48 / 1070
Royal
Commenta rieJ~.
Bo.oKIt
mend and prai[e·the
lncM
of
Per~
for difalloV\
1
ing rhe Sacr-ifices of i1Umane bloud;
;ind on rhe con'.rary,_
to
blame ~nd abhor tho[e of
Mexico
f?r (uffé'dng ~nd making
lawfull füG:h DiaboltCal ,i\Toríh1ps; and Sacnfices, both w1rhm and wtthouc cheir
City, as che Hifrory of che Conqtiefl of th:it Cou trey doth truly aver
5
which
bf.
'i.ngwrote by the P,en of the General who made tbe Conquells, was moíl cer–
tainly authemick and.true, and did
de[~rve
t?
have been owned
by·
him, thac
fo
they might have carried as,greac auchonty wnh chern, as the Commentaries
did
of
Ju!im C4ar,
for ~1_aving h~sName affixed
to
chen:.
. . .
Ac the entrance
meo
cheir remples; or
.ª~
rhe
n_me
of their bemg there, the
Chiefarnongíl: chem clapped h1s hands
to
lns eye-brdv•;,s, puJling fome of the hairs
from chence, which he blew towards che ldol in token of reverence: And rhis
fort of Ad,oration chey never u[ed cowards their
Incas,
but onely to Idols or Trees
or other (bings- into which che Devi\ entred and [poke
to
rhem ; the
[ame
w~
praél:i(ed by their Prieíl:s and Sorn~rers, before chey encred imo corneirs and fmec
pla~es
to
difc?ur(e wich tl1e
Devi),
imagi~ing th~~ by fucb fubrniffion. and reGg–
naé!on of the.1r Per[ons, they obhged
their
FarmUar to hear and anfwer them.
And of 1::his Idolatry
I
Gan give cefümony,, becau(e I have feen ic wich rny own
eyes.
.
AH
the Priefis of che Sun, Ín the City of
Couo,
were of the Bloud-RoyaI ·
though for the inferiour Officers of it, füch others were affigned,. as had gained th;
privilege of ·eing e lled
Inca..
Their High Prieíl: .was either
ta
be
~rother or
Unde to
rk.irKíng, or fome ofüer of neareíl Bload ; rheir Prieíl:s u(ed no
Vefte
rnents different from others.
In
other Provinces, rhofe which were Narives or
related o che Prindpal me~? were !Dade P1:iells, rhough che_ Chi~fPrieíl ¡¡mo~gíl:
them was an
Inca,
cha~ mat(ers rn1ghc bear fome conform1ry w1rh the Imperial
City; which rule was alfo obíerved in all Offices relating to War and Peace, chac
fo
che Nacives mighc have rheir íhare in rhe Government, and not feem to be
ílighred or n_egletted. . They had alfo fome Houíes for Virgins, which profeífed a
perpetuál Vírgit'lrcy, where cpey ever retnained Reclufes: of whkh ; and of rhe
King's Concubines we íhall bave
occafion hereafcer
ro creac more ac Jarge.
All
tÍ1e[e
Laws
'ín
Governmenc, a~d Rices in R:~ligion, tl1ey pretend for rhe
greater auchoriry of them
to
have rece1ved from then- fuíl:
Inca, Maflco Capnc .
and
thac where Matters were imperfeét, ic was left
to
hisSucceffours to efiabli{h
and
complete : For as they affirm that thefe Laws, both in Religion and Govern..
rn<mt, were derived from the Sun, and infpíred by him into rus Children che
In–
CM
;
[o
1c
is hárd
tb
affirm,
to
whom
in
particular füch and fuch·Laws ·wére to
be
attribuced.
·
.
·
CH A
P.
v.
the
Divífion
of
the
Émpire
into
four P
art:s,
ti7Jd
of the Regz"..
flets /zept
by
the
Decurions, and
what
~heir Ojfice was.
T.'
H-E
lncM
divided cheir Empire
into
four Pares, which rhey caHed
'J:'qvan–
,
tinfuyH,
~nd íignifies che four Q¡arters of the Heavens,
vi:t.
Baíl, Weft;
~
Nonh and Souch. The Cicy of
Coz.,cu
they eíleemed che Peine ~nd Cen(re of all~–
and in che
Jndla11
Language
is
as muchas che Nave\ of che Earth, für the Coun–
rrey of
Peru
being long and narrow, in faíhion of a Man's body, and chac
City
in che middle,
it
may aptly be termed the Nave! of chat Empire. To rhe
Eafi–
,1vard chey called che Coumrey
A,ntifuJ'u,
from che Province
Anti,
which excends
all along chac greacMoumain, which runs chrough rhe ínowy de[ert Eaftward.
To rhe \V'eíl:ward rhey called che Coumrey
Cuntifa1Ji1,
from thacfmall Province
Which is ,alled
Gunti
;
to
the
Norchward
lies
che Province
Chinchn,
and
to
che
Souch~