The Prehistoric World or Vanished races Part 55

This bolson was the home of the Incas. A number of writers speak of the Incas very much as if they were a royal family. It is not necessary to discuss this point very extensively at present. All our accounts of their early history are traditional. Mr. Markham and Mr. Squier, both competent judges, a.s.sert that the weight of traditions is to the effect that the Incas originated near Cuzco. "Universal traditions," says Mr.

Markham, "points to a place called Peccari Tampu as the cradle or point of origin of the Incas." As near as we can make out from the description, this was where, as seen from Cuzco, the sun appeared to rise.<18>

We must remark that the sun was the ancestral deity of the Incas. All the Andean people wors.h.i.+ped some object as an ancestral deity. "An Indian," says La Vega, "is not looked upon as honorable unless he is descended from a fountain, river, or lake, or even the sea, or from a wild animal, such as a bear, lion, tiger, eagle, or the bird they called a condor, or from a mountain, cave, or forest." The Incas claimed descent from the sun. So we can see why their legends would center on the place where the sun appeared to rise. In after years, when they had extended their conquests to the Collao,<19> and stood on the sh.o.r.e of Lake t.i.ticaca, the sun appeared to them to rise out of its waves; and so this lake became to them a second point of traditional origin.

We see we can not solve the question of the origin of the Incas until we solve the deeper problems of the origin of the Andean tribes.

Every thing seems to indicate a long-continued residence, perhaps for centuries, and a slow advance in culture. We are not to suppose the Incas were endowed with unusual capacity for improvement; all the tribes were probably about equal in this respect.<20> But their situation was in their favor, and they did not have to contend with those obstacles that confronted other tribes. They must have increased in numbers and in culture; they would in time feel themselves strong enough for conquest.

We must bear in mind the peculiar geographical features of the country.

In the isolated valleys and bolsons were living other tribes, but little inferior to the Incas. There were no common interests between these tribes. One by one they fell before the a.s.saults of the Incas, and were reduced to tribute. Rendered still more powerful by success, the Incas pushed on their conquests until finally all the tribes living in that vast stretch of country from the Andes to the Pacific, from Chili to the United States of Colombia, acknowledged themselves tributary to the Incas. This was the state of things when the Spaniards, under Pizarro, appeared on the scene.

When we undertake to learn the history or the state of culture among the Incas, we are entering on a difficult subject. Of their history, we know but very little more than is given in this outline; and owing to the complete absence of all records, we can not expect to know very much.

Garcilla.s.so draws such an inviting picture of the happy government of the Incas, that we would suppose that no rebellion or insurrection would ever occur. It seems, however, that their government was as much subject to such trials as any. Mr. Forbes tells us that "the Aymaras never submitted tamely to their Peruvian masters, but from time to time gave them much trouble by attempting to recover their independence." And M.

Reville tells us of the Incas that, "more than once they had to suppress terrible insurrections." And we shall see, further on, that the probabilities are that the various tribes composing this so-called empire were not more compact and united than were the tribes composing the Mexican Empire.

Shortly before the conquest, the Incas had reached their zenith of power. Huayna Capac, who died about 1525, was in reality the last of the Inca chiefs. Under his management the tribes as far north as Quito were reduced to tribute. The story goes that shortly before his death he divided the empire between two of his sons. One, Huascar, the rightful heir to the throne; the other, Atahualpa, half-brother to Huascar. His mother was daughter of the last king (?) of Quito. Her father had been forced to submit to the victorious Huayna Capac. This division of the Incarial Empire, was not at all to the liking of either Huascar or Atahualpa. They both wished to be sole Inca. Civil war was the result.

Atahualpa, by treachery, had taken his brother prisoner, and would doubtless have achieved his ambition, but just then Pizarro invaded the country, and the reign of the Incas was over.

Thus far, the story. We very much doubt whether this expresses the facts of the case. There is no question, of course, that civil war was in progress when the Spaniards arrived, which war, by the way, was a very fortunate thing for the Spaniards; but we do not know enough about the government of the Incas to know whether Huayna Capac could bequeath any powers to his sons. About all we are justified in saying is, that on his death, two persons (they were very likely brothers, and sons of Huayna Capac) aspired to the chieftaincy of the Incas, and, failing to agree, resorted to war to settle the matter.

