*23 For Cuzco was a sanctified spot, venerated not only as the
abode of the Incas, but of all those deities who presided over
the motley nations of the empire. It was the city beloved of the
Sun; where his worship was maintained in its splendor; "where
every fountain, pathway, and wall," says an ancient chronicler,
"was regarded as a holy mystery." *24 And unfortunate was the
Indian noble who, at some period or other of his life, had not
made his pilgrimage to the Peruvian Mecca.
[Footnote 23: Herrera, Hist. General, dec 5, lib. 4, cap. 8.
"Havia en aquella ciudad y legua y media de la redonda
quatrocientos y tantos lugares, donde se hacian sacrificious, y
se gastava mucha suma de hacienda en ellos." Ondegardo, Rel.
Prim., Ms.]
[Footnote 24: "Que aquella ciudad del Cuzco era casa y morada de
Dioses, e ansi no habia en toda ella fuente ni paso ni pared que
no dixesen que tenia misterio." Ondegardo, Rel. Seg., Ms.]
Other temples and religious dwellings were scattered over the
provinces; and some of them constructed on a scale of
magnificence, that almost rivalled that of the metropolis. The
attendants on these composed an army of themselves. The whole
number of functionaries, including those of the sacerdotal order,
who officiated at the Coricancha alone, was no less than four
thousand. *25
[Footnote 25: Conq. i Pob. del Piru, Ms.
An army, indeed, if, as Cieza de Leon states, the number of
priests and menials employed in the famous temple of Bilcas, on
the route to Chili, amounted to 40,000! (Cronica, cap.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139