CHAPTER II

THE CHILD IN PERU

=The People.= The origin of the people found in Peru at the time of the Spanish conquest is unknown. The people themselves held to a tradition that the empire began with a settlement in the Cuzco valley, the central region of Peru. By the time of the coming of the Spaniards in the first part of the sixteenth century, through military expeditions this Inca power had been extended to include the country from the river Ancasmayu, just north of the city of Quito, Ecuador, to the river Maule, just south of the city of Santiago, Chile, or from about the second degree of north latitude to the thirty-seventh degree of south latitude, territory embraced at the present time by Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, part of Chile, and north-west Argentina. Before these Inca people there seemed to have existed a race of well advanced people who left imposing architectural remains that the Inca people were unable to account for. To hold together the parts of the empire, great roads were built leading from Cuzco, the capital, to the extremities of the country. One of these great roads ran over the grand plateau north to Quito and south to Chile, and a second one ran each way, north and south, along the lowlands on the border of the ocean, and these two were connected by cross-roads. "The road over the plateau was conducted over pathless sierras buried in snow; galleries were cut for leagues through the living rock; rivers were crossed by means of bridges that swung suspended in the air; precipices were scaled by stairways hewn out of the native bed; ravines of hideous depths were filled up with solid masonry; in short, all the difficulties that beset a wild and mountainous region, and which might appall the most courageous engineer in modern times, were encountered and successfully overcome. The length of the road, of which scattered fragments only remain, is variously estimated at from fifteen hundred to two thousands miles; and stone pillars, in the manner of European mile-stones, were erected at stated intervals of somewhat more than a league, all along the route. Its breadth scarcely exceeded twenty feet. It was built of heavy flags of freestone, and, in some parts at least, covered with a bituminous cement, which time has made harder than the stone itself."[17] Along these roads were a series of post-houses for couriers, selected for their swiftness of foot, who carried messages back and forth between the capital and the different parts of the empire. The statement is made that these couriers covered the distance from Quito to Cuzco, over a thousand miles, in eight days. Along the routes were also placed storehouses with provisions for troops or for those who travelled on state affairs, who really were the only travellers.

At the time of the Spanish invasion, Peru was a huge bureaucracy, which had evolved from a primitive communism as the territory was extended by conquest. The empire was divided into provinces and placed under rulers, below whom was a hierarchy of officials, running down to an inspector of ten heads of families. A careful census was kept of the people and resources of each province, which censuses were sent regularly to Cuzco. From these returns was estimated the tribute each person was to give to the state, which was not paid in money but in labor or products. No one but the sick was permitted to remain idle and there was constant supervision over all. No man was exempt except by special regulation from agricultural work and military service. "From the cradle to the grave the life of the individual was marked out for him; as he was born so would he die, and he lived his allotted span under the ceaseless supervision of officials. His dress was fixed according to his district; he might not leave his village except at the bidding of the state, and then only for state purposes, he might not even seek a wife outside his own community."[18] Yet every one was cared for, widows, orphans, aged, and sick, in fact no one was allowed to suffer. The state stored in buildings provisions for times of scarcity of crops, so as to prevent famine. At the head of the empire was the sovereign and who bore the title of Sapa Inca, Only Inca, the divine ruler; next to the sovereign came the nobility of royal blood, the Inca nobility, and who held the principal offices of the state; then came a lower nobility, the Curaças, who were of the original rulers of conquered states; and last were the common people.

