Napata

“ At the first brightening of the dawn Tua and Asti went out, and there, beneath them, near to the banks of a great river, which they knew for the Nile, they saw the pyramids and the temples of Napata the Golden, the southern city of Amen, and thanked the gods who had brought them here in safety.
While they still gazed upon its glories in the red light of the rising sun the captain of the desert men appeared, and bowed before them.
“Divine Lady,” he said, “woman or goddess, whichever you may be, we have fulfilled the command given to us by Kepher, the ancient King of the Wilderness. ”

“ At Napata, where the travellers now arrived, they saw their first entirely native, barbarian town. There was not a word of Latin spoken here; Lucius and Thrasyllus could not have made themselves understood without Tarrar and Caleb; and even then the little Libyan slave and the Sabæan guide [246] found it difficult to grapple with the language. The Ethiopians, who wore no clothing save the skin of some animal round their waist, surprised the travellers by the smallness of their stature. Everything about them was small: their houses built of palm-leaves and bamboo, their oxen and goats and sheep ”

“ Napata, therefore, occupies an intermediate place in history between Thebes and Meroë, showing the gradual southward progress of Egyptian art and civilization. It is a curious fact that the old religion of Egypt should have been here met face to face, and overthrown, by Christianity, which, starting in the mountains of Abyssinia, followed the course of the Nile northward. In the sixth century of our era, Ethiopia and Nubia were converted to Christianity and remained thus until the fourteenth century, when they fell beneath the sword of Islam. ”

“ Heru-Sa-Atef found the royal palace at Napata in ruins and restored it; his successor Nastasenen re-visited it and went on a journey of inspection as far north probably as the 3rd Cataract, but Meroe was the principal seat of his kingdom. Nastasenen mentions on his inscription five campaigns, apparently against the rich pastoral peoples of the Eastern Desert, from whom he captured in all nearly 2,000,000 head of cattle, sheep, goats, etc. At Meroe, about 40 miles to the south of the Atbara, at a place now termed Bagarawiya, were built temples and pyramids copied from Napata. ”

“ Tupac Inca Yupanqui entered Cuzco with the greatest, the richest, and the most solemny triumph with which any Inca had ever reached the House of the Sun, bringing with him people of many different races, strange animals, innumerable quantities of riches. But behold the evil condition of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui and his avarice, for though Tupac Inca was his son whose promotion he had procured, he felt such jealousy that his son should have gained such honour and fame in those conquests, that he publicly showed annoyance that it was not himself who triumphed, and that all was not due to him. ”

“ Seeing that the Collas resisted so resolutely, and stood so firmly in the battle, he turned his face to his men saying in a loud voice: "O Incas of Cuzco! conquerors of all the land! Are you not ashamed that people so inferior to you, and unequal in weapons, should be equal to you and resist for so long a time?" With this he returned to the fight, and the troops, touched by this rebuke, pressed upon their enemies in such sort that they were broken and defeated. Inca Yupanqui, being an experienced warrior, knew that the completion of the victory consisted in the capture of Chuchi Ccapac. ”

“ The Chiefs, considering the harm Mayta Ccapac had done to the natives when a child, feared that when he was grown up he would destroy them all, and for this reason they resolved to die for their liberty. All the inhabitants of the valley of Cuzco, that had been spared by Manco Ccapac, united to make war on the Incas. This very seriously alarmed Lloqui Yupanqui. He thought he was lost, and reprehended his son Mayta Ccapac, saying, "Son! why hast thou been so harmful to the natives of this valley, so that in my old age I shall die at the hands of our enemies?" ”

“ He became a Christian, and provision was made for him, his sons and descendants. Sayri Tupac died as a Christian, and he who is now in the Andes in rebellion, named Titu Cusi Yupanqui, is not a legitimate son of Manco Inca, but a bastard and apostate. They hold that another son is legitimate who is with the same Titu, named Tupac Amaru, but he is incapable and the Indians called him uti. Neither one nor the other are heirs of the land, because their father was not legitimate. ”

