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A Third Omen
In the early
1500s, before Spaniards began probing the Pacific Coast
of South
America,
the Lord Oracle Apu-Rimac is said to have foretold the
coming of bearded men who would subvert the Inka Empire.
Truer prophecy was never told!
The End of the Inca Conquerors
In 1527, Inca Huayna Capac, the last and greatest of
the Inka conquerors, died of smallpox, a disease brought
by the Spanish invaders to the New World. Although
the Spanish had encountered only the northern fringes
of Inka territory at this time, the disease they had
brought with them was already spreading before them,
decimating the Indian population, which had no inherited
resistance to it. The efficient Inka communication
system proved to be Huayna Capac's undoing: the chasqui
who brought him the news of the appearance of the white
men and their new disease also brought the virus itself.
(While legend claims that the chasqui brought a chest
which, when opened, released butterflies and moths
that spread the plague, it is more likely that the
runner himself had already contracted the disease,
probably from the very chasqui who passed him the message.)
The Inkas had no writing, but used a system
of knotted strings called quipus to help them remember
messages
and to keep track of the numbers and quantities of goods.
The color and grouping of strings and the number and
type of knots all had significance.
The Inkas developed a highly organized
society in which "bureacrats" called
quipu camayocs were sent to all parts of the empire
to oversee village functions, the collection of the
empire's
taxes in food and textiles, and the service individuals
owed to the empire (called the mita). |
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The War Between the Brothers
Huayna
Capac had designated his son Huascar as his heir. When Huascar
was
invested as
Inca in Cusco, his brother Atahuallpa had stayed behind in
the northern capital of Quito, sending gifts south to Huascar.
The newly-invested Inka, however, cut off the noses of his
brother's ambassadors, making it clear to Atahuallpa that
any loyalty to his brother would be similarly rewarded. Warfare
between the brothers eventually ensued. Although Huascar
was able to use his position as Inka to call up over 300,000
conscripts, Atahuallpa had the benefit of seasoned troops,
including his father's best generals, who had campaigned
over many years and thousands of miles for Huayna Capac.
Years of bloody warfare ensued, costing the lives of over
200,000 Indians. Eventually, however, the crafty generals
from Quito set a trap for Huascar, captured him, and demoralized
his troops. Atahuallpa's army then sacked Cusco and executed
Huascar.
The Omens Multiply
On his way from Ecuador to
make a triumphal entry into Cusco, Atahuallpa consulted the
Oracle Huamachuco, who predicted he
would come to a bad end. Enraged, Atahuallpa struck off the
head of the Oracle's guardian. About this time, chasquis brought
word that bearded men - like those who had stepped ashore five
years earlier - had reappeared. Curious to see the silver-jacketed
strangers, the mythical beasts on which they rode, and their
magic staves that commanded thunder and lightning, Atahuallpa
broke his journey to Cusco - one of history's most ill-fated
decisions. Meanwhile, the citizens of ravaged Cusco rejoiced
when they heard about the bearded men's appearance, believing
they were sent by the creator, Viracocha (who legends described
as white-skinned and bearded), to rescue them.
Top
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The Inka & His Counsellors,
by Guaman Poma de Ayala, an inka who lived shortly after
the Conquest. |
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| Guaman Poma drawing of The Inka
Huayna Capac |
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| A Quipucamayoc |
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