" (Montesinos, Memorias Antiguas
Historiales del Peru, Ms., lib. 2, cap. 6.) The ornament, which
was in the form of a wheel, did not depend from the ear, but was
inserted in the gristle of it, and was as large as an orange. "La
hacen tan ancha como una gran rosca de naranja; los Senores i
Principales traian aquellas roscas de oro fino en las orejas."
(Conq. i Pob. del Piru, Ms. - Also Garcilasso, Com. Real., Parte
1, lib. 1, cap. 22.) "The larger the hole," says one of the old
Conquerors, "the more of a gentleman!" Pedro Pizarro, Descub. y
Conq., Ms.]
When this operation was performed, one of the most venerable of
the nobles dressed the feet of the candidates in the sandals worn
by the order, which may remind us of the ceremony of buckling on
the spurs of the Christian knight. They were then allowed to
assume the girdle or sash around the loins, corresponding with
the toga virilis of the Romans, and intimating that they had
reached the season of manhood. Their heads were adorned with
garlands of flowers, which, by their various colors, were
emblematic of the clemency and goodness that should grace the
character of every true warrior; and the leaves of an evergreen
plant were mingled with the flowers, to show that these virtues
should endure without end. *30 The prince's head was further
ornamented by a fillet, or tasselled fringe, of a yellow color,
made of the fine threads of the vicuna wool, which encircled the
forehead as the peculiar insignia of the heir-apparent.
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