=Buildings.= The buildings of the highlands were of stone, while on the coast stone was used for foundations and brick made of clay mixed with reeds or tough grass was used for the walls. With stone mortar was sometimes used and sometimes not. In the great buildings where large stones were placed in the walls no mortar was used, and it is stated that in some of the remains of such buildings the stones are fitted so closely that not even a knife-blade can be inserted in the joints. The exterior walls were often of great thickness and the interior of the building was arranged around a court, with windows and doors from the rooms opening on to the court. Some of the buildings were of immense sizes, in particular those built as fortifications and for religious purposes. The doors were narrowed at the top, and with a stone across the top, the arch with the keystone not showing in Peruvian architecture. The roofs were thatched and in the large buildings the ceilings sometimes were vaulted by having the upper courses of masonry overlap and the whole topped by a single slab, thus forming a kind of arch. On this lower part a second story was built, which did not open on to the first floor, but was approached from the hill against which the building was built. Inside the building the walls were niched for the purpose of decoration and also gold plates and jewels were placed on the walls as ornaments.

=Dress.= The two principal garments of the ancient Peruvians were the tunic and the robe. In the simplest form the tunic consisted of an oblong piece of cloth, folded crosswise in the middle and a piece cut out of the fold for the head to go through, and the edges on each side sewed together except a place left for the arms. Sometimes the tunic was made with short sleeves. Often a belt was worn about the tunic at the waist. In the coast country the material used for clothing was cotton while wool was used in the highlands in the interior. The quality of the clothing differed with the rank of the wearer, the coarsest clothes were used by the common people while the finest were reserved for the nobility and the very finest for the sovereign. The cloths were colored and designs woven in them and sometimes they were fringed and embroidered and sometimes even they were further decorated with feathers and small plates of silver and gold.

On the head were worn conical or flat-topped caps, some having flaps to cover the ears and the back part of the head, while others enclosed the entire head, coming down under the chin, leaving only the face exposed to view. Women wore their hair long while with men the length of the hair proclaimed the rank, as the higher the rank the shorter the hair was worn, the sovereign alone having a closely cropped head. The ruling class wore a fringed cord of vicuña wool wound round the head three or four times, the color designating the rank of the wearer, that of the sovereign being crimson, of the heir to the throne yellow, and the higher officials wore other colors. Hair was not allowed to grow on the face and it was kept pulled out by means of small silver and copper tweezers. They wore sandals made of the hide of the llama or of vegetable fiber and they were fastened to the feet with cords.

Another mark of rank, along with their colored fringed cord, was the wearing of studs in the lobe of the ear, the largest size having been permitted to the sovereign only, and the sizes diminished according to rank. These ear-ornaments were so heavy as to pull the lobes of the ears down, making them quite large, the sovereign's ears being distended nearly to his shoulders. Sometimes the nose and the lower lip were pierced and ornaments worn in them. They wore necklaces made of beads of colored shell and turquoise, finger-rings, anklets, and bracelets of silver and gold, and pins for fastening the cloaks. Tattooing was practiced, designs having been worked into the skin with a blue pigment.

=Food, Drink, Narcotics.= Because of the country's lying for the most part in the tropics and also being of a mountainous nature, thus allowing different climatic conditions, there was a plant life as found in both tropical and temperate zones such as to offer a variety of food. In the uplands maize was one of the staple foods, which was usually eaten whole, roasted or boiled, maybe not used by them as bread except at festivals, and the leaves were eaten as a vegetable. Quinoa was another grain used by them, a kind of buckwheat. Another staple was the potato, most commonly used in the form of chuno, in which the potatoes were exposed to the frost for some time, then pounded and dried in the sun, which made quite nourishing food and could be stowed away and kept for some time. Beans and tomatoes were also used by them. On the lowlands along the coast were found bananas, cocoa-nuts, the quava, and the manioc. Birds were abundant, as were also fish, both from the lakes and the ocean. The llama and the deer and the wild sheep of the mountains were used as food, as was the flesh of some other animals. This flesh was often cut into strips and dried, which was called _charqui_, probably from which came the term "jerked" beef.

