Ancient Cuzco

by Brian S. Bauer

  Although Atahualpa made a bulto once he became king, it is also clear that bultos could be made when an Inca died. Betanzos, who was especially concerned with chronicling the achievements of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, records the making of a bulto at the time of this Inca’s death:

  After he [Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui] was dead, he was taken to a town named Patallacta, where he had ordered some houses built in which his body was to be entombed. He was buried by putting his body in the earth in a large new clay urn, with him very well dressed. Inca Yupanque ordered that a golden image made to resemble him be placed on top of his tomb. And it was to be worshiped in place of him by the people who went there. Soon it was placed there. He ordered that a statue be made of his fingernails and hair that had been cut in his lifetime. It was made in that town where his body was kept. They very ceremoniously brought this statue on a litter to the city of Cuzco for the fiestas in the city. This statue was placed in the houses of Topa Inca Yupanque. When there were fiestas in the city, they brought it out for them with the rest of the statues. . . .

  When the statue was in the city, Topa Inca Yupanque ordered those of his own lineage to bring this statue out for the feasts that were held in Cuzco. When they brought it out like this, they sang about the things that the Inca did in his life, both in the wars and in his city. Thus they served and revered him, changing its garments as he used to do, and serving it as he was served when he was alive. All of which was done thus.

  This statue, along with the gold image that was on top of his tomb, was taken by Manco Inca from the city when he revolted. On the advice that Doña Angelina Yupanque31 gave to the Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, he got it and the rest of the wealth with it. (Betanzos 1996: 138–139 [1557: Pt. 1, Ch. 32])32

  Multiple representations of a ruler are especially important in societies with divine kingships, since in these cultures the king is seen to exist in a nearly separate sphere from all other humans. Gose (1996: 21) writes: “By working through the multiple embodiments of substitutes,’ statues, and mediums, a ruler extended his influence in space and time and delegated enough power to govern effectively. At the same time, he demonstrated his divinity by ‘animating’ these far-flung subdivisions of himself, thereby making an ideological virtue out of administrative necessity.” Thus, the huauques and bultos of the royal Inca can be seen as highly effective tools of imperial rule in the Andes. They could be sent to convey the ruling Inca’s wishes to lower-level administrators or generals. They could also accompany an official as he traveled across the countryside, emphasizing the fact that the official spoke on behalf of the ruler. These representations could also attend the major celebrations and rituals of Cuzco when the living Inca was otherwise occupied. Finally, through their oracles, the huauques and bultos of the royal Inca provided advice to the ruling Inca on running the empire as well as navigating the complex web of political relations within the social hierarchy of the imperial city.

  Discovery and Destruction of the Royal Inca Mummies

  Soon after Polo de Ondegardo accepted the position of chief magistrate of Cuzco, he was instructed by the viceroy to conduct a massive campaign against the idolatrous activities of the natives. Part of his anti-idolatry efforts focused on finding the mummies of the Inca kings. These mummies, which had been publicly viewed during the great festivals of Inca Cuzco, had been on the run since the Europeans gained control of the city in 1536. Juan Betanzos, who saw some of the mummies before Polo de Ondegardo began his investigation in Cuzco, writes:

  Inca Yupanque ordered that the yanaconas and servants [of the deceased kings] should have houses, towns, and farmland in the valleys and towns around the city of Cuzco and that these servants and their descendants should always take care to serve those statues which he had designated for them, all of which was done from then until today. Now it is done in secret and sometimes in public because the Spaniards do not understand what it is. They keep these statues in orones, which are storage bins used here for maize and other foods and others in large jars and in niches in the walls, and in this way the statues cannot be found. (Betanzos 1996: 79–80 [1557: Pt. 1, Ch. 17])33

  Although the exact order in which Polo de Ondegardo found the mummies is not known, it is clear that he conducted a search that yielded fantastic results for the Spaniards. Using information provided from Polo de Ondegardo’s few remaining works, and accounts based on his lost 1559 report (as recorded by Sarmiento de Gamboa [1572], Acosta [1590], and Cobo [1653]), as well as information provided by several other independent sources, it is possible to provide summaries of what happened to each of the Inca mummies as well as the mummies of several of their principal wives.

