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R.oyal Commentariet.
BooK
V.
•
CH AP.
XXIX.
Of
the
Death
of
Viracocha ;
and
how
the Authour Jaw his
Body.
•
A
T
length
the
Inca Piracocha,
in
the I-Jeight of Majell:y,
and
Zenith
of
his
Profpericyb fubmitted to che common fate of Mankind ; he was gene–
rally
lamented, and bewailed by all the Empire, and adored afterwards as a Child
of the Sun,
to whom they offered Prayers and
acrifices.
He
left
to
Pachacutec
his Eldefl:
Son,
the Inheritance, befides
horn he had many legitimate Sons
and
Daughters of the Royal Bloud, \\ ith other
borr~
to
him
by
his
Conrubines: he
conquered and reduced Ele en Provinces, Sour of
n
hich
ere to the South of
Coub,
and feven to
ards
the
orth.
It
is
not certainly kno
n
co
hat age he
.,,.,,
lives, nor how long he reigned, though according to common report, he gover–
ned
above
.fifcy
Years;
and
fo
he feemed to me
co
have been an ancient
Man,
when
I
fa\
his Body at
Co.teo,
about the l;>eginning of the Year
i
570. \
hich
as the
ime \ hen
I'
as upon
my
departure for
Spain;
and then
I
remember, that going
to take
my
lea e of. the Go ernour , .or
hief
J
ullice of the City , called
P
aHL
Ondegardo,
a
a.tive of
Salttmanca;
amongfi other Favour which he did me,
he
as
plea[ed to lead me mto an in ard room, and there tell me, that before
I
de-
arted it would be convenient for me
co
ha e a fight o.f fome of my Relations,
that
fo
I might have anothq;
cory
to
tell of them
in
Spain;
with that l1e £hewed
· me
five Bodies of
InctU,
•
three of Men , and
n
o of Women ;. one of
which
the
Int/.ians
report to ·have been the Body of
Viracocha,
'
hich feemed
to
be
ve–
ry
aged,
~he
Hairs
of the Head being
as
hire as nm
:
The fecond they ay
' as the Great
Tupac Yupanqui,
who
as great Grandfon to
Viracocha:
The third
v
C1$
Huayna Capac,
the
on
of
Tupac Yupanqui ;
and Grandfon of the • ourth
Generation to
PiracochA;
the t o lafi were Men with gray Hairs, yet did
not
feem
fo
aged as
Voracocha.
ne of he
omen ' as !aid to
e the Body of
the Qg_een
Mama lumtn,
ife of
Viracocha;
the other of
Coya
Mama Occlo,
Mo-
ther o
Huayna Capac;
and
it
is
probable that
they
might
be
flusband and Wife,
confidering that the Bodies ' ere laid a_nd found
fo
clofe together; and what is
more firange, thefe Bodies were more entire
chan
the Mummies, wanting nei–
ther H air on
the
Head , nor ye-brows , and even the ery
ye-la01es
v
ere
vi–
fi
le.
They were clothed with
t
e fame fort of Garments which they wore
in their Life time; the
Lifl:
or
reach appeared about their
Heads,
which
was
all the Badg or
rnament they fhe ed of ilieir Royal
ignity.
he
R~fiure
they
were in
was
fitting,
after the manner of the
Iniums,
th
ir
H ands croffed on their
Breafl:s,
with
the right hand upon the left,
their
y
cafl: down 'ard looking
towards the Earth.
Acoffa
it fe ms had e n one of th Ce
odie , of \ hich dif–
courfing in the
21
fl:
hap.
of h. 6th ook, faith,
"
hat it
was
fo
well con–
" fer ed by a certain fort of bituminou matter,
with
\vhich they embalmed
it,
cc
that
it
feemed to be alive; the
yes were
fo
well counterfeited. by a mixture of
cc
Goid, that they feeme
lively and natural.
I
mufi:
confef5, that my
want
of
Curiofity did noc mo e me to make
fo
narrm: a
fc
tiny into this matter, a
I
fhould
l
ave done,
had I b
lie ed that
I
fhould
1
ave had o cafion
c0
\'rite
f
chem;
for
then
I
fhould not onely have
iewed and conftdered the Bo
ies
rhemfelves
more exaetly, but
alfo
have made nquiry of che Natives concernin
the
manner
and recei
t
of thi ' ay of embalming;
which
erhap they might rat
1
r
have ·
m-
arred to me, \ ho am
a
ative, and one of their Relation , than
co
che
Spa11i–
ttrd.1,
,v}10 are Strangers and Alien to them,
unlefs
erha s the
re and ecrec
i.
lofi amongfi
th
m, as many other things Jre, of the like narure.
For
my
part,
I
could not difcover any thing of this bituminou matter,
''hi h
Aco/J-a
fpeaks,
rhough certainly there mull have been
fo1
e exc
llenc
e
re,r, without
which
t
as
impoffible co
ha
e conferved Bodies,
'ith
their
lefh
fo
plump and
full
as