History of the Incas Part 16

While engaged on these measures, he received news that the provinces of Quito, Cayambis, Carangues, Pastos, and Huancavilcas had rebelled. He, therefore, hurried his return and came to Tiahuanacu, where he prepared for war against the Quitos and Cayambis, and gave orders how the Urus[117] were to live, granting them localities in which each tribe of them was to fish in the lake. He visited the Temple of the Sun and the _huaca_ of Ticci Viracocha on the island of t.i.ticaca, and sent orders that all those provinces should send troops to go to that war which he had proclaimed.

[Note 117: The Urus are a tribe of fishermen, with a peculiar language, living among the reed beds in the S.W. part of Lake t.i.ticaca.]

LX.

HUAYNA CCAPAC MAKES WAR ON THE QUITOS, PASTOS, CARANGUES, CAYAMBIS, HUANCAVILCAS.

Knowing that the Pastos, Quitos, Carangues, Cayambis and Huancavilcas had rebelled, killed the _tucuricos_, and strengthened their positions with strong forces, Huayna Ccapac, with great rapidity, collected a great army from all the districts of the four _suyus_. He nominated Michi of the Hurin-cuzcos, and Auqui Tupac of the Hanan-cuzcos as captains, and left his uncle Huaman Achachi as governor of Cuzco. Others say that he left Apu Hilaquito and Auqui Tupac Inca in Cuzco, with his son who was to succeed named Tupac Cusi Hualpa Inti Illapa, and with him another of his sons named t.i.tu Atanchi, who remained to perform the fasts before knighthood. It is to be noted that Huayna Ccapac was married, in conformity with custom and with the prescribed ceremonies to Cusi Rimay Coya, by whom he had no male child. He, therefore, took his sister Araua Ocllo to wife, by whom he had a son Tupac Cusi Hualpa, vulgarly called Huascar. Preparing for the campaign he ordered that Atahualpa and Ninan Cuyoche, his illegitimate sons, now grown men, should go with him. His other sons, also illegitimate, named Manco Inca and Paulu Tupac, were to remain with Huascar.

These arrangements having been made, the Inca set out for Quito. On the way he came to Tumipampa where he had himself been born. Here he erected great edifices where he placed, with great solemnity, the caul in which he was born. Marching onwards and reaching the boundary of the region where the Quitos were in arms, he marshalled his squadrons, and presently resolved to conquer the Pastos. For this service he selected two captains of the Collao, one named Mollo Cavana, the other Mollo Pucara, and two others of c.u.n.ti-suyu named Apu Cautar Canana and c.u.n.ti Mollo, under whose command he placed many men of their nations, and 2000 _orejones_ as guards, under Auqui Tupac Inca, brother of Huayna Ccapac and Acollo Tupac of the lineage of Viracocha. They marched to the country of the Pastos who fell back on their chief place, leaving their old people, women and children, with a few men, that the enemy might think there was no one else. The Incas easily conquered these and, thinking that was all, they gave themselves up to idleness and pleasure.

One night, when they were engaged in a great rejoicing, eating and drinking freely, without sentries, the Pastos attacked them, and there was a great slaughter, especially among the Collas. Those who escaped, fled until they came to the main army of the Incas which was following them. They say that Atahualpa and Ninan Cuyoche brought up a.s.sistance, and that, with the confidence thus gained, Huayna Ccapac ordered the war to be waged most cruelly. So they entered the country of the Pastos a second time, burning and destroying the inhabited places and killing all the people great and small, men and women, young and old. That province having been subdued, a governor was appointed to it.

Huayna Ccapac then returned to Tumipampa, where he rested some days, before moving his camp for the conquest of the Carangues, a very warlike nation. In this campaign he subdued the Macas to the confines of the Canaris, those of Quisna, of Ancamarca, the province of Puruvay, the Indians of Nolitria, and other neighbouring nations.

Thence he went down to Tumbez, a seaport, and then came to the fortresses of Carangui and Cochisque. In commencing to subdue those of Cochisque he met with a stubborn resistance by valiant men, and many were killed on both sides. At length the place was taken, and the men who escaped were received in the fortress of Carangui. The Incas decided that the country surrounding this fortress should first be subdued. They desolated the country as far as Ancas-mayu and Otabalo, those who escaped from the fury of the Incas taking refuge in the fortress. Huayna Ccapac attacked it with his whole force, but was repulsed by the garrison with much slaughter, and the _orejones_ were forced to fly, defeated by the Cayambis, the Inca himself being thrown down. He would have been killed if a thousand of his guard had not come up with their captains Cusi Tupac Yupanqui and Huayna Achachi, to rescue and raise him. The sight of this animated the _orejones_. All turned to defend their Inca, and pressed on with such vigour that the Cayambis were driven back into their fortress. The Inca army, in one encounter and the other, suffered heavy loss.