  THE REMAINS OF THE INCA KINGS

  The first mythical Inca, Manco Capac, was represented by a stone statue that stood about 1.5 meters high (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 42 [1572: Ch. 14]; Cobo 1979: 111–112 [1653: Bk. 12, Ch. 4]). Later Inca kings carried this figure to war as well as to the shrine of Huanacauri during the male initiation ritual of Cuzco.34 We are also told that Huayna Capac took the stone with him to Quito and Cayambis, and that it was returned to the imperial city with Huayna Capac’s mummy after his death. The stone was found by Polo de Ondegardo in 1559, “all dressed and properly adorned”35 along with its huauque, a bird called Inti,36 in the village of Wimpillay just south of Cuzco (Cobo 1979: 112 [1653: Bk. 11, Ch. 4]). Years earlier, when the Spaniards first entered the city of Cuzco, a golden statue of Manco Capac was also found in a cave outside the city (Pedro Pizarro 1921: 268 [1571]).

  The body of Sinchi Roca, the second Inca, was kept in a house named Acoywasi37 in the town of Wimpillay, outside Cuzco (Cobo 1990: 74 [1653: Bk. 13, Ch. 15]). At the time of its discovery by Polo de Ondegardo, the mummy bundle was sewn together with maguey fiber. Beside it was Sinchi Roca’s huauque, a stone fish called Huanachiri Amaru, as well as various copper bars (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 44 [1572: Ch. 15]; Cobo 1979: 114 [1653: Bk. 12, Ch. 5]).

  Very little information is available about the mummies of the third Inca, Lloqui Yupanqui; the fourth Inca, Mayta Capac; or the fifth Inca, Capac Yupanqui.38 We are only told that Polo de Ondegardo found the bodies of these kings, along with their associated idols, “with the rest,” suggesting that in 1559 all the mummies of Hurin Cuzco were held in a single place (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 45, 48–49 [1572: Chs. 16–18]; Cobo 1979: 117, 120, 123 [1653: Bk. 12, Chs. 6–8]). If this is the case, then the most likely location would have been with body of Sinchi Roca, in the Acoywasi in the town of Wimpillay.39

  We have considerably more information on the mummies of the kings of Hanan Cuzco. For example, the body of Inca Roca, the sixth Inca, was found a few kilometers east of Cuzco in the town of Larapa. Inca legends associate Inca Roca with the establishment of the two major irrigation canals that flowed into Hanan Cuzco (Cieza de León 1976: 202–203 [1554: Pt. 2, Ch. 35]; Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 49 [1572: Ch. 19]; Cobo 1990: 143 [1653: Bk. 13, Ch. 28]). Accordingly, his mummy was used to promote rain. Cobo notes:

  His body was found well adorned and with much authority in a small town of the Cuzco region called Rarapa, along with a stone idol that represented him, of the same name as his ayllo, Vicaquirao, and this body was much honored by those of the aforesaid ayllo and family; in addition to the ordinary adoration and sacrifices made for it, when there was a need for water for the cultivated fields, they usually brought out his body, richly dressed, with his face covered, carrying it in a procession through the fields and punas, and they were convinced that this was largely responsible for bringing rain. (Cobo 1979: 125 [1653: Bk. 12, Ch. 9])40

  The mummy of the seventh Inca, Yahuar Huacac, and his idol were found in the village of Paullu, in the Vilcanota Valley (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 55–56 [1572: Ch. 23]; Acosta 1986: 421 [1590: Bk. 6, Ch. 20]; Covey 2003). The mummy may have been kept at Paullu, because his mother was from that area.

  It is said that Viracocha Inca, the eighth ruler of Cuzco, died in self-imposed exile in the town of Caquia Jaquijahuana (no
w called Juchuy Cuzco), where his body was later kept (Betanzos 1996: 79 [1557: Pt. 1, Ch. 17]). Soon after the Spaniards arrived in Cuzco, Gonzalo Pizarro began searching for the body of Viracocha and for his great wealth. Gonzalo Pizarro found the mummy in Jaquijahuana and burned it. However, members of Viracocha Inca’s panaca collected his ashes and placed them in a small ceramic vessel. This vessel and its contents were then worshiped until Polo de Ondegardo recovered them (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 59 [1572: Ch. 25]; Acosta 1986: 429–430 [1590: Bk. 6, Ch. 20]). Cobo provides a full description of these events:

  The body of this king was deposited in Jaquijaguana, and having some information and indications of its whereabouts, Gonzalo Pizarro searched a long time for it in order to get the great treasure that was widely thought to be buried with it; in order to discover it, he burned some Indians, men and women. At last he found it and a large amount of wealth was given to him by the Indians who looked after it. Pizarro had the body burned, but the Indians of the Inca’s ayllo collected the ashes, and, with a certain concoction, they put them in a very small earthenware jar along with the idol, which, since it was a stone, was left by Gonzalo Pizarro’s men, who paid no attention to it. Later, at the time when Licentiate Polo was in the process of discovering the bodies and idols of the Incas, he got word of the ashes and idol of Viracocha; so the Indians moved it from where it was before, hiding it in many places because, after Gonzalo Pizarro burned it, they held it in higher esteem than before. Finally, so much care was taken in searching that it was found and taken from the possession of the Inca’s descendants. (Cobo 1979: 132 [1653: Bk. 12, Ch. 11])41