“ XLI. AMARU TUPAC INCA AND APU PAUCAR USNU CONTINUE THE CONQUEST OF THE COLLAO AND AGAIN SUBDUE THE COLLAS. As soon as the Inca returned to Cuzco, leaving his two sons Tupac Amaru and Apu Paucar Usnu [99] in the Callao, those captains set out from Lampa, advancing to Hatun-Colla, where they knew that the Collas had rallied their troops to fight the Cuzcos once more, and that they had raised one of the sons of Chuchi Ccapac to be Inca. The Incas came to the place where the Collas were awaiting them in arms. They met and fought valorously, many being killed on both sides. ”

“ Manco Ccapac took with him a bird like a falcon, called indi [41] , which they all worshipped and feared as a sacred, or, as some say, an enchanted thing, for they thought that this bird made Manco Ccapac their lord and obliged the people to follow him. It was thus that Manco Ccapac gave them to understand, and it was carried in vahidos [42] , always kept in a covered hamper of straw, like a box, with much care. He left it as an heirloom to his son, and the Incas had it down to the time of Inca Yupanqui. ”

“ WHEN the great King Tupac Inca Yupanqui died, they prepared to perform the obsequies and ceremonies of his interment after the manner of his ancestors, and with great pomp. The Orejones relate that some provinces conspired to recover their liberty, and shake off the yoke of the Incas, but the good management of the Inca governors, assisted by the captains and mitimaes, kept order during a trying time. Huayna Capac was not careless, nor did he fail to understand that it would be necessary for him to display valour in order to preserve that which his father had gained with so much labour. ”

“ The mountains rise abruptly from the valley of the Vilcamayu below Ollantay-tampu, where the bridge of Chuqui-chaca opened upon paths leading up into a land of enchantment. No more lovely mountain scenery can be found on this earth. When Manco Inca escaped from the Spaniards he took refuge in Vilcapampa, and established his court and government there. The Sun temple, the convent of virgins, and the other institutions of the Incas at Cuzco, were transferred to this mountain fastness. Even handsome edifices were erected. ”

“ Yet it was not till the middle of the fifteenth century that the famous Topa Inca Yupanqui, grandfather of the monarch who occupied the throne at the coming of the Spaniards, led his armies across the terrible desert of Atacama, and, penetrating to the southern region of Chili, fixed the permanent boundary of his dominions at the river Maule. His son, Huayna Capac, possessed of ambition and military talent fully equal to his father's marched along the Cordillera towards the north, and, pushing his conquests across the equator, added the powerful kingdom of Quito to the empire of Peru. ”

“ Tupac Inca Yupanqui resolved to crush them once for all. Having returned from the Antis, he increased his army and nominated as captains Larico, the son of his cousin Ccapac Yupanqui, his brother Chachi, Cunti Yupanqui, and Quihual Tupac. With this army he advanced to the Collao. The Collas had constructed four strong places at Llallaua, Asillo, Arapa, and Pucara. The Inca captured the chiefs and the leader of all, who was Chuca-chucay Pachacuti Coaquiri, he who, as we have said, fled from Anti-suyu. ”

“ The mountain is surrounded in almost every direction by forest extending to an illimitable distance, and the entire district for many miles around is cut up by precipitous mountain ranges and profound ravines. Ngatapa mountain rears itself unconnected with neighbouring hills, from which it is separated by chasm-like gullies. No drawing can convey an idea of its tremendous strength, because a complete view of Ngatapa cannot be obtained from its base. ”

“ When Ayar Auca heard the words of his brother, he opened his wings and flew to that place which Manco Ccapac had pointed out. Seating himself there, he was presently turned into stone, and was made the stone of possession. In the ancient language of this valley the heap was called cozco, whence that site has had the name of Cuzco to this day [51] . From this circumstance the Incas had a proverb which said, "Ayar Auca cuzco huanca," or, "Ayar Auca a heap of marble." Others say that Manco Ccapac gave the name of Cuzco because he wept in that place where he buried his brother Ayar Cachi. ”

“ For this service he selected two captains of the Collao, one named Mollo Cavana, the other Mollo Pucara, and two others of Cunti-suyu named Apu Cautar Canana and Cunti Mollo, under whose command he placed many men of their nations, and 2000 orejones as guards, under Auqui Tupac Inca, brother of Huayna Ccapac and Acollo Tupac of the lineage of Viracocha. They marched to the country of the Pastos who fell back on their chief place, leaving their old people, women and children, with a few men, that the enemy might think there was no one else. ”