Syrup and a kind of vinegar were made from the juice of the maguey and also syrup was made from the juice extracted from the stalk of the maize. They made from the grain of the maize _chica_, which was the national drink of Peru, and chica also was made from the grain of the quinoa. But more desired than food or drink was the narcotic effect of the coca, whose leaves were gathered and dried, mixed with lime or bone-ash, and thus made into a preparation for chewing. Tobacco was used by the Peruvians but they "differed from every other Indian nation to whom it was known, by using it only for medicinal purposes, in the form of snuff."[19]

=Marriage.= By law in ancient Peru, every person, both male and female, was to marry at a marriageable age, which should be not less than twenty-four in males and eighteen or twenty in females, it being recognized that not until that age were people prepared to care for a family. The nobility were allowed more than one wife but the common people were limited to one.

According to law, each person was to marry within his own kindred. This was not a very great restriction since all of his community, including the town and often the whole province, were counted his kin.

The queen of the ruler was selected from among his sisters. No other person in the realm was allowed to marry his own sister. This was commanded of the ruler so that only the purest blood--the blood of the heaven-born children of the sun--would thus flow in their offspring, thereby preventing anything earthly from being a part of their great rulers.

No marriage was considered legal unless the consent of the parents had been given; nor was any contract performed without the contracting parties so desiring it.

The ceremony was very simple and yet quite peculiar. On a certain day of each year, designated by law, all persons of marriageable age came together in the open squares of their native places. The ruler of the district would take the hands of the different couples in his and place them in each other's and pronounce them man and wife. Among the kindred of the Inca this ceremony was performed by the Inca in person.

After all the marriage vows were performed, there was a general good time had by the newly married pair and their friends, which was carried on for several days. It can be seen that these festivities must have been very general over the whole empire, as all weddings occurred on the same day, and as in every circle there must have been one wedding, so there must have been among the participants in the after-feasts nearly all, if not all, the people of the country.

The newly married pair were not left to find a home for themselves. Each district furnished a house for each married couple within its boundaries and gave a certain portion of land to them, and as children came additional allotments were made for the support of each child. For a son twice as much land was assigned to the parents as for a daughter. This allotment of land occurred each year and amounts were given in accordance with the size of the family.

=Care and Treatment of Children.= Infants were placed in cradles, somewhat like Indian cradles, and fastened in them and kept in this manner, not even having been taken out and into the mother's arms when fed. When they were weaned an important ceremony occurred. In the first place the hair was cut. The first lock of hair was cut from the head by an elder relative with a stone knife and the rest of the hair was cut by the relatives in the order of closeness of kin. The child was then given a name, presents were given to it, and a feast closed the proceedings. When the heir to the throne underwent this ceremony, the High-priest of the Sun cut the first lock of hair, and the child received many fine presents, among them being presents from the rulers of the various provinces of the empire. A very careful record of births and deaths was kept.

=The Virgins of the Sun.= The Peruvians worshipped the sun and they trained for this worship young women who were called Virgins of the Sun. They were taken from their homes at an early age and placed in convents solely consecrated to their instruction and training. One of these institutions, located at Cuzco, was for the girls of royal blood. In the other provinces they were for the girls of the higher and inferior nobles, and occasionally a girl of remarkable beauty from among the common people was placed among the inmates.

These girls were put in charge of old, reliable women, who had spent many years in the convents. They taught the girls how to spin and to weave the hangings for the temples. They prepared the apparel for the ruler and his people. They were instructed in their religious duties, one of these being the watching over the sacred fires.

When the girls entered the convents they were shut entirely away from the world, not even being permitted to see or to hear from their friends and relatives. Morality was carefully inculcated. If one of the young women should be caught in an intrigue, she was buried alive, her lover was strangled, and his native town razed to the ground.

No one was allowed to enter these convents except the king and his lawful queen. The institutions were inspected each year by persons sent for that purpose, who made a report of what they noted on their visits.

The buildings themselves were as finely furnished as were the palaces of the Incas and the temples, as they were for the accommodation of the Daughters of the Sun and so were in especial charge of the state.

