In observing natural things these Indians were much advanced, as well the movements of the sun as of the moon. Some of them said that there were four great heavens, and all affirm that the seat and residence of the great God, the Creator of the world, is in the heaven. I often asked them if they understood that the world would some day come to an end, but at this they laughed. For they understand little on this subject; and if they know anything, it is what God permits the devil to tell them. They call the whole world _pacha_, understanding the movements of the sun, and the increasing and waning of the moon. They count the year by the moon, and call it _huata_, consisting of twelve moons. They had small towers, many of them near Cuzco, but now in a ruined state, and by the shadow which the sun threw from them they calculated the time of sowing and other matters.[139] These Indians watched the heavens and the signs very constantly, which made them such great soothsayers. When the stars fall, great is the cry that they make, and the murmurings between one and another. CHAPTER XXVII. _Which treats of the riches of the temple of Curicancha, and of the veneration in which the Incas held it._ Having completed an account of some things that it is necessary for my purpose that I should describe, we will then return to the succession of the kings that ruled down to Huascar, recounting the events of each reign with great brevity. But now I will speak of the great, most wealthy, and most renowned temple of Curicancha, which was the principal one in all these kingdoms.