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BooK
VI.
Royal Commentarier.
·•
CH AP.
XXIV.
In what
1nanner
the
Incas
tool{ their Deg1·ees of
Chivalry,
and what Exanzination they pa/fed.
T
His
word
I!u11racu
is
of the true
Peruv1an
Lan~ge,
and
fignifies
as
much
as
to arm a Cavalier; meaning no other thing tlian tho[e Badges of Honour
at\d Banners which they gave to the young Men of the
Roya~
Bloud, whereby
they received their
firft
admiffion _into theWar, and _were.capac1taced to take their
Degrees
and places ofDignity
5
without thefe atteftanons given to thefe young Men,
they could pretend
to
no Place, or Degree,
in
Civil or Martial Affairs; and
fart~er
to
capacitate them thereunto they were co be
Batchelo~rs,
or fingle Men,
accord~ng
to
the Books and Rules of Chivalry. Now to qualifie them farther to receive
thefe Honours, they were (as we !hall more amply difcourfe hereafter) to
pafs a
moft fevere and rigorous Novitiate,
which
was
a~
examination of
~11
the Toils,
Labours and Hardfhips incident to War, and which became
a
Souldier to under–
go
in
profperous or adverfe
Forti.me. F9r the better
underfia~ding
?f
which?
it
will
be nece!fary to recite
all the particulars performed
at thlS
Fefhval; which,
conGdering the barbarity of this People , is extraordinary ,
an~
admirable ,
an~
which might be owned by fuch
as
are expert, and far advanced
m
the Art of Mi–
litary Difcipline.
At
this
Fefiival the Common People demonfirated great Joy,
and the
Incas
both old ancf young received the Honours due co their Merit and
Comlition; the old Men were pleafed to have their valiant and noble alts reci–
ted, and young Men to be thought worthy of being admitted and enrolled
in
the
Lilts
of Chivafry; and becaufe the Honour or DHhonour of this Tefr, which
the Novices underwent
in
their Examination, was derived to all their Parentage,
and Kindred; the clear and handforne approbation which every one received, be–
-came the concernment of the whole Family of the
IncM,
though they were more
particularly interefied in the Reputation of fuch
wl10
were
of
the limpid
and
lawfull Bloud.
Every Year, or two, more or le!S, according as
it
was judged convenient, the
young
lnctU,
of fixteen Years and upwards, were admitted
to
this
military
p;·o–
bation; and no others, though Sons of the greateft Lords, and
C11ractU:
Their
Cull:ome was to educate them in a certain Houfe properly confriruted for thefe
military
Exercifes, built within the precinets of
Collcampata,
which I remember
once to have feen, when they celebrated fome part of thefe Ceremonies in
it,
but
fell
fo {hort of the greatnefs of the ancient Exercifes, that they may be ra–
ther called !hadows, or reprefencations, than real performances of them. The ·
Mafiers or Infirutters of the Novices
in
this Houfe were ancient
Incas,
who were
well experienced
in
the Arcs of War and Peace; and thefe were thofe who made
trial of them in tliefe following particulars; and in ochers which I have now for–
gotten: One of the trials they made of them, was, how they were able to en–
dure a faft of
fix
days, onely with fome few handfulls of
baked
Cara,
which is
a fore of their Wheat, and with no other Drink than a fmall Jarr ofWater, and
\~1thout
any thing elfe, either
Salt
or
Vchu,
which is the red
Spanijh
Pepper,
yiel~
dmg fuch a·pleaGng fore of rafl:e
to
them, that it made every thing
to
reliG1 and
for
th~t
reafon
it
was forbidden to the Novices in their failings.
'
TI:~
fevere Faft was ever enjoined to any above three d'1ys, but onely to the
Novltlates, who were to be proved to the ucmoft extremity, whether they were
able to fuffer Hunger, and Thirfi, in the Wars, in cafe any accident 01ould neceffi–
tate them
thereunto~
but then another Fafi, lefs rigorous than thr
the Fathers,
Brothers, and near Relations
to
the Novitiates impofed on
themfelv~
which they
bolemnly
ob~erved?
fupplicating their Fathet the Sun, that he would
~ouchfafe
to
efiow
01_1
his Children, ':"'ho were now Probationers, force and
!h~ngch
t0
un–
dergo tQel.r task, and acquit themfelves with honour; for fu'.:h as were not a
We
to
G
g
fufirun