The question is, how far back in the unrecorded past can we follow tradition? Huayna Capac is thought to have been chief for about fifty years. His predecessor is said to have been one Tupac Yupanqui.

Velasco, an early writer on the Peruvians, thinks he was chief for about thirty-six years. As this would carry us back nearly one hundred years, it must be evident we have gone about as far as we can place any reliance on tradition. However, the third chief, going backwards, was also called Yupanqui, sometimes denominated "Yupanqui the Great," and his reign (?) takes us back to about the year 1400. "Beyond this point,"

says M. Castaing, "we fall into a mythological era." We fully agree with him. We can not think there is any special value in accounts of events said to happen before that time--that is, for historical purposes.

That there were victorious chiefs, conducting victorious forays before that date, is, of course, admitted. That the names of many of the chiefs have come down to us, as well as some of their notable achievements is quite possible. It is also evident that some mythological personages would appear in tradition as "reigning Incas." It is equally plain that neither Garcilla.s.so, nor any of the Spanish writers, had any clear ideas of these ancient times or events. All traditions finally settle on Manco Capac as the first chief of the Incas. M. Castaing says he "is but an allegory of the period of formation."<21> The date of the accession of this mythological chief is given by most authorities as about the year 1000. M. Castaing thinks it was in the middle of the twelfth century.

It does not make much difference which date the reader concludes to accept--one will do as well as the other.<22>

Let us turn our attention to the culture of the Incas, and their state of government. Here we would expect to be on firm ground. We would expect the Spanish writers to give us reliable accounts of the state of society of the people they conquered. But, as Mr. Squier remarks, the overthrow of the Peruvian government "was so sudden and complete that the chroniclers had hardly time to set down the events which took place before their own eyes, and had little leisure, or perhaps inclination, to make a careful investigation into the principles of their civil and religious polity. As a consequence, this work has devolved upon the laborious student and archaeologist of a later time." In other words, we are to compare the accounts given us by the early writers with our present knowledge of Indian society.

We have already made the statement that the Inca were a tribe of Indians. But, if they were a tribe, did they have the usual subdivisions of a tribe--which, we remember, are the phratry and gens? The Spanish writers say nothing about such divisions. This is not strange. They said nothing about the phratries and gentes of the Mexicans; and yet they were in existence. Neither did the English mention the inst.i.tution of the phratries and gentes among the Iroquois; and yet they were fully developed. We answer, that the Inca tribe were divided into both phratries and gentes. It is necessary to show what grounds we have for such belief. It is well to have a little better understanding of the surroundings of this tribe.

The isolated section of country which they occupied is about seventy miles long by sixty in width. "The proper name for the aboriginal people of this tract," says Mr. Markham, "is Incas." This word must have been at first the t.i.tle for chief--for all the chiefs in this section were called Incas; but, in process of time, the name was a.s.sumed as the special t.i.tle of the tribe at Cuzco. Mr. Markham gives us further the names of seventeen lineages who occupied this valley. Whether a lineage was a tribe or not we can not decide. We will now confine our attention to the ruling tribe at Cuzco.

The Spaniards noticed that Cuzco was divided into two parts, called respectively Upper and Lower Cuzco. Garcilla.s.so tells us that this division was made as follows. Manco-Capac with his wife and queen were children of the Sun, sent to civilize the Indians, who, before their arrival, were a very degraded sort of savages. From Cuzco this sun-descended couple went their different ways--the king to the north, the queen to the south--"speaking to all the people they met in the wilderness, and telling them how their father, the Sun, had sent them from heaven to be the rulers and benefactors of the inhabitants of all that land;... and, in pursuance of these commands, they had come to bring them out of the forests and deserts to live in villages." This sounded so good to the wild tribes, that they "a.s.sembled in great numbers, both men and women," and set out to follow their exhorters.<23>

The tribe that followed the king settled Upper Cuzco; while the queen's converts settled Lower Cuzco. This division was not made so that those living in one half should have any special privileges over the other--for they were all to be equal, like brothers. The division was solely in order "that they might be a perpetual memory of the fact that the inhabitants of one were a.s.sembled by the king, and the other by the queen." The only difference between them was, "that the people of Upper Cuzco should be looked upon and represented as elder brothers, and those of Lower Cuzco as younger brothers."

