122 / 1070
Royal Commentaries.
'
Bo.nKIV.
with mwr fecHrity •; wldich be;ng
CIJTM
to the kpowteage of
Acabali_ba,
he a
ornpfAine'il
,thereJ
'
oJ
to the ,Goverhour,
faying,
That he was 7?1ore fenfible of that mufortune, th.dn hé w.as
of
'his imprifonme-11t; and that no mifery, thor:tgh accompanied with Death, could touch him
fo
near!J as this
;
for th11t a common
Indian
of bafe e:ictrailion, Jhí!uld cfteem -him
~t
{o
mc.m
a
rate, as to rnakf him the fubjeil
of
fo
high an ajfront, in defpight of that L~w of 'fiheir
Countrey, which a_/figned no !efs a punijhment for
it,
than that fuch offendour Jhou!d be burnt
alive, with his W,,ves, Father.r,, Children, Brothers, and ali the reft of his Kindred,
nay
the ver-y Flock¿ and l{erds
of
fuch an Adu!terer were to be deft-,,o_yed, hi-s Land1 !aid
defo!atc, and fowed with Saft, hi-s Trees eradicated from the very Roots, hi-s Houfas demoli–
Jhed, with many other infliilions of the lik! nature.
Thus far are the words of
Auguftin
de
Carate,
which ferve to confirm what I have wrote ccncerning this mat~r, and
indeed I was pleafed to have my words avouched by the teíl:imony of this
Spanifh
Cavalier: For though other Hiílorians memion this Law, yer rhey onely fay, rhac
it was with the Deach of the Offendour, omitting thac of his Wife, and Facber,
ánd Relacions, and all che other Solemnities of this puniíhment ; whereby we
may underíland how grievous that offence was eíleemed ; and how deeply chat
peor
Inca Atahualpa
refented it, when in che Agony of his Heart, he faid, Thac
he felc it more chao his Imprifonmenc ; and all ochei· infelicities, though atten–
ded with Death ic felf.
Thofe Women who had the honour ,to be extraéted from thefe Houfes for
Concubines to the King, were made uncapable of ever returning thicher again,
but remained
in
che Court as Ladies and Attendants on che Queen, uncill fuch
time as chey were difini.ífed, and licence given them to return into cheir own
Countries,·
•here for ever afterwards chey were provided wich E;Ioufes and
R~–
venue agreeable to their Qoality, and to che Dignity and Honour chey ~a<;l acqu!–
red by having been Mifhefíes
to
che
Inca_.
Thofe who. could noc a~ca1~ to th1s
Honour, were obliged to remain
in
cheir Cloifter unull they were anCl(mt, and
then had libercy eicher
to
continue
till
t'he time of their Death , or to rerurn to
their own Coumrey, where they
were
rreated with fuch re[¡_Deét
as
was <;lue
to
the
profeffion they had made.
•
·~
.
'
r:
CH A
P.
V.
Of the
f2.Ea(ity and Ornament of thefe SeleEt Virgins, and
_
that they were not to be given unto any perfon whatfoever
in
Marriage.
T
Hofe Virgins which were dedicated or deíigned for che prefent King, had the
Title after his Death of Mothers
to
che Succeífour, wich che Addition
alfo
of
Mamacuna,
which was a Name properly'belonging to cheir Office, which ob–
liged
them to ceach and overfee che young Novices, wl-Ío were admitred for.Con–
cubínes of che New
Inca,
and treated
by
chem as cheír Children and Daughters–
in-1aw. Every one of thefe Convents had its Governour or Superiour, who-was
an-
Inca,
and whofe bufinefs it was
to
provide all Necef{aries for che ufe of thefe
.- Wives of che
Inca
;
for though
in
reality chey were but Concubines, yet
in
re–
fpeél: and courtelie chey gave them che Honourable title of Wives. ' In every one
of thefe Houfes belonging to thefe Maidens, feparáted for che ufe of che
Inca
;
all
their Uten[tls and Services of che Houfe were made of Gold and Silver, as chofe
were which belonged to the Wives of che Sun, and
to
che famous Temple, ánd
( as we íhall hereafter declare) to che Royal Palaces ; fot indeed ali che Gold and
Silver, and pretious Scones which were found and amaífed in chac great Empire,
were, for che moft pare, employed
to
no orher
ufe,
than
to
che Service
and
Adorn-
menc