Huayna Ccapac, on this account, returned to Tumipampa, where he recruited his army, preparing to resume the attack on the Cayambis. At this time some _orejones_ deserted the Inca, leaving him to go back to Cuzco. Huayna Ccapac satisfied the rest by gifts of clothes, provisions, and other things, and he formed an efficient army.

It was reported that the Cayambis had sallied from their fortress and had defeated a detachment of the Inca army, killing many, and the rest escaping by flight. This caused great sorrow to the Inca, who sent his brother Auqui Toma, with an army composed of all nations, against the Cayambis of the fortress. Auqui Toma went, attacked the fortress, captured four lines of defence and the outer wall, which was composed of five. But at the entrance the Cayambis killed Auqui Toma, captain of the Cuzcos, who had fought most valorously. This attack and defence was so obstinate and long continued that an immense number of men fell, and the survivors had nowhere to fight except upon heaps of dead men. The desire of both sides to conquer or die was so strong that they gave up their lances and arrows and took to their fists. At last, when they saw that their captain was killed, the Incas began to retreat towards a river, into which they went without any care for saving their lives. The river was in flood and a great number of men were drowned. This was a heavy loss for the cause of Huayna Ccapac. Those who escaped from drowning and from the hands of the enemy, sent the news to the Inca from the other side of the river. Huayna Ccapac received the news of this reverse with heavier grief than ever, for he dearly loved his brother Auqui Toma, who had been killed with so many men who were the pick of the army.

Huayna Ccapac was a brave man, and was not dismayed. On the contrary it raised his spirit and he resolved to be avenged. He again got ready his forces and marched in person against the fortress of the Cayambis. He formed the army in three divisions. He sent Michi with a third of the army to pa.s.s on one side of the fortress without being seen. This detachment consisted of Cuzco _orejones_, and men of Chinchay-suyu. They were to advance five marches beyond the fortress and, at a fixed time, return towards it, desolating and destroying. The Inca, with the rest of his army marched direct to the attack of the fortress, and began to fight with great fury. This continued some days, during which the Inca lost some men. While the battle was proceeding, Michi and those of Chinchay-suyu turned, desolating and destroying everything in the land of the Cayambis. They were so furious that they did not leave anything standing, making the very earth to tremble. When Huayna Ccapac knew that his detachment was near the fortress, he feigned a flight. The Cayambis, not aware of what was happening in their rear, came out of the fortress in pursuit of the Inca. When the Cayambis were at some distance from their stronghold, the Chinchay-suyus, commanded by Michi, came in sight.

These met with no resistance in the fortress as the Cayambis were outside, following Huayna Ccapac. They easily entered it and set it on fire in several parts, killing or capturing all who were inside.

The Cayambis were, by this time, fighting with the army of Huayna Ccapac. When they saw their fortress on fire they lost hope and fled from the battle field towards a lake which was near, thinking that they could save themselves by hiding among the beds of reeds. But Huayna Ccapac followed them with great rapidity. In order that none might escape he gave instructions that the lake should be surrounded. In that lake, and the swamps on its borders, the troops of Huayna Ccapac, he fighting most furiously in person, made such havock and slaughter, that the lake was coloured with the blood of the dead Cayambis. From that time forward the lake has been called _Yahuar-cocha_, which means the "lake of blood," from the quant.i.ty that was there shed.

It is to be noted that in the middle of this lake there was an islet with two willow trees, up which some Cayambis climbed, and among them their two chiefs named Pinto and Canto, most valiant Indians. The troops of Huayna Ccapac pelted them with stones and captured Canto, but Pinto escaped with a thousand brave Canaris.

The Cayambis being conquered, the Cuzcos began to select those who would look best in the triumphal entry into Cuzco. But they, thinking that they were being selected to be killed, preferred rather to die like men than to be tied up like women. So they turned and began to fight. Huayna Ccapac saw this and ordered them all to be killed.

The Inca placed a garrison in the fortress, and sent a captain with a detachment in pursuit of Pinto who, in his flight, was doing much mischief. They followed until Pinto went into forests, with other fugitives, escaping for a time. After Huayna Ccapac had rested for some days at Tumipampa, he got information where Pinto was in the forests, and surrounded them, closing up all entrances and exits. Hunger then obliged him, and those who were with him, to surrender. This Pinto was very brave and he had such hatred against Huayna Ccapac that even, after his capture, when the Inca had presented him with gifts and treated him kindly, he never could see his face. So he died out of his mind, and Huayna Ccapac ordered a drum to be made of his skin. The drum was sent to Cuzco, and so this war came to an end. It was at Cuzco in the _taqui_ or dance in honour of the Sun.

LXI.

