From Guaman Poma, El primero nueva cor≤nica y buen gobierno, Rolena Adorno and John Murra edition, Siglo Veintiuno Editores, Mexico City.		RITES OF PASSAGE arriage exemplified the Andean ideal of the union of complementary forces (male/female) in the cosmos. Once a year, all the marriageable young men and women in a locale were married by the Inca (as the supreme ruler was himself called) or his local representative. The ceremony was simple: the coupleÆs hands were united by the Inca. Common people were normally bound by monogamy, but the Inca ruler had many secondary wives, often to cement important alliances, and he could give extra wives to subjects as a special honor. The Inca ruler was identified with the sun and his principal wife, the queen, was identified with the moon and earth.				4 of 6   The Inca
	BIRTH AND INFANCY A woman prayed to the moon for the safe delivery of her infants, and her husband fasted during his wifeÆs labor. Relatives were invited to a ceremony to welcome the baby on the fourth day after birth. When the baby was weaned, a hair-cutting ceremony was held, marking the childÆs independence from his mother and his integration into the community. Relatives each cut a lock of the childÆs hair and offered the child a gift such as corn or wool. The child was given a name to use until puberty. PUBERTY RITES Puberty rites mark the passage to adult status and are celebrated the world over. When Inca boys were about fourteen, they underwent a breechcloth ceremony which consisted of fasting, rigorous exercises, and listening to lectures by elders. They symbolically relived the migration journey of the first Incas by spending the night on a sacred hill. At the end of a month of rites, they received their breechcloths and had their ears pierced. Puberty rites for Inca girls were simpler. The girl would fast for three days after the start of her first menstrual period. On the fourth day, her hair was cut and she was given new clothes. Her relatives gave her a feast and instructed her in adult duties. Like boys at their breechcloth ceremony, the girls received names they would keep throughout life.