The royal commentaries of Peru : in two parts / written originally in spanish by the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega; rendred into english by sir Paul Rycaut.

BooK V. Royal Commentar.ies. ,., \ 1 c ·H A P. XXII. The Inca ·Viraco,cha gi'l!es Ord~r for . ~uilding a Templé in Memory o[ . his Vncle, who appeared to him m a Vijio?z. ' 1 • 1 T H E Inca Viracocha, that he might th~ better perpetuare th@ Mem0ry' of his Dream, aqd keep i:he Honour of it 1,1p in the eíl:eern of the people, com- manded that a Temple lh0uld be . ereéted in Honpur ofhis linde, who appeared to him, •and :placed iti rhe Goumrey .called fJacha, wbich is.about foneen·Leagues diíl:ant from the City to the Southward: He ordered, that tfué ' Fabrick and Mo- del of it íhould, as near as could be poffible, imitare, ór refemble th~ place where the Vifion preíented ·it felf; which was like the open Fiekl, \Vithout covering ; joining unto which there wa·s to bé a litdef-Chapel with die roof of Scone, refem-, \ bling the hollow of che Rock, under wnich he repofed himfelf: The whole Fa- brick was made of Stone rarely poliíhed, as are ali the Buildi!'lgs of the Jndia11J ;· it had four Doors correfponding to the· four Q.larters of che Heavens ; three óf them were íhur, being rather Portals, than Gates, ferving .for Ornament more". than Ufe. The Gate which looked Eatl:ward, was th'at al~me by which they en".. tred, and by which they went out; being placed exaétly in the middle; and be-• caufe the Indians were _not a~rived to fuch Excellency in : Arcbiteéture. ~ as to lay' the weight of tbeir Building ón Arched Work; they fo¡:iplied that defeét by firong and deep foundations of Stone Walls, which were more·laíl:ing than Tim-· · ber, and for ev:er purable. Thefe Walls were laid three Foot in thicknefs, and feven 'Foot diíl:am each from the orher,, making twelve feveral Rows, or Iíles:; the top was not covered w!th Boards, bur 'pa.ved Scone, for about ten Foot in length, and half a Yard in thicknefs: At the Entrance to this Temple¡ turning to the right hand, they walked to the end 'oL the firíl: Hle ; thence turning to tbe left, they w~nt forward to the end of thisWalk, and rhe1~ faced again to.the right, and fo winding abour again through the [e veral ro ws ; tbey came at length to the end of the twelfth Iíle, where vvas a Stair-ca.fe, by which they afcended to the top of the Temple. At the front of every Iíle, on each hand, there -w.as a Win- dow, like a Port-hole, to let in the light 1; and below every Windb1y, theve was a Nich made "in the Wall for,a feat; wherei tlie Pórter míght · fit, wirhout incum-: bring, or fiopping, the paífage. The Stair-cafe had two paífages, one to go up, and the other to come dovJn ; that to go ·up fronted a top with the High Altar : The Floor above was paved with a kind of black Marble, rarely poliíhed, that it looked lik~ Jett, brought from forne QQ_avry, far diíl:anr. In place of the High Altar there was a Chapel of about· twelve Foot fquare, covered with the fame · fort of black Stone, in-laid'in divers Figures, in form of Mofaii::k Work, which was the moíl: excellent piece of Art in the whole Fabrick: Within rhis Chapel was che Image of che Apparition placed within the hollow of the Wall, as in a Tabernacle,, with which two other Tabernacles were made to correfpond on each fide for ornament and better uniformity. The Walls of this Temple, from the top to the botrom, were but three Yards in height, without any Window, the Corniíh of which on all ftdes, both within and withour·: was made of poliíl1ed Stone; and within the Tabernacle of the Chapel was placed a Pedeíl:al, onwhich an Image of Stone was ereéted, reprefenting the Image of the Appari~ ion, ifl füch íhape and figure a·s the Inca Viracocha had direéted. This Image reprefenred the figure of a Mari, with a Beard of about a fpan long, his Cloaths reaching to his feet, not very wide, but fomething fcanty, like a Caffock: Aboiat his Neck a íl:range kind-Of creature was chained, with Claws like a Lion , the Image hold· ing one of the links of the Chain in bis hand ; all which was frarned ancl engra- ven out of Stone: And leíl: che Workmen, who had never feen chis Figure, . z ili~d