“ When all was ready, the Inca, accompanied by all his principal relations and courtiers, went to the House of the Sun, where they brought out Tupac Inca with great solemnity and pomp. For they carried with him all the idols of the Sun, Vircocha, the other huacas, moro-urco. All being placed in order with such pomp as had never been seen before, they all went to the great square of the city, in the centre of which a bonfire was made. All relations and friends then killed many animals, offering them as sacrifices by throwing them into the flames. ”

“ Mayta Ccapac, the fourth Inca, son of Lloqui Yupanqui and his wife Mama Cava, is to those Indians what Hercules is to us, as regards his birth and acts, for they relate strange things of him. At the very first the Indians of his lineage, and all the others in general, say that his father, when he was begotten, was so old and weak that every one believed he was useless, so that they thought the conception was a miracle. ”

“ Napo is prettily situated on the left bank of the Rio Napo, a dense forest inclosing it on every side. The maximum number of inhabitants is eighty families; but many of these are in town only in festival seasons. It was well for us that we reached the Napo during the feasts; otherwise we might not have found men enough to man our canoes down the river. There are three or four blancos, petty merchants, who follow the old Spanish practice of compulsory sales, forcing the Indians to take lienzo, knives, beads, etc., at exorbitant prices, and making them pay in gold dust and pita. ”

“ In Chincha, the people were waiting for the arrival of the Inca in their valley, with more than 30,000 armed men, and they expected support from their neighbours. Tupac Inca, when he knew it, sent messengers, with great presents, to the chiefs and principal captains, instructing the ambassador to make great offers in his name, to assure them that he did not desire war, but rather peace and brotherhood, and other messages of that kind. The Chinchas heard what the Inca said, and received his presents. ”

“ He next sent for the Incas orejones of Cuzco, his relations, and for Tupac Inca his son to whom he spoke, with a few words, in this manner:—"Son! you now see how many great nations I leave to you, and you know what labour they have cost me. Mind that you are the man to keep and augment them. No one must raise his two eyes against you and live, even if he be your own brother. ”

“ On this road the army of the Inca was in great peril, suffering from scarcity of water, for the troops had to cross extensive tracts of sand. One day, at dawn, the Inca army found itself surrounded by an immense crowd of people, not knowing who they were. In fear of the unknown enemy, the troops began to retreat towards the Inca. Just as they were preparing for flight a boy came to Huayna Ccapac, and said: "My Lord! fear not, those are the people for whom we are in search. Let us attack them." ”

“ For no one is left who, in conformity with their laws, is able to say that he is the heir, in whole or in part of this land. Only two sons of Huayna Ccapac escaped the cruelty of Atahualpa. They were Paullu Tupac, afterwards called Don Cristóval Paullu, and Manco Inca. ”

“ This name of "Sinchi" for those who held sway only during war, lasted throughout the land until the time of Tupac Inca Yupanqui, the tenth Inca, who instituted "Curacas" and other officials in the order which will be fully described in the life of that Inca. Even at the present time they continue this use and custom in the provinces of Chile and in other parts of the forests of Peru to the east of Quito and Chachapoyas, where they only obey a chief during war time, not any special one, but he who is known to be most valiant, enterprising and daring in the wars. ”

“ Here he arranged that Cayu Tupac should meet me, who is one of the surviving descendants of Huaina Capac. For Sairi Tupac, son of Manco Inca, has retired to Viticos, where his father took refuge after his great war with the Spaniards at Cuzco. I also met others of the Orejones, who are those that are held to be most noble amongst themselves. With the best interpreters that could be found, I asked these Lords Incas of what race they were, and of what nation. It would seem that the former Incas, to magnify their origin with great deeds, exaggerated the story they had received, in their songs. ”

“ After Tupac Inca had rested at Cuzco, re-organized his army, and cured the wounded he went to Tumipampa, where his wife and sister bore him a son, to whom he gave the name of Titu Cusi Hualpa, afterwards known as Huayna Ccapac. After the Inca Tupac had rejoiced and celebrated the birthday festivals, although the four years were passed that his father had given him to complete the conquests, he heard that there was a great nation towards the South Sea, composed of Indians called Huancavelicas. So he determined to go down to conquer. ”