  The site of Juchuy Cuzco is well preserved, and a square, especially well constructed structure near the center of the ruins may have served as the funerary chamber for Viracocha Inca (Photos 12.1 and 12.2).

  Perhaps the greatest of all Inca kings was Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the ninth ruler. The fate of his remains is well documented. Immediately after his death, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui’s mummy was placed in Patallacta, one of his estates, a few kilometers to the northwest of Cuzco (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 92 [1572: Ch. 47]; Cobo 1990: 51 [1653: Bk. 13, Ch. 13]; Bauer 1998: 50).42 His body remained at Patallacta for a long time after the Spanish Conquest and was seen there by Betanzos in 1557, two years before Polo de Ondegardo came to Cuzco. Betanzos writes:

  Only the body [of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui] is in Patallacta at this time, and, judging by it, in his lifetime he seems to have been a tall man. (Betanzos 1996: 139 [1557: Pt. 1, Ch. 32])43

  Perhaps in response to Polo de Ondegardo’s investigation, the body of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui was moved from Patallacta soon after Betanzos saw it. The effort to hide the mummy from the Spaniards proved futile, since it was later discovered in a neighborhood of Cuzco called Totocachi (now San Blas) within the temple of his huauque (Acosta 1986: 423 [1590: Bk. 6, Ch. 21]; Cobo 1990: 55 [1653: Bk. 13, Ch. 13]).

  PHOTO 12.1. This square structure at Juchuy Cuzco may once have held the mummy of Viracocha Inca. (Courtesy of Fototeca Andina–Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas; photograph by Cesar Meza, ca. 1940)

  PHOTO 12.2. The square structure at Juchuy Cuzco today

  In regard to the discovery of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui’s mummy, it is worth mentioning that when the Inca conquered a rival ethnic group, the principal shrines of the vanquished group (which frequently included the mummified remains of their former leaders) were taken to Cuzco. This explains why, after Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui’s defeat of the Chanka, their central idol, which represented the mummy of the first Chanka “king,” was kept as a prize by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, remaining with him even after his death, when it was found next to his own mummified body. In telling of the discovery of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui’s remains, Polo de Ondegardo (1990: 86 [1571]) writes:

  I learned of this system when I discovered the body of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui Inca, who was one of those that I sent to the Marquis in the City of the Kings [i.e., Lima]. He was embalmed and well preserved, as were all those that I saw. I found with him the principal idol of the Province of Andahuaylas, because he conquered it and placed it under the domination of the Inca when he defeated Valcuvilca, the principal lord of them, and killed him.44 (Translation by author)

  In the above, Polo de Ondegardo indicates that he found the principal idol of the Chanka with the mummy of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. He also notes that he sent this mummy, along with several others, to Viceroy Hurtado de Mendoza (Marqués de Cañete) in Lima. There has been much interest and debate over which mummies were sent and what happened to them after they were sent to the viceroy (Hampe 1982). These issues are addressed in detail later in this chapter.

  There is also some information on the postmortem worship of the tenth Inca, Topa Inca Yupanqui (Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui’s son). For example, we know that after his death, the mummified body of Topa Inca Yupanqui was placed in his estate called Calispuquio, which stood on the edge of Sacsayhuaman just outside of Cuzco (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 103–104 [1572: Ch. 57]; Cobo 1964: 171 [1653: Bk. 13, Ch. 13]; Bauer 1998: 55).