When these young women reached a marriageable age, the most beautiful among them were chosen to become brides of the ruler, others were given by him as wives to the higher nobles, while others remained in the service of religion, vowing perpetual virginity, and who were held in the very highest respect.

=Human Sacrifice.= Human sacrifice was of rare event in Peru. This only occurred to mark some great public affair. The victims usually were children and beautiful maidens. They were selected from the various parts of the empire and they travelled in regular convoys, the children too young to walk being carried by their mothers. As they journeyed they received the adoration of all the people on the way. In offering them up as sacrifices, the priests strangled them or broke their necks with a stone implement, while with some the throat was cut and blood from the wound sprinkled on their faces. In some cases the hearts of the victims were plucked out and offered to the divinity. These sacrifices were never served up at feasts, as in Mexico, but all were buried in special cemeteries. Human sacrifice never came to be a great part of the religion of Peru under the Incas, as was the case in Mexico, and where it did occur there was never any cannibalism with it.

=Industries.= Agriculture was the main occupation of the ancient Peruvians. Every one was required to put in some time in agricultural pursuits unless excused by special permit by the authorities. The land was divided into three parts, one portion was reserved for the Sun, to be used to produce revenue to care for the temples and the priests and others connected with the religion, a second part was reserved for the state, and the third part was given over to the people for their own use, each head of a family receiving a plot and additional plots for each unmarried child. There were no animals for use in the fields, so the people had all the work to do. The men used a digging-stick, which was a long stake with a sharpened point, sometimes having the point covered with copper, and with a cross stick about a foot up from the pointed end for a foot-rest for digging with the foot. The men would turn up the soil with their digging-sticks and the women would follow and break up the clods with a rake and pull out the weeds. The men unable to dig and the boys acted as scare-crows or used blow-guns and slings to keep the birds away. Every bit of ground was cultivated and to add to this terraces were formed on the hillsides by means of parallel walls of rough stones, one above the other. To add further to the area of tillable land, where the soil was rocky and dry they would make excavations, sometimes as much as an acre in extent and sunk to the depth of fifteen or twenty feet, and would line these with walls of adobe, sun-dried bricks. The bottom of the pits probably reached down to where there was some moisture and they were prepared for cultivation as the other fields.

As is well known, much of the coast region of the country which was occupied by the empire of the ancient Peruvians is arid, as the prevailing winds are from the east and the moisture is taken from them by the high Andes mountains, and thus the rivers are few and with but little water in them, often dry for a long time, and there is but little rainfall, if at all. In order to overcome this lack of moisture and to add to the fertile area of the country, the Peruvians built reservoirs and aqueducts. These aqueducts were sometimes above ground and sometimes underground and some were quite long, one at least having been between four and five hundred miles in length and twelve feet deep and wide. As they did not use the arch they could not well cross depressions or streams and had to make long detours, and sometimes they tunneled in the mountains for the passages. They had sluices by means of which the water could be turned on to the land and they were very careful in allowing the right amount of water to be used on the fields. The construction of these aqueducts, and other great buildings, is all the more remarkable when it is considered that these people had no iron tools of any kind whatever.

They were acquainted with the principle of fertilizing the crop. A small sardine-like fish was abundant along the coast, which they caught and often placed with the grains of maize in the holes in planting. Guano, the deposit of sea-fowls on the islands along the coast, was used in great quantity by them, and much care was given to its proper distribution to the different districts. No one was allowed on the islands during the breeding season and such trespass and killing the birds at any time were punished by death. "Inland other forms of manure were used."[20]

As most of the country of the Peruvian empire lay in the torrid zone and consisted of low coast land, elevated land, and mountainous regions, it would have all ranges of climate, according to elevation, and without any great changes of temperature in any one part. Thus all kinds of agricultural products could be cultivated, such as would be found in tropical and temperate regions. In the warm coast region cotton was grown in great abundance and the banana and the cassava; in the more elevated regions the great staple produced was maize and also manioc, guava, groundnuts, tobacco, beans, gourds, and tomatoes; and in the higher and colder parts were found the potato, quinoa, coca, and maguey.

