CHAPTER V
RISE OF THE INCAS
There was a feeling of unrest among the descendants of the conquering tribes led by the Ayars to Cuzco. Vice was unchecked, the leaders of the people remained inert in the Inti-cancha, and no progress was made. Yet the people themselves were still vigorous, only needing a resolute chief, with a genius for command, to guide and direct their destinies.
Among the discontented there was an ambitious lady, said to have been of the blood-royal, who, in consultation with her sister, one of the most noted sorceresses of that day, resolved to effect a revolution. Her name was Siuyacu, or the 'gradually increasing ring.'[1] She was shrewd, cautious, and determined.
Her son Rocca was to be the instrument to effect the revolution she contemplated for the good of her people. He was a youth in his twentieth year, well formed, handsome, valiant, and with a mind filled with lofty ideals. Already he was the leader of the young men who were discontented, and among his intimates he was called Inca or Lord.
The lady Siuyacu thus opened the subject to her son. 'My son,' she began, 'you have a knowledge of the very happy estate enjoyed by our ancestors, when they occupied themselves in military exercises, and lived in conformity with the will of our great father the sun, and of the Supreme Creator Illa Tici Uira-cocha. By this path the city flourished, there was a succession of many kings, the realm was extended, the course of events was prosperous, and we always triumphed over our enemies, of which things our quipus are full. All this is now changed. The country is in the miserable state in which you see it. But I have determined that you shall be king. I trust in the aid of the Supreme Creator, that he will favour my plans, and I trust that you, by your valour and wisdom, will be the Restorer of the city and the kingdom to its ancient prosperity.'
She ceased. Tears flowed from her eyes as she waited anxiously for her son's reply. There was a long pause. Rocca appeared to be deep in thought. After a time the valiant youth delivered his answer. 'Mother and Lady!' he said, 'what you have proposed must be for the common good of all the realm. As to what you have said of me, I dutifully accept your judgment. I declare to you that I am ready to give my life a thousand times that your noble aspirations may be fulfilled.'
His mother was satisfied, for she knew the resolution of her son if he once undertook an enterprise, that with him there would be no turning back, and she was impressed with his wisdom in accepting counsel, and with his capacity in the execution of a carefully prepared scheme. She embraced him, declaring that she hoped no less of his valour and high spirit. She impressed him with the absolute necessity of silence, and charged him to follow exactly the instructions he would receive from herself and his aunt, the sorceress.
The lady Siuyacu next gave an account to her sister of this interview with her son, dwelling on the attention he had given to her words, and on his willingness to enter into her plans. His attitude promised success, and the sisters determined to take action without delay. The sorceress employed certain artisans, who were sworn to secrecy, to beat out a great number of square pieces of fine gold, with small holes perforated at each corner. They then sewed them on to a long garment, reaching from the neck to the heels, with numerous brilliant precious stones between the golden plates. The whole shone like the rays of the sun. The sisters then made several trials with the youth, to decide upon the way in which he should appear. At last they took him to a cave called Chingana, in the side of the Sacsahuaman hill, which overlooks the city. They dressed him in the gold-embroidered robe, and told him, at the end of four days, to appear at noon, on the height that dominates the whole city, so that the people might see him, and then to return to his hiding-place, where sufficient food had been provided.
The two sisters then declared to the people that, while their son and nephew, Inca Rocca, was sleeping in the house, the sun came down and carried him up to heaven enveloped in its rays, saying that he would soon return as king and favoured child of the great luminary. The solemn statement was confirmed by six members of the family who were witnesses. Partly on account of these assurances, partly because they had long looked upon Rocca as a child of destiny, most of the people believed the story. If there were any doubts they were soon dispelled.
Great numbers of people came from far and near to hear the news. On the fourth day sacrifices were offered to the sun from early morning, with earnest prayers that the youth might be restored.
Immense crowds were in the open space before the Inti-cancha. The hour of noon arrived. The busy hum of voices ceased. There was an awed silence, for there, on the summit of the Sacsahuaman hill, in the sight of all men, stood a golden figure glittering in the sun's rays. Then it suddenly disappeared, but thousands had seen it. The effect was indescribable. It must be Rocca, without doubt, and the sun had shown him, in answer to their prayers.
At nightfall the lady Siuyacu was at the Chingana, instructing her son to appear again, in the same way, at the end of two days, and then hide himself as before. During the interval the people were in suspense, and full of anxiety to see the end of such wonderful events. After two days the golden figure was again seen, for a few moments, on the summit of the Sacsahuaman hill. The feelings of the people were wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement. Siuyacu seized the fateful moment. She announced that the Supreme Creator, Illa Tici, had told her to go to the cave Chingana, where she would find her son. He was to be taken to the temple, where the people would hear the divine message from his lips, and must obey him in all things as one inspired by the Deity. The people prepared themselves by dressing as for a festival, amidst the most enthusiastic rejoicings. Then nearly the whole population, led by the lady Siuyacu, rushed up the hill, along the walls of the megalithic fortress, to the Chingana cave. Under a carved stone they found young Rocca reclining, apparently asleep. He awoke, and, rising to his feet, he told the people, with an air of great authority, that they must repair to the temple, where, by command of his father the sun, he would give them the message he had received.