  The remains of Topa Inca Yupanqui did not, however, remain safe for long. In 1533, during the civil war between his grandsons, Atahualpa’s generals (Chalcochima and Quizquiz) invaded Cuzco and searched the city for Huascar loyalists. In a series of acts that stress the importance the noble houses of past Inca kings continued to hold in the affairs of the empire, Atahualpa’s forces questioned each of the Cuzco panacas to determine their alliances. During this process, it was revealed that the descendants of Topa Inca Yupanqui were sympathetic to, if not directly allied with, Huascar. Sarmiento de Gamboa (1906: 122–123 [1572: Ch. 66]) tells of the events that followed Chalcochima’s and Quizquiz’s arrival in Cuzco:

  The lords and ladies of Cuzco who were found to be friends of Huascar were taken prisoner, and they were also hung on poles. Then they examined all the houses of the dead Inca, determining which had been on the side of Huascar and the enemies of Atahualpa. They found that the house of Topa Inca Yupanqui had been with Huascar. Cusi Yupanqui assigned the punishment of the house to Chalcochima and Quizquiz, who then apprehended the steward of the house and the bulto of Topa Inca Yupanqui, and those of the house, and they hung them all, and they burned the body of Topa Inca outside of town and reduced it to ashes. And to burn it, they killed many mamaconas and servants, so that almost no one was left of the house except a few of no consequence.45 (Translation by author)

  The ashes of Topa Inca Yupanqui were collected by the few remaining members of his family and placed in a jar. This jar, along with Topa Inca Yupanqui’s huauque, called Cusichuri, continued to be worshiped until Polo de Ondegardo discovered them some twenty-five years later still being kept at his estate at Calispuquio near Sacsayhuaman (Sarmiento de Gamboa 1906: 102 [1572: Ch. 54]; Cobo 1979: 151 [1653: Bk. 12, Ch. 15]).

  It is also worth noting that a bulto of Topa Inca Yupanqui was also made. Betanzos states that one year after Topa Inca Yupanqui’s death, at the end of the official mourning period, those of his kin group made a bulto with some of his remains:

  After the fiesta they made the statue of his fingernails and hair, which was worshiped and adored as a lord. They made the sacrifices to this statue that were customarily made to the dead lords of the past. With solemnity and a show of respect as if it were alive, they would give food and drink to it as a sacrifice at the same times that the Inca ate and drank during his lifetime. (Betanzos 1996: 162 [1557: Pt. 1, Ch. 39])46

  Although we do not know what exactly happened to this bulto, it would not be surprising if it was destroyed by Chalcochima and Quizquiz at the same time that they burned the mummy of Topa Inca Yupanqui.

  Huayna Capac was the last Inca king to rule over a unified kingdom. He died in Quito, around the year 1528. It was there, far from Cuzco, that the mummification process took place. As Betanzos writes:

  When he [Huayna Capac] died, the nobles who were with him had him opened and took out all his entrails, preparing him so that no damage wou
ld be done to him and without breaking any bone. They prepared and dried him in the Sun and the air. After he was dried and cured, they dressed him in costly clothes and placed him on an ornate litter well adorned with feathers and gold.

  When the body was prepared, they sent it to Cuzco. (Betanzos 1996: 185 [1557: Pt. 1, Ch. 48])47

  Some writers suggest that various parts of Huayna Capac’s body were sent to different locations after his death. For example, Xerez (1985: 119 [1534]) states that the body of Huayna Capac remained in an elaborate palace in Quito, but his head was sent to Cuzco.48 From eyewitness accounts of Huayna Capac’s mummy in Cuzco, this certainly was not the case.

  Acosta (1986: 422 [1590: Bk. 6, Ch. 22]) states that Huayna Capac’s heart and entrails were left in Quito, whereas the body was carried to Cuzco.49 This also seems unlikely, since it is reported that after their deaths, the hearts of the Inca kings were placed in a special container in the center of the Punchao, the golden image of the Sun in Cuzco (Salazar 1867: 280 [1596]; Toledo 1924: 344–345 [1572]; Cobo 1990: 26 [1653: Bk. 13, Ch. 5]).

  In death, as in life, Huayna Capac divided his time between his royal estate in Yucay and his palace on the central plaza of Cuzco (Betanzos 1996: 190 [1557: Pt. 2, Ch. 1]). It was in Cuzco that the first three Spaniards to visit the city saw Huayna Capac’s embalmed body in audience with a second mummy (Mena 1929: 37 [1534]). Sancho describes Huayna Capac as he was seen in Cuzco at the time of the conquest:

  [Huayna Capac’s] body is in the city of Cuzco, quite whole, enveloped in rich cloths and lacking only the tip of the nose. There are other images of plaster or clay which have only the hair and nails which were cut off in life and the clothes that were worn, and these images are as much venerated by those people as if they were their gods. Frequently they take the [body] out into the plaza with music and dancing, and they always stay close to it, day and night, driving away flies. When some important lords come to see the cacique, they go first to salute these figures, and they then go to the cacique and hold, with him, so many ceremonies that it would be a great prolixity to describe them. (Sancho 1917: 170 [1534: Ch. 19])50