Fishing was an important industry and on the coast regions it ranked next to agriculture. They had a kind of raft, balsa, made of bundles of reeds or poles fastened together and they used nets, harpoons made of copper or tipped with copper, and hooks of bone or copper. Fowling was carried on by means of nets and quite largely engaged in especially along the coast where there were great numbers of birds. Game was plentiful in the mountainous regions and often great drives were made, sometimes as many as fifty or sixty thousand people took part in one and in which thirty thousand head of game might have been taken. They used dogs in hunting, having had at least two varieties of hunting dogs. Beasts of prey, such as pumas, bears, foxes, and wild-cats were killed. The real purpose of the hunt, though, was to capture the huanaco and vicuña, from which the wool was cut and then the greater part of them, the females and best males, were turned loose to let the wool grow for another year, some being kept for food. Besides these wild animals, they kept great flocks of llamas and alpacas, the alpaca having been raised for its wool and the llama for a beast of burden, for its wool, and also for its flesh for eating.

The Peruvians excelled in the art of weaving. They made cloth, tapestry, gauze, and embroidery. They used cotton and wool for the most part, although there was a thread made from the fiber of the maguey. One of the principal occupations of the women was the preparation of the thread for weaving. In the early times it would seem that the loom was unknown but at the time of the entrance of the Spaniards into the country the work was done by true weaving on the loom. There were a number of designs used, variations showing from one period to another. Various colors were used. The patterns were woven in the material or placed on the cloth in the form of embroidery or painted on the cloth, and sometimes the cloth was ornamented with feathers placed on it in the form of patterns. They also wove a double-faced cloth in which the colors were different on the two sides. Delicate gauzes were made in which designs were embroidered on fine net background.

Pottery was another important industry. There were very many designs and all kinds of utensils and the workmanship was good. Gold was obtained from deposits in streams and silver was mined. These metals were cast, hammered, soldered, and inlaid, as the people were very skillful in working with these metals and did especially fine work. They made vases, bracelets, mirrors, necklaces, and all kinds of delicate ornaments. Copper was greatly used, tin having been mixed with it. They made from this various kinds of implements and tools and weapons. They were quite skillful in wood-carving and inlaying was widely practiced, not only on wood but also on bone and shell and stone. They displayed skill in stone-carving, being able to cut the hardest stones, as emeralds and other precious stones. Their implements were of copper or stone, as iron was not at all in use.

Money was not in use among the Peruvians and so there was required an exchange of products. As the products of the country varied it became necessary that ways should be provided whereby people could have opportunity to exchange what they had for things greatly needed from other people of a different calling. This was done by means of fairs held throughout the empire. In the more populous places they took place three times a month. "These fairs afforded so many holidays for the relaxation of the industrious laborers."[21]

=Training of the Inca and the Order of the Huaracu.= "In his early years, the royal offspring was intrusted to the care of the _amautas_, or 'wise men,' as the teachers of Peruvian science were called, who instructed him in such elements of knowledge as they possessed, and especially in the cumbrous ceremonial of their religion, in which he was to take a prominent part. Great care was also bestowed on his military education, of the last importance in a state which, with its professions of peace and good will, was ever at war for the acquisition of empire.

"In this military school he was educated with such of the Inca nobles as were nearly of his own age; for the sacred name of Inca--a fruitful source of obscurity in their annals--was applied indifferently to all who descended by the male line from the founder of the monarchy. At the age of sixteen the pupils underwent a public examination, previous to their admission to what may be called the order of chivalry. This examination was conducted by some of the oldest and most illustrious Incas. The candidates were required to show their prowess in the athletic exercises of the warrior; in wrestling and boxing, in running such long courses as fully tried their agility and strength, in severe fast of several days' duration, and in mimic combats, which, although the weapons were blunted, were always attended with wounds, and sometimes with death. During this trial, which lasted thirty days, the royal neophyte fared no better than his comrades, sleeping on the bare ground, going unshod, and wearing a mean attire--a mode of life, it was supposed, which might tend to inspire him with more sympathy with the destitute. With all this show of impartiality, however, it will probably be doing no injustice to the judges to suppose that a politic discretion may have somewhat quickened their perceptions of the real merits of the heir-apparent.