Such is the account of the settlement of Upper and Lower Cuzco. Any one acquainted with the general principles on which the division of Indian tribes into phratries took place, can not help concluding that these divisions were simply two phratries. The inhabitants of each traced their descent back to a supernatural personage. They were equal in power to each other as elder and younger brothers. Polo Ondegardo simply remarks that "the lineage of the Incas was divided into two branches, the one called Upper Cuzco, the other Lower Cuzco."<24> There ought to be no objection to subst.i.tuting for the word branches used above the scientific term our scholars now employ; that is, phratry. Each tribe of the Iroquois confederacy was divided into two phratries, and their name for this division was a word which meant brotherhood.<25>

Whatever doubt we may have on this point vanished when we come to examine into the customs of the Incas. We must not forget that the most prominent way a phratry shows itself is in matters of religion, and in the play of social games. "The phratry, among the Iroquois," says Mr.

Morgan, "was partly for social and partly for religious objects....

In the ball game, for example, they play by phratries, one against the other. Each phratry puts forward its best players, usually from six to ten on a side, and the members of each phratry a.s.semble together, but on opposite sides of the field in which the game is played. The members of each phratry watch the game with eagerness, and cheer their respective players at every successful turn of the game."

Ill.u.s.tration of Relics from Guano Deposits.---------

Let us see how it was among the Incas.<26> Like all Indian tribes, the Incas were very fond of ceremonious feasts. Nearly every month they celebrated one or more. We gather from Molina that on occasions when the whole tribe partic.i.p.ated in such religious observances, the people of Upper Cuzco sat apart front Lower Cuzco. In the month corresponding to August they had a celebrated feast, the object of which was to drive out all evil from the land. We read: "All the people of Cuzco came out,...

richly dressed, sat down on benches, each man according to the rank he held, those of the Upper Cuzco being on one side, and those of Lower Cuzco on the other." And of another feast we read: "They brought out the embalmed (?) bodies of the dead Incas, placing those who had belonged to Upper Cuzco on the side where that lineage was stationed, and the same with those of Lower Cuzco." Other examples could be given, but this point is well established. In games this same division was observed, since we read that in the month of December, "on the first day of the month, those who had been armed as knights--as well those of the lineage of Upper Cuzco as those of Lower Cuzco--came out into the square with slings in their hands,... and the youths of Upper Cuzco hurled against those of Lower Cuzco." We may therefore consider it well established that the Incas were a tribe of Indians having two phratries.

Let us now see how the matter stands in regard to gens. This division follows almost as a matter of course, but it is well to see what separate grounds exist for the a.s.sertion. Garcilla.s.so, in his description of Cuzco, after a reference to the division into Upper and Lower Cuzco, tells us further that it was divided into twelve wards.

Mr. Squier gives us a map of the ancient city. From this we see that the twelve wards were arranged in an irregular oval around the princ.i.p.al square. Seven of them belonged to the division of Upper Cuzco, the other five to Lower Cuzco.

This division is utterly unintelligible to us, unless we suppose them to be subdivisions of the phratries. It makes no difference what name we bestow upon them, in effect they can be nothing else than gentes. As to the number of them, it is well to notice a coincidence in the statement of an Indian writer, Salcamayhua.<27> On a certain very important occasion there were a.s.sembled "_all_ the councilors. The governor entered the chamber, where _twelve_ grave councilors were a.s.sembled."<28> The most reasonable explanation that can be given for the number twelve is that each gens had one representative in the council. The Incas are thus seen to be very probably, at least, no exception to the general rule of Indian tribes.

From our present standpoint what can we learn as to their government? It is, of course, well known what the position of the early writers on this subject is. They all agree that the government of the Incas was a monarchy of the strictest type. We have seen what a wonderful empire they bestowed on the Mexicans. The Peruvian Empire is painted in still brighter colors. Modern writers have not allowed the early accounts to suffer by repet.i.tion. Rivero uses the following language: "The monarchs of Peru,... uniting the legislative and executive power, the supreme command in war, absolute sovereignty in peace, and a venerated high-priesthood in religious feasts,... exercised the highest power ever known to man."<29> Even so cautious a writer as Mr. Squier speaks of the Incas as ruling "the most thoroughly organized, most wisely administered, and most extensive empire of aboriginal America."<30>

It is freely admitted that there is much that is indeed wonderful in the culture of the Incas; but it has, undoubtedly been greatly exaggerated.

