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ACT III

Scene 1

The Pampa Moroni, a street in Cuzco. Enter Rumi-ñaui (L.)[1] in a long black cloak with a train, and Piqui Chaqui (R.), meeting each other.

Rumi-ñaui. Whence, Piqui Chaqui, comest thou?
Dost thou here seek Ollantay's fate?
Piqui Chaqui. Cuzco, great lord, is my birthplace;
I hasten back unto my home.
I care not more to pass my days
In dismal and profound ravines.
Rumi-ñaui. Tell me, Ollantay—what does he?
Piqui Chaqui. He is busy now entangling
An already entangled skein.
Rumi-ñaui. What skein?

  1. Rumi-ñaui is the interlocutor in the Justiniani text, in the Dominican text, and in the text of Spilsbury. Yet Zegarra would substitute the Uillac Uma or High Priest for Rumi-ñaui. His argument is that the interlocutor was of the blood-royal, and that the High Priest was always of the blood-royal, while Rumi-ñaui was not. But the text does not say that the interlocutor was of the royal blood. Zegarra also says that the interlocutor wore a black cloak with a long train, and that this was the dress of the High Priest. But it was not the dress of the High Priest as described by the best authorities. It was probably the general mourning dress. The threats addressed to Piqui Chaqui were likely enough to come from a soldier, but not from the High Priest as he is portrayed in this drama.

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