245 / 1060
BooK
¥·:&
Royal
Com-mentaries.
·
,2 2
9
Probation
~eing paft~
they
~~~e declare~
w0rch}l
of
being
digoified hy
tht!
Inca.
'
and
to
be
entimed
true and legitnnate Childre_n
of
the
Sun.
l'lfen came
th~ Ma~
thers and Sifters 0f
thefe
young Men, bringing
them
V
fat
a.s
, on Sandals of
Pack-
thr,ead which nhey
puc
on their
Feet,
in teftimony
that
tney
had paired
and
o~er
...
cotl\e
~11
the
fev.ere
m¢chods
of
militarY
Exercifes.
I
CH AP.
'
I •
Th4,t the
Inca
conferred onely the
chief and'
princiP.alMark.
of
Dign.ity
;
and
that
o~e
of hi&
Kindred
~on.ferred
the
re
fl.
. THefe
Ceremonies being. performed,
not~ce
was
gi~en
th<ereof
U!JtO
the
Inca,
who being attended with the grave Seruours of
his
Royal Family, 1came to
the Novitiates, and in a fuort Oration, acquainted them, that they were not to·
refl: in the bare Formalities of Chivalry, and Marks of the Royal Bloud, onely to
fatisfie
th~
light humour with the vanity of empty Honour;
~ut
to
emulate the
V
ertues of their Ancefiours in their
J
ufiice to all,. and Mercy to the poor;. and
that being rhe true an'Ct undoubted Prog€ny of the Sun , they ought to imitate
their Fatlier:r iliining wkh the fplendour of good Works,
which
tended
co
the
common benefit of all his
Vafials,
which was the
f
qle Defign and Errant for ·
which they were made, and
fent
from .Heaven to inhabit the Earth. Then the
Novitiates came one by one to the King, and prefenting themfelves before him
Ql'l
their Knees,
they
received from his- hand the firft Mark and Signal of Royal
Dignity, which was
to
have their Ears b@rnd, and pierced by him
in
the
foft
_part
of the Ear) with a large Nail ofGold, leavi'ng it
in
the holes both for cure of·the
Wound, as alfo to widen the Orifice, and ftte'tch the Ear, being often extended
to
an incredible bignefs.
The Novitiates,
in
recompance for this favour, killed the Hand of the
Inca,
and
every
one in his turn having received the order, arqfe from his Knees from before
the other
Inca;
who was Brother, or Uncle, to the
Inca,
and the Perfbn next in
Autharity
to
him· who having loofed their
VfutM
of unfpun hemp, iliod them
· with Sandals of Woollen
M~~mtfaetory
7
©f
tbe
moil: gentile an
d fafhionable
fort,
after
the
manner of
th©
King, and the
lrtcM,
that in token of
Appr.ob~tion,
and
lnaving palled ©»a-minatios, were found and efl:eemed worthy. This
Cer~rnony
of puttipg on the Shoes, did fomething refemhle the practice of buckling the fpurs
(i)O
the heels of Knights of the mi1itary Or.der
ih
Spain;
which being done they
kiffed .them on the right Shoulder, faying ,
That Child
of
the.
Sun , who hath given
thefe
evidences of
hu
Merits, deferves
to
be
ki:ffed:
For the fame Word which with
them fignifies
Kiifes,
fignifies alfo Adoration, Honour and Courtefie. This
Ce–
re~ony be~ng
paft, the N ovitiate was introduced into a round Chamber, adorned
~1th
Hangmgs? where. the
anc~ent
I1}cM
vefied him with the Habit agreeable to
his
Order, which, unnll that tune, it was not lawfull to put on. This Vefiment
w~s
made with three corners , two of which hung down at length, to cover th€
nvy-parts, being_girt about.the Wall: with a Twill of the Thicknefs ofa finger;
e other part behmd was girt or laced abom the Thighs,
fo
that though all the
other Garments were !hipped off, yet
chis
habit would remain a fuffident and de...
cent covering for the Body.
·
.
~ut
the. chief .and principal Mark of this Order was the boring of the Ears ,
which, as
~t
was a Badge of Royalty,
[o
this of the Vefi:ment was of Chivalry :
the
C~remony
of the
~
oollen Shoes was a Novelty introduced , fignifying the
WearmeiS of the Novmate after his Labours, and were befiowed by
way
of re-
frelhment