To deal with this question as it should be would require an entire volume of itself, and would require far more extensive research than the writer has been able to make, or is, indeed, prepared to make. It will do no harm to see what we can learn by comparing the statements of some of the early writers with what we have now learned of Indian society.

Let us first inquire as to the council. There is no question as to the existence of a council. Garcilla.s.so and all the early writers refer to it in an accidental sort of way. To show the force of this statement, we will give a few quotations. Garcilla.s.so, speaking of the movements of the Inca Viracocha, says: "Having pa.s.sed some years in making journeys, he returned to Cuzco, where, with the advice of his councilors, he resolved on war." And, in another place: "Having consulted with his council" he a.s.sembled his army. Talking about the son of the foregoing, he says: "In fine, this king, with the advice of his council, made many laws, rules, ordinances," etc.<31> In the foregoing we are made aware of the existence of a council, but are not told as to its size or powers.

Each gens would of course be represented in the council. We have spoken in one place of the number twelve. Mr. Bandelier tells us that the council consisted of sixteen members.<32> As to its power we are also left in the dark; but, judging from what we have learned of the council among the Mexicans and Indian tribes of the North, who can doubt but that it was the supreme governing body?<33>

The more we study this question, the more points of resemblance we would find with the social organization of the Mexicans. The tenure of land was of course the same, as we learn from the report of Ondegardo--some differences may have occurred in regard to tribute.

The Mexicans, we must remember, were at the head of a confederacy, and the tribute was brought to Mexico to be divided among the three tribes.

The Incas were the only tribe, in the case of Peru, having supreme power. Having no one to suit but themselves, they introduced some new features. The tribute, instead of being all brought to Cuzco, seems to have been, at least a portion of it, stowed away in storehouses located at places most convenient for the Incas. Cieza De Leon says: "The Incas... formed many depots full of all things necessary for their troops. In some of these depots there were lances; in others, darts; and in others, sandals: and so, one with another, arms and articles of clothing which these people used, besides stores of food. Thus, when a chief was lodged in one of these depots with his troops, there was nothing, from the most trifling to the most important article, with which they were not supplied."<34> This tribute was gathered by regular tribute-gatherers. As in the case of Mexico, these appear in history as governors. Ondegardo says they left "Cuzco every year, and returned in February,... bringing with them the tribute of the whole empire."

As a rule, the Incas did not interfere with the customs of the tribes they had conquered. Garcilla.s.so says: "Excepting a few alterations that were necessary for the welfare of the whole empire, all the other laws and customs of the conquered province were retained without any change."

In the main, all they wished for was tribute. Yet they seem to have had some idea of a higher policy than that. They are credited with carrying out measures which would certainly tend to bring the tribes into a close union. Mr. Squier remarks: "The efforts of the Incas to a.s.similate the families that were brought within their empire, by force or alliance--in respect to language, religion, and modes of life--were powerful and well-directed."<35> This was a step ahead of any thing that can be said of the Mexicans.

In the matter of language, it is said they made persistent efforts to have the conquered tribes learn their own language. De Leon tells us that it was a law throughout the kingdom that this language should be used--"fathers were punished if they neglected to teach it to their children in their childhood." How much we are to believe of this account is doubtful. Mr. Markham has shown us that the languages of all the interior tribes were related. We know how difficult it is to compel a conquered people by law to learn a foreign language. William the Conqueror made an unsuccessful attempt to compel the Anglo-saxons to learn French--it ended by his followers learning English. Are we to believe that a tribe of Peruvian Indians were successful in spreading their language over a wide extent of territory in the course of a few generations?

Ill.u.s.tration of Burial Towers.-----------------

What is considered as the great stroke of policy on the part of the Incas, was their system of colonies. On this point De Leon tells us: "As soon as a province was conquered, ten or twelve thousand men were ordered to go there with their wives; but they were always sent to a country where the climate resembled that from whence they came. If they were natives of a cold province, they were sent to a cold one; and if they came from a warm province, they went to a warm one. These people were called mitimaes--which means Indians who have come from one country and gone to another." On this we might remark, that the Incas did not always show such discriminating care where they sent the exiles, since Mr. Markham tells us that the "descendants of colonists on the coasts of Peru (a warm climate, notice) still retain traditions concerning the villages in the Andes (a cold province), whence their ancestors were transported."

