Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0043/00435.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 9KB | 168 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00435}
$Pretitle{266}
$Title{Bolivia
Golden Rulers of an Ancient Empire}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Kip Lester and Jane McKeel}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Bolivia, Washington DC}
$Subject{inca
incas
sun
cuzco
government
empire
incan

}
$Date{1989}
$Log{}
Country:     Bolivia
Book:        The Cultural Guide of Bolivia
Author:      Kip Lester and Jane McKeel
Affiliation: Embassy of Bolivia, Washington DC
Date:        1989

Golden Rulers of an Ancient Empire

The reign of the Incas

     The origin of the Inca civilization is "lost in the mists of time"
although there are various legends and theories to explain it. According to
Garcilaso de la Vega, a descendant of the Incas on his mother's side and
Spanish on his father's side, the Sun sent Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo to
gather the natives into communities and to teach them the arts of civilized
life. This celestial pair, who were brother and sister and also husband and
wife, advanced along the high plains of Lake Titicaca to the south. They had
been instructed to live where the golden wedge sank into the ground without
trouble. When they reached the valley of Cuzco, the golden wedge sank into the
ground and disappeared forever.

     Another legend speaks of certain white and bearded men who advanced from
the shores of Lake Titicaca and established power over the natives and brought
to them civilization.

     It can be reasonably concluded that there existed a race advanced in
civilization before the time of the Incas, and that this race derived from the
neighborhood of Lake Titicaca. Who they were and from where they came is still
unknown.

     As far as dating the Incan civilization, the historian finds no firm
footing on which to stand up to within a century of the Spanish conquest. The
Incan dynasty is generally assigned 13 princes before the conquest which would
carry the foundation of the monarchy back to no more than 250 years before the
Spanish conquest.

     Cuzco was the holy city of the Incas, and the scepter passed from father
to son, the eldest son of the lawful queen who was also sister of the Inca,
thus maintaining the royal line free from any outside taint.

     The government was "a mild despotism". The ruler raised armies, usually
commanded them, imposed taxes, made laws, provided for their execution and
removed judges at his will.

     Riches did not pass from father to son. The wealth of each ruler
reflected what he had personally accumulated. When the Inca died, his palaces
were abandoned, his treasures left, and all but one of his mansions were
closed forever.

     Tahuantinsuyo was the name given to the empire which was divided into
four sections, each called a suyo: Chinchasuyo included northern Peru and
Ecuador; the Atisuyo extended to the Cordillera; Contisuyo included the
coastal lands; and the Collasuyo contained the rest of Peru, Chile, Bolivia,
and a strip of northern Argentina.

     The empire was divided into three parts; one for the sun, one for the
Inca, and one for the people. The part for the Sun furnished the revenue to
support temples and the priesthood; the part for the Inca supplied royal state
and government; and the part for the people was divided per capita. The tenant
could not add to his possessions, and the lease was terminated at the end of a
year. In this system there was no rich man nor was there a poor man. The
hardship was that a man could not better himself materially.

     The Incas supervised the use of the wealth and resources of the country.
The sheep were sheared, the wool was put in magazines, and it was used as
needed. The same was true of the mines and the crops. A register was kept of
the births and deaths, and surveys were made of the physical resources. The
government then apportioned the labor to the provinces best equipped to do it.

     The remains of the temples, palaces, fortresses, terraced mountains,
great military roads, aqueducts and other public works are proof of this
civilization's industry. The two principal roads were the one that ran from
Quito to Cuzco and the one that ran from Cuzco south toward Chile. The first
one passed over the Altiplano, was 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) in length,
over 6 meters (20 feet) in breadth and was made of freestone and bituminous
cement. The second one ran between the Andes and the ocean. About every 16
kilometers (10 miles) along the roads were accommodations for the Inca and his
entourage. About every five miles buildings were erected in which a number of
runners (chasquis) were stationed to carry government dispatches. Dispatches
were verbal or conveyed by a cord two feet long composed of different colored
threads twisted together from which a quantity of smaller threads were
suspended in the manner of a fringe. This cord was called a quipus. Messages
were carried 150 miles per day; and the runners also carried fish, fruits and
game to Cuzco.

     The Inca was constantly at war, with religion as the pretext. He was wise
to spare his enemies, and the gods of the enemy were tolerated as long as the
sun was supreme. The Inca employed various measures to integrate the conquered
into their society. The gods of the conquered people were moved with their
rulers to Cuzco, the gods permanently and the people long enough to be
inculcated with the general policies and the language. When they left the
court, their eldest son remained. The Incas substituted Quechua for the great
variety of dialects thereby affording all their peoples a most important
common denominator. The Inca had complete authority over the people and moved
them from one place to another as he wished. He would move a group of
unfaithful subjects into the midst of faithful ones. Thus numerous independent
tribes were melded into one by the influence of a common religion, common
language, and common government.

     In effect the government of the Incas was a theocracy. They believed in a
Supreme being whom they adored under the names of Pachacamac and Viracocha.
Their special deity was the sun, and they also acknowledged other objects of
worship such as the moon, stars and other objects in nature. The most ancient
of the sun temples was the one on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca. They
believed in an afterlife, thus their attention to body preservation. The good
were to pass on to a life of happiness, and the evil were to atone for their
crimes by ages of labor. With these ideas was associated a belief in an evil
principle of spirit bearing the name of Supay.

     In the religious hierarchy the high priest was second only to the Inca,
and he was usually chosen from the Inca's brothers. His duties had to do with
the ministration of the temples. The "virgins of the sun" (nustas) cared for
the sacred fire, wove the hangings for the temple and were often chosen as
brides for the Inca. There were also wise men (amautas) charged with the
instruction of the youth.

     The Incas had some acquaintance with geography, a moderate proficiency in
astronomy, and they excelled in terracing and their use of guano as
fertilizer. However, they used a clumsy substitute for a plow, a stake dragged
along by six to eight men. There was no foreign commerce. They used maguey as
a substitute for linen, cotton and llama fleece. Only the Inca himself used
the wool from the vicuna. They cut emeralds and other stones but were
unacquainted with iron. Yet they added tin to copper which gave it a hardness
little inferior to steel. They gathered gold from the streams. Granite was
used in construction, and although many constructions were accomplished
without cement, they used a mold mixed with lime or a fine, bituminous glue.
They did not know how to mortise timbers, but they held beams together by
tying them with maguey. Their buildings were suited to the climate, and they
resisted the convulsion of volcanoes.

     Little is known about the first six Inca rulers except for the accounts
of Garcilaso de la Vega, which are not reliable. According to his accounts the
fourth Inca, Mai