Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of PeruBingham, Hiram
History
Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru
Bingham, Hiram
Incas; Peru -- Antiquities; Peru -- Description and travel
Accounts of what happened in Uiticos under the rule of Manco are
not very satisfactory. Father Calancha, who published in 1639 his
"Coronica Moralizada," or "pious account of the missionary activities
of the Augustinians" in Peru, says that the Inca Manco was obeyed
by all the Indians who lived in a region extending "for two hundred
leagues and more toward the east and toward the south, where there
were innumerable Indians in various provinces." With customary monastic
zeal and proper religious fervor, Father Calancha accuses the Inca of
compelling the baptized Indians who fled to him from the Spaniards to
abandon their new faith, torturing those who would no longer worship
the old Inca "idols." This story need not be taken too literally,
although undoubtedly the escaped Indians acted as though they had
never been baptized.
Besides Indians fleeing from harsh masters, there came to Uilcapampa,
in 1542, Gomez Perez, Diego Mendez, and half a dozen other Spanish
fugitives, adherents of Almagro, "rascals," says Calancha, "worthy
of Manco's favor." Obliged by the civil wars of the conquistadores
to flee from the Pizarros, they were glad enough to find a welcome
in Uiticos. To while away the time they played games and taught
the Inca checkers and chess, as well as bowling-on-the-green and
quoits. Montesinos says they also taught him to ride horseback
and shoot an arquebus. They took their games very seriously and
occasionally violent disputes arose, one of which, as we shall see,
was to have fatal consequences. They were kept informed by Manco of
what was going on in the viceroyalty. Although "encompassed within
craggy and lofty mountains," the Inca was thoroughly cognizant of
all those "revolutions" which might be of benefit to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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