The return of the people was more solemn. There was an awed silence. Rocca was seated on a golden throne within the temple. The vast crowd was eager to hear the message. A profound silence prevailed throughout the vast concourse of listeners as he rose to speak. These are said to have been his words: 'No one can doubt, my friends, the special love which my father the sun feels for us. When he weakened the power of this realm so that it fell to pieces, he took care to provide a remedy. It was vice and sloth which consumed its grandeur, and reduced it almost to a vanishing point. Our policy was turned into a system of each man being his own master, leaving us to be satisfied with the thought that once we had a government. The tribute which every province used to pay, is replaced by disdain. You yourselves, instead of performing duties of men, follow the path of animals, you have become so effeminate that you have forgotten what a sling or an arrow may be.
'My father the sun has permitted this downfall, and yet has preserved you from falling into slavery. Now his providence will apply a remedy. His command is that you must obey me in all things, as his son. My first decree is that you must apply yourselves to warlike exercises. This you must do, for it was by discipline and exercises that our ancestors became Lords of the World, as our Quipucamayocs tell us. Thus occupied, idleness will be driven away, you will become accustomed to obedience, you will recover what has been lost, and you will finally regain the glory that has departed. In my father the sun you will have support. His rays will not dry up the land, nor will the moon deny its rains, evils from which our country has suffered at various times. My laws will be those of the ancient kings, and will not be new inventions. The happy feature of my promises is that they come from my father the sun, and cannot fail. The punishment of disobedience will be thunder that will terrify you, tempests to afflict you, rains to destroy your crops, and lightning to deprive you of life.'
Rocca said all this with such solemnity that no one dared to dispute his words. The whole people proclaimed him their sovereign by acclamation, and the revolution was completed. He began to reign with the title of Inca Rocca. His first act was to remove from the Inti-cancha, which ceased to be the royal residence, and was given up entirely to the temple for the service of the sun. The Inca moved to the upper part of the town, and fixed his residence in an ancient building of the megalithic age. In its wall is the huge stone of twelve corners.
This interesting tradition is told by Montesinos, and is probably near the truth, for there are indications of a revolution of some kind, in Acosta, Morua, and other writers, at the time of Rocca's accession.
An important measure of the new sovereign was the division of people of every district into upper and lower, Hanan and Hurin. Great importance was attached to this arrangement, though it is not quite clear on what grounds it was instituted, and what purposes it was intended to serve. In Cuzco it was decreed that all the descendants of Inca Rocca should be Hanan Cuzcos, and settle in the upper part of the city. Half the ayllus which marched to Cuzco with Ayar Manco were also to be Hanan Cuzcos. These were:
Chavin,
Arayraca,
Sañoc,
Tarpuntay (sacrificer),
Huacay Taqui (sacred music).
Perhaps these five tribes had shown more devotion to the cause of the new ruler than the others. The descendants of Rocca's predecessors were all to be Hurin Cuzcos, and to live in the lower part of the city. The other five original ayllus were also Hurin Cuzcos:
Tampu (settled at Ollantay-tampu),
Cuycusa,
Masca (Mascani, I search),
Maras (settled at Maras),
Uru (settled at Urupampa).
Probably the division into upper and lower was connected, in some way, with the military exercises which were rigorously enforced by Inca Rocca. The descendants of the ten original ayllus mustered upwards of 20,000 fighting men. Several military expeditions were undertaken, and several neighbouring tribes were subdued—Muyna, Pinahua, Cayto-marca, and others—though their territories were not then permanently occupied. But the foundations were laid for a great army, destined to conquer and subjugate the whole Andean region. The ten original ayllus were the old guard, round which the rest of the army was formed. The exercises were continuous, and the Inca's son, Vicaquirau, and nephew, Apu Mayta, the two greatest generals the American race has produced, were trained under the eye of the Inca Rocca. It was their prowess and military skill that, during the three following reigns, created the empire of the Incas.
In all respects Inca Rocca appears to have been the pioneer of empire. The last recorded appearance of the lady Siuyacu was when she urged her son to lose no time in suppressing the vicious and slothful habits of the people. He made severe laws with this object, which were rigorously enforced. He also erected schools called Yacha-huasi to train youths as accountants, and recorders of events. The walls of the Inca's schools still resist the efforts of time. The grand city of later Incas was commenced under the auspices of Rocca. The torrents of Huatanay and Rodadero, rushing down the ravines on either side of the Sacsahuaman hill, had hitherto periodically overflowed their banks, and there were ponds and swamps, one of them on the site of the present cathedral of Cuzco. The Inca Rocca confined the torrents within solid walls, drained the site of the future city, and led off conduits to irrigate the valley. Thus the surrounding country, by a system of terrace cultivation and irrigation, was enabled to support a much larger population.
The custom of boring their ears and enlarging the lobes until they were a great length, which prevailed with the Incas, their relations, and the ten ayllus, obtained for them the name of Hatun-rincriyoc,[2] or great-eared people, which the Spaniards turned into Orejones. The latter word is constantly occurring in the early chronicles and narratives, and is a convenient word to use in writing of the Inca nobles. The Incas and their Orejones, then, by their greater power and civilisation, and their prestige as children of the sun, had attained to a certain predominance over most of the neighbouring tribes. Yet some stoutly maintained independence, even within a dozen miles of Cuzco, and some, like the Ayamarcas, were hostile and defiant.