"At the end of the appointed time, the candidates selected as worthy of the honors of their barbaric chivalry were presented to the sovereign, who condescended to take a principal part in the ceremony of the inauguration. He began with a brief discourse, in which, after congratulating the young aspirants on the proficiency they had shown in martial exercises, he reminded them of the responsibilities attached to their birth and station, and, addressing them affectionately as 'children of the Sun,' he exhorted them to imitate their great progenitor in his glorious career of beneficence to mankind. The novices then drew near, and, kneeling one by one before the Inca, he pierced their ears with a golden bodkin; and this was suffered to remain there till an opening had been made large enough for the enormous pendants which were peculiar to their order, and which gave them, with the Spaniards, the name of _orejones_. This ornament was so massy in the ears of the sovereign that the cartilage was distended by it nearly to the shoulder, producing what seemed a monstrous deformity in the eyes of the Europeans, though, under the magical influence of fashion, it was regarded as a beauty by the natives.

"When this operation was performed, one of the most venerable of the nobles dressed the feet of the candidates in the sandals worn by the order, which may remind us of the ceremony of buckling on the spurs of the Christian knight. They were then allowed to assume the girdle or sash around the loins, corresponding with the _toga virilis_ of the Romans, and intimating that they had reached the season of manhood. Their heads were adorned with garlands of flowers, which, by their various colors, were emblematic of the clemency and goodness that should grace the character of every true warrior; and the leaves of an evergreen plant were mingled with the flowers, to show that these virtues should endure without end. The prince's head was further ornamented by a fillet, or tasselled fringe, of a yellow color, made of the fine threads of the vicuña wool, which encircled the forehead as the peculiar insignia of the heir-apparent. The great body of the Inca nobility next made their appearance, and, beginning with those nearest of kin, knelt down before the prince and did him homage as successor to the crown. The whole assembly then moved to the great square of the capital, where songs and dances and other public festivities closed the important ceremonial of the _huaracu_."[22]

=Education.= Education in ancient Peru was wholly reserved for the nobility. The common people were treated very kindly by the ruling class, but it was the theory of their government that the masses were only children and must be treated as such. The following from one of their leading sovereigns portrays this idea: "Science was not intended for the people; but for those of generous blood. Persons of low degree are only puffed up by it, and rendered vain and arrogant. Neither should such meddle with the affairs of government; for this would bring high offices into disrepute, and cause detriment to the state."[23]

The youth of the nobility were placed under "wise men," who were the only ones having sufficient learning to do such work. The youth were trained for the especial kind of duties they were to perform in after life. They were taught the laws of their country, the principles of government, and were well grounded in the use of their mother tongue. Those who were to enter into a religious life were carefully instructed in regard to the rites and ceremonies of the religion of the country. All were made familiar with the use of the quipus.

The quipus were used for counting and computing numbers. The quipu was a cord near two feet long, made of threads of different colors twisted together and having smaller threads hanging from them like fringe. These threads were of different colors with knots in them which served instead of ciphers in computing. Sometimes the threads represented abstract ideas, as, white stood for peace, red for war, and, again they represented concrete objects, as, white was for silver, yellow for gold.

LITERATURE

1. ... Ancient Peru--Its people and its monuments. _Harper's Magazine_, VII. (1853), 7-38.

2. Joyce, Thomas A., South American archæology.

3. Nadaillac, Marquis de, Prehistoric America.

4. Prescott, William H., History of the conquest of Peru.

5. Winsor, Justin, Narrative and critical history of America.