THE CHIRIHUANAS COME TO MAKE WAR IN PERU AGAINST THOSE CONQUERED BY THE INCAS.

While Huayna Ccapac was occupied with this war of the Cayambis, the Chirihuanas, who form a nation of the forests, naked and eaters of human flesh, for which they have a public slaughter house, uniting, and, coming forth from their dense forests, entered the territory of Charcas, which had been conquered by the Incas of Peru. They attacked the fortress of Cuzco-tuyo, where the Inca had a large frontier garrison to defend the country against them. Their a.s.sault being sudden they entered the fortress, ma.s.sacred the garrison, and committed great havock, robberies and murders among the surrounding inhabitants.

The news reached Huayna Ccapac at Quito, and he received it with much heaviness. He sent a captain, named Yasca, to Cuzco to collect troops, and with them to march against the Chirihuanas. This captain set out for Cuzco, taking with him the _huaca_ "Cataquilla[118]" of Caxamarca and Huamachuco, and "Curichaculla" of the Chachapoyas; and the _huacas_ "Tomayrica and Chinchay-cocha," with many people, the attendants of the _huacas_. He arrived at Cuzco where he was very well received by the Governors, Apu Hilaquito and Auqui Tupac Inca. Having collected his troops he left Cuzco for Charcas. On the road he enlisted many men of the Collao. With these he came up with the Chirihuanas and made cruel war upon them. He captured some to send to Huayna Ccapac at Quito, that the Inca might see what these strange men were like. The captain Yasca rebuilt the fortress and, placing in it the necessary garrison, he returned to Cuzco, dismissed his men, and each one returned to his own land.

[Note 118: It was the policy of the Incas that the idols and _huacas_ of conquered nations should be sent to Cuzco and deposited there. Catiquilla was an idol of the Caxamarca and Huamachuco people.

Arriaga calls it Apu-cati-quilla. _Apu_ the great or chief, _catic_ follower, _quilla_ the moon. Apu-cati-quilla appears to have been a moon G.o.d. The other _huacas_ are local deities, all sent to Cuzco. Catiquilla had been kept as an oracle in the village of Tauca in Conchucos (Calancha, p. 471). _Cati-quilla_ would mean "following moon." (See also _Extirpation de la idolatria del Peru_, Joseph de Arriaga. Lima, 1627.)]

LXII.

WHAT HUAYNA CCAPAC DID AFTER THE SAID WARS.

As soon as Huayna Ccapac had despatched the captain against the Chirihuanas, he set out from Tumipampa to organize the nations he had conquered, including Quito, Pasto, and Huancavilcas. He came to the river called Ancas-mayu, between Pasto and Quito, where he set up his boundary pillars at the limit of the country he had conquered. As a token of grandeur and as a memorial he placed certain golden staves in the pillars. He then followed the course of the river in search of the sea, seeking for people to conquer, for he had information that in that direction the country was well peopled.

On this road the army of the Inca was in great peril, suffering from scarcity of water, for the troops had to cross extensive tracts of sand.

One day, at dawn, the Inca army found itself surrounded by an immense crowd of people, not knowing who they were. In fear of the unknown enemy, the troops began to retreat towards the Inca. Just as they were preparing for flight a boy came to Huayna Ccapac, and said: "My Lord!

fear not, those are the people for whom we are in search. Let us attack them." This appeared to the Inca to be good advice and he ordered an impetuous attack to be made, promising that whatever any man took should be his. The _orejones_ delivered such an a.s.sault on those who surrounded them that, in a short time, the circle was broken. The enemy was routed, and the fugitives made for their habitations, which were on the sea coast towards Coaques, where the Incas captured an immense quant.i.ty of rich spoils, emeralds, turquoises, and great store of very fine _mollo_, a substance formed in sea sh.e.l.ls, more valued amongst them than gold or silver.

Here the Inca received a message from the Sinchi or Curaca of the island of Puna with a rich present, inviting him to come to his island to receive his service. Huayna Ccapac did so. Thence he went to Huancavilca, where he joined the reserves who had been left there. News came to him that a great pestilence was raging at Cuzco of which the governors Apu Hilaquito his uncle, and Auqui Tupac Inca his brother had died, also his sister Mama Cuca, and many other relations. To establish order among the conquered nations, the Inca went to Quito, intending to proceed from thence to Cuzco to rest.

On reaching Quito the Inca was taken ill with a fever, though others say it was small-pox or measles. He felt the disease to be mortal and sent for the _orejones_ his relations, who asked him to name his successor.

His reply was that his son Ninan Cuyoche was to succeed, if the augury of the _calpa_ gave signs that such succession would be auspicious, if not his son Huascar was to succeed.

