4000003870

Royal

Commentaries.

BooK

VIIL

CH A P.

Of MayZJ

Rice, and other Seeds.

HE Fruits of

Pent,

by which tpe

Indians

were full:ained before the commg

in of the

Spaniards,

were of divers forts, fame being produced above, and

others under grou d. Of the Fruits which grow above ground, the chief and

principal

that Grane which the eople of

Mexico

and

Barluventa

call Mayz., and

rhofe of

Peru, Cara,

being the onely Bread they ufe: And this is of two

forts;

one

hard, which they call

Muruchu

;

and the other tender and fine, called

Ca–

pia :

they eat it for Bread, either baked or parched over the fire,. or boiled in

water

the hard Mayz is that which they have brought to !how

pain,

but

not the fine and tender fort.

Some parts produce much finer, and tenderer than

others, particularly the Countrey of

Rucana.

At their folemn Sacrifices, as

have faid, they ufed Bread made of Mayz, which they called

Cancu;

and at other

times, on occafion of a eaft or treatment which they gave, they made that

fore

of Bread which was called

Huminta;

the' hich fort of Bread had little diffe–

rence in chemielves, being onely difiinguifhed by their

u[e,

fome being made for

facrifice, and others for common .full:enance: Their Corn was Ground by the

Women on a broad Stone, on which they call: the Grifr, and on the top thereof

they laid another Stone

the fafhion of a

alf Moon, not round, but with a

point of three fingers broad at each corner. At the corners of the Stone, made

Half Moon wife, they laid their hands, rubbing and preffmg

hard on the

Mayz,

untill

was broken . This difficulty and trouble they had

Grinding their

Mayz, and all other Grane ; for

hich reafon they did not commonly eat Bread.

. They did never beat their Corn in Mortars, though they had learned the way of

it; becaufe

required more labour :of the Arme, than the Grinding with a

cone, the weight of which made the work more eafie : And then the good

Houfewife having ground awhile, with one hand lifts up the upper Stone, and

, with the other weeps up the Com, gathering

into the midfi: of the Qyern,

hich for the likenefs of

we may call a Fulling-Mill, becaufe of the {hokes

· which they gave -0n

with their hands. They made alfo a kind of a

Hafiy-

udding, called

Api,

which wa a great Difh amongfl: them, and which they eat

'·ith much delight; but this

'''a

ell:eemed high feeding, and not common at

e ery meal. The Flour they divided from the Bran,

this manner, they laid all

upon a clean cloth made of Cotton, and then fpread

with their hands all over

the

otton- cloth ; the finefr part of the

lour would fiick to the Cotton, but

rhe mo e grol.S parts of the Bran would remain loofe from

it,

and

they

ealily

to k

up and divided it with their hands ; then they· [wept up the Flour which

uck to the cloth into the middle; and havin

taken that away, they brought

more., umill they had cerned and fifted all their Grifr ; but they chiefly took this

p ins for the fake of the

paniard.r,

and not of the

Indians,

who were not

cu–

nou

in their diet but that che courfe!l: fort of this Bran would go down with

them ; for tbe Bran of Mayz is not

har(h or choaky, as much to offend the

alate. This

as their manner of

iding the Bran from the Flour, for as yet

he ure of

ieve wa not· brought from

pain,

by reafon that their Bread wa all

made of chi Mayz, and not of

heat ;

which I can ce{Hfie to have feen

ith my o n eyes having been nouri1l1ed for nme or ten year with no other

:Rread than that of

Cara,

which

Mayz; the which is of three forts;

Cancu

fer

acrifice ,

Huminta

for their eafi: , and great Entertainments

Tanta,

with

a(pirarion on the top of the.mouth

common Bread.

Cara,

when

parched,

they call

Cameha,

which being pronounced \ ith an

Cfllncha

fignifies

a Street,

eighbourbood.

The boiled

Cara

they called

Muti

(

and the

Spaniards

1ote)

hicb is boiled

ayz, hav·ng two

ames for the fame thing. Of the

Flour