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.

Royal Commentarier. BooK VI. · neral Rules; for . in the account.made ~f Men ~nd Women n:iarried, there was another ílring annexed to ir, which figmfied W1dows, and W1dowers of fuch an age · all which accounrs ferved onely for one Y ear. . Thefe Knots expreífed numbers in their feveral orders, as by unirs, tens, hun- dreds, thoufands, rens of thoufands, but feldom wem fo far as. to hundreds of rhoufands. bue in cafe they íhould have had occafion ro have an[en to fo great a number ~o doubt but their Language, which is foil and· copious, would have found \~ords fufficient to expreís that fum, and the greareíl: number to which Arirhmetick could arrive. Ali which Accounts were macle by Knots on ílrings; one underneath the other, and knit on a cord, as che knots are on che Girclle of St. Francis, Ar rhe rop ofrhe cord che greateíl: number was placed, as the rens of thoufands, - under rhat frood the thoufands, and laíl: of all was the place of the units; all which were placed direltly with exaltnefs one under rhe orher, as our good Accoun- / tants, well skilled in the Art of Cyphering, are u[ed to fer and place rheirfigures. The Jndians who kept the f2!!.ipm, or to who[e charge rhe keeping of Accoums· was comrnitted, were called f2!!.ipumaJu, and were eíl:eemed Men of good repu. tation, and chofen for that Service, on good aífurance and proof of their fidelity and honeíl:y; and rhough che íimplicity of thofe people in that Age was with- out any mixture of malice , and that the íl:riltneís of rhe government admitted no chears, or frauds on any fcore wh:itfoever; yer notwirhHanding great care was taken ro chufe Men tor this work of approved Ability, and of a tried and expe- rienced Faithfulnefs and Probity. For indeed Offices were never amongíl: rhem chofen for favour, nor bought, or fold, becaufe that Money was not current a- mongíl: rhem; but it was V errue and .Merit onely which purcbafed a Trufl: and Office: And rhough buying and felling was not known ro them, yet it was or- dinary for them to cruck or barrer their provifions or Food one for che orher; bue nothing elfe eirher of Garmems, Houfes, or Inhernance. The f2!!.ipucamaym, or Accountants, being honeíl: and faithfull, (as v.e have faid) ferved in che narure of Regiílers, of which there were four ar leaíl: appointed for every Lineage, or People, how little foever it were; and in cafe rhe Countrey was grear, rhey entertained cwemy or thirry; for rhough one Accoumam might have ferved che rurn, yet to avoid ali miíl:akes and frauds, they judged it requi- fae to conílitute many in an Office of fuch imporrance. CH A P. IX. What it was that they fet clown and placed in their Accozmts; and how they underflood them. A L L the Tribute rhat was yearly payable to the Inca, was paffed to accounr, as alfo what every Family, according to their degrees, and qualities, were to pay. The people likewife which went to theWar were numbred; and Bilis of Morrality •were kept of as many as dyed, and were born, or mifcarried by any accident; which were ali noted in the momhswherein they happened. In fhort, they ~ot~d every thing that could fall under Numeration, as how many Batcels or Skirm1íhes were fought, how many Ambaffadours had been fenc to che Inca, and how many-Anfwers the King had been pleafed to return rhereunto. But w0at, rhe. fubílance of tho[e Emballies was, .or what were the particulars of che Kmg s D1[courfe, or what occurrences paífed m way of Hiíl:ory, were too various to be expreífed by the barrenneís of their Knots, which ferved onely for numbers, but not for words; wherefore ro fupply this defett they framed certain hiíl:orical Hieroglyphicks, which ferved for Monumenrs , in an 'obfcure manner, of whac . bad