Orders were given to proceed with the ceremony of the _calpa_, and Cusi Tupac Yupanqui, named by the Inca to be chief steward of the Sun, came to perform it. By the first _calpa_ it was found that the succession of Ninan Cuyoche would not be auspicious. Then they opened another lamb and took out the lungs, examining certain veins. The result was that the signs respecting Huascar were also inauspicious. Returning to the Inca, that he might name some one else, they found that he was dead. While the _orejones_ stood in suspense about the succession, Cusi Tupac Yupanqui said: "Take care of the body, for I go to Tumipampa to give the fringe to Ninan Cuyoche." But when he arrived at Tumipampa he found that Ninan Cuyoche was also dead of the small-pox pestilence[119].

[Note 119: Ninan Cuyoche is said by Cobos to have been legitimate, a son of the first wife Cusi Rimay Huaco, who is said by Sarmiento and others not to have borne a male heir.]

Seeing this Cusi Tupac Yupanqui said to Araua Ocllo--"Be not sad, O Coya! go quickly to Cuzco, and say to your son Huascar that his father named him to be Inca when his own days were over." He appointed two _orejones_ to accompany her, with orders to say to the Incas of Cuzco that they were to give the fringe to Huascar. Cusi Tupac added that he would make necessary arrangements and would presently follow them with the body of Huayna Ccapac, to enter Cuzco with it in triumph, the order of which had been ordained by the Inca on the point of death, on a staff.

Huayna Ccapac died at Quito at the age of 80 years. He left more than 50 sons. He succeeded at the age of 20, and reigned 60 years. He was valiant though cruel.

He left a lineage or _ayllu_ called _Tumipampa Ayllu_. At present the heads of it, now living, are Don Diego Viracocha Inca, Don Garcia Inguil Tupac, and Gonzalo Sayri. To this _ayllu_ are joined the sons of Paulu Tupac, son of Huayna Ccapac. They are Hanan-cuzcos.

Huayna Ccapac died in the year 1524 of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the invincible Emperor Charles V of glorious memory being King of Spain, father of your Majesty, and the Pope was Paul III.

The body of Huayna Ccapac was found by the Licentiate Polo in a house where it was kept concealed, in the city of Cuzco. It was guarded by two of his servants named Hualpa t.i.tu and Sumac Yupanqui. His idol or _guauqui_ was called _Huaraqui Inca_. It was a great image of gold, which has not been found up to the present time.

LXIII

THE LIFE OF HUASCAR, THE LAST INCA, AND OF ATAHUALPA.

Huayna Ccapac being dead, and the news having reached Cuzco, they raised t.i.tu Cusi Hualpa Inti Illapa, called Huascar, to be Inca. He was called Huascar because he was born in a town called Huascar-quihuar, four and a half leagues from Cuzco. Those who remained at Tumipampa embalmed the body of Huayna Ccapac, and collected the spoils and captives taken in his wars, for a triumphal entry into the capital.

It is to be noted that Atahualpa, b.a.s.t.a.r.d son of Huayna Ccapac by Tocto Coca, his cousin, of the lineage of Inca Yupanqui, had been taken to that war by his father to prove him. He first went against the Pastos, and came back a fugitive, for which his father rated him severely. Owing to this Atahualpa did not appear among the troops, and he spoke to the Inca _orejones_ of Cuzco in this manner. "My Lords! you know that I am a son of Huayna Ccapac and that my father took me with him, to prove me in the war. Owing to the disaster with the Pastos, my father insulted me in such a way that I could not appear among the troops, still less at Cuzco among my relations who thought that my father would leave me well, but I am left poor and dishonoured. For this reason I have determined to remain here where my father died, and not to live among those who will be pleased to see me poor and out of favour. This being so you need not wait for me." He then embraced them all and took leave of them. They departed with tears and grief, leaving Atahualpa at Tumipampa[120].

[Note 120: Atahualpa is said by Sarmiento and Yamqui Pachacuti to have been an illegitimate son of Huayna Ccapac by Tocto Coca his cousin, of the ayllu of Pachacuti. Cieza de Leon says that he was a son by a woman of Quilaco named Tupac Palla. Gomara, who is followed by Velasco, says that Atahualpa was the son of a princess of Quito. As Huayna Ccapac only set out for the Quito campaign twelve years before his death, and Atahualpa was then grown up, his mother cannot have been a woman of Quito. I, therefore, have no doubt that Sarmiento is right.]

The _orejones_ brought the body of Huayna Ccapac to Cuzco, entering with great triumph, and his obsequies were performed like those of his ancestors. This being done, Huascar presented gold and other presents, as well as wives who had been kept closely confined in the house of the _acllas_ during the time of his father. Huascar built edifices where he was born, and in Cuzco he erected the houses of Amaru-cancha, where is now the monastery of the "Name of Jesus," and others on the Colcampata, where Don Carlos lives, the son of Paulo.