~e,

or Pe?ple; but,

t~e

Tribes of

I(rael,

they

,x;

ere obliged

march within

therr own Lmeage and Naaon; and excepting onely

ifiers

they joined promif–

cuoufly rogether, like Sheep of the fame flock;

that the People of

Pro in

were not

al~ed

onely by

ation, but by Kindred. and Bl_oud. By which it ap–

pears,

th~c ~

t was

i:ot

l~~full

for

any to ch

ange lus

Councrey or Habitation, or

pa[s the

hm1~

s.of

his

J?iv1Gon,

Decurion,

but.to

keep himfelf

ofe to his Peo–

ple and

F~m

1hes;

for

regard

th~

A!femblies

w rth

in tne Community

ere obli–

ged

bmld

t~e

Houfes of

the

new married,

was their

nwn

duty to conferve

them

Reparr, and not to wander without the Barrier, and

on.fines of rheir

Parentage.

AP.

107