We will only refer to the so-called royal roads of Peru. Humboldt observed them in Northern Peru, and speaks in high praise of them. Many of the early writers mention them. De Leon gives us a really wonderful account. Modern travelers have not been so fortunate in finding their remains. Mr. Squier does not mention them. Mr. Hutchinson searched at every place along the coast, and could find no trace of such works.

The northern part of Peru, where Humboldt saw them, was almost the last section to be conquered by the Incas. It is singular that they should have been in such a hurry to build roads in that section, when the other parts of their territory were dest.i.tute of them.

We are now prepared to inquire as to what remains of this ancient people have come down to us; and in studying these ruins we must keep constantly in mind the social organization of Indian tribes.<36> We notice on the map, at about 8 south lat.i.tude, a place marked Truxillo.

It is situated nearly two miles from the sea, in the valley of the Chimu. Its port is the town of Huanchaco, a dilapidated village of a few hundred houses, about ten miles further north. Truxillo was founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, and was once a place of considerable importance, but at present it is probably most noted for the famous ruins located near it. Several of the fertile coast valleys that we have previously described, here unite; consequently this was a place of great importance to the coast tribes. The ruins here are among the most remarkable in Peru. The road from Huanchaco to Truxillo pa.s.ses directly through the field of ruins.

Ill.u.s.tration of Palace.------------------

Mr. Squier tells us that the ruins "consist of a wilderness of walls, forming great inclosures, each containing a labyrinth of ruined dwellings and other edifices." As our s.p.a.ce is limited, we will describe but one of these inclosed s.p.a.ces. This is a view of what is usually called a palace, but this certainly is an absurd name. The inclosure contains some thirty-two acres; the walls surrounding it are double, and sufficiently heavy to resist field artillery. At the base the walls, in some cases, are fifteen feet thick, gradually diminis.h.i.+ng toward the top, where they are not more than three feet thick. They vary in height, the highest ranging from thirty to forty feet high. In order to give a clear idea of these walls, we introduce this cut, which gives us a section of the walls. The materials of which they are built is adobe.

Ill.u.s.tration of Section of Palace Wall.--------------

Within this inclosure we notice three open places, or courts, a number of smaller cross-walls dividing the remaining s.p.a.ce into a number of small courts. Around each of these courts, generally on three sides, are the ruins of houses. All in the interior of the large inclosures is so far gone in ruins that we can with difficulty make out the plan.

Inclosures, such as we have described here, are the princ.i.p.al features of the Chimu ruins. Mr. Squier speaks of one three or four times the size of this one. With our present knowledge we are justified in concluding that Chimu was the head-quarters of a powerful tribe. We are surely justified in a.s.suming further that each of these great inclosed squares, containing upwards of thirty, forty, and even fifty acres, was the home of a gens--their fortified place.

Of the houses, Mr. Squier says: "Around each court the dwellings of the ancient inhabitants are grouped with the utmost regularity.... Some are small, as if for watchmen or people on guard; others are relatively s.p.a.cious, reaching the dimensions of twenty-five by fifteen feet inside the walls. These walls are usually about three feet thick, and about twelve feet high. The roofs were not flat, but, as shown by the gables of the various buildings, sharply pitched, so that, although rain may not have been frequent, it was, nevertheless, necessary to provide for its occurrence. Each apartment was completely separated from the next by part.i.tions reaching to the very peak of the general roof. There are no traces of windows, and light and air were admitted into the apartment only by the door."

On one side, at least, the whole area of the city was protected by a heavy wall, several miles of which were still standing at the time of Mr. Squier's visit. At various places along this wall, cross-walls extended inward, thus inclosing great areas which have never been built over, and which show all evidence of ancient cultivation. We notice, near the upper end of this inclosure, a court, occupied by a mound. This is known as a _huaca,_ which calls for some explanation. It seems that the general name among all the Peruvian people, for a sacred object, is huaca. Being a very superst.i.tious people, this name is applied to a great variety of purposes, amongst others, to these great artificial mounds, the majority of which are probably burial mounds. The construction of many of these mounds is very singular. It seems as if they were a large collection of rooms, each one of which was filled with clay or adobe. In some of these chambers, probably, treasures are concealed. One very celebrated huaca, at Chimu, was found to contain an enormous amount of gold vessels.