89.)
Every thing relating to these Houses of the Sun appears to have
been on a grand scale. But we may easily believe this a clerical
error for 4,000.]
At the head of all, both here and throughout the land, stood the
great High-Priest, or Villac Vmu, as he was called. He was
second only to the Inca in dignity, and was usually chosen from
his brothers or nearest kindred. He was appointed by the
monarch, and held his office for life; and he, in turn, appointed
to all the subordinate stations of his own order. This order was
very numerous. Those members of it who officiated in the House
of the Sun, in Cuzco, were taken exclusively from the sacred race
of the Incas. The ministers in the provincial temples were drawn
from the families of the curacas; but the office of high-priest
in each district was reserved for one of the blood royal. It was
designed by this regulation to preserve the faith in its purity,
and to guard against any departure from the stately ceremonial
which it punctiliously prescribed. *26
[Footnote 26: Sarmiento, Relacion, Ms., cap. 27. - Conq i Pob.
del Piru, Ms.
It was only while the priests were engaged in the service of the
temples, that they were maintained, according to Garcilasso, from
the estates of the Sun. At other times, they were to get their
support from their own lands, which, if he is correct, were
assigned to them in the same manner as to the other orders of the
nation. Com Real., Parte 1, lib.
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