﻿Vol. 
  2] 
  INCA 
  CULTURE 
  ROWE 
  265 
  

  

  Agricultural 
  taxation. 
  — 
  In 
  the 
  Inca 
  Empire, 
  all 
  taxes 
  were 
  paid 
  in 
  

   labor; 
  money 
  was 
  unknown, 
  and 
  no 
  payments 
  to 
  the 
  government 
  

   were 
  made 
  in 
  kind. 
  The 
  taxpayers 
  were 
  required 
  to 
  cultivate 
  certain 
  

   fields, 
  the 
  produce 
  of 
  which 
  supported 
  the 
  Government 
  and 
  the 
  Inca 
  

   religion, 
  and, 
  in 
  addition, 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  varying 
  amount 
  of 
  time 
  to 
  service 
  

   in 
  the 
  army, 
  on 
  public 
  works, 
  or 
  in 
  personal 
  service 
  to 
  the 
  Emperor 
  

   and 
  the 
  nobility. 
  The 
  last 
  obligation 
  was 
  called 
  the 
  mit'a, 
  or 
  labor 
  

   service. 
  The 
  cultivation 
  of 
  the 
  reserved 
  fields 
  has 
  been 
  well 
  de- 
  

   scribed 
  by 
  Father 
  Bernabe 
  Cobo, 
  the 
  greatest 
  man 
  who 
  has 
  ever 
  

   written 
  about 
  Inca 
  customs 
  (writing 
  about 
  1653): 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  Inca 
  settled 
  a 
  town, 
  or 
  reduced 
  one 
  to 
  obedience, 
  he 
  set 
  up 
  markers 
  

   on 
  its 
  boundaries 
  and 
  divided 
  the 
  fields 
  and 
  arable 
  land 
  within 
  its 
  territory 
  into 
  

   three 
  parts, 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  way. 
  One 
  part 
  he 
  assigned 
  to 
  Religion 
  and 
  the 
  cult 
  

   of 
  his 
  false 
  gods, 
  another 
  he 
  took 
  for 
  himself, 
  and 
  the 
  third 
  he 
  left 
  for 
  the 
  common 
  

   use 
  of 
  the 
  people. 
  It 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  possible 
  to 
  determine 
  whether 
  these 
  parts 
  

   were 
  equal 
  in 
  any 
  town 
  and 
  province, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  known 
  that 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  the 
  

   division 
  was 
  not 
  equal, 
  but 
  depended 
  on 
  the 
  quantity 
  of 
  available 
  land 
  and 
  the 
  

   density 
  of 
  the 
  population. 
  In 
  some 
  provinces, 
  the 
  part 
  assigned 
  to 
  religion 
  was 
  

   greater; 
  in 
  others, 
  that 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  Inca; 
  and, 
  in 
  some 
  regions, 
  there 
  were 
  

   entire 
  towns 
  which, 
  with 
  their 
  territory 
  and 
  all 
  that 
  it 
  produced, 
  belonged 
  to 
  the 
  

   Sun 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  gods, 
  like 
  Arapa 
  [in 
  the 
  Department 
  of 
  Puno] 
  and 
  others; 
  in 
  

   other 
  provinces 
  (and 
  this 
  was 
  more 
  usual), 
  the 
  king's 
  share 
  was 
  the 
  largest. 
  In 
  

   the 
  lands 
  assigned 
  to 
  Religion 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  Crown, 
  the 
  Inca 
  kept 
  overseers 
  and 
  

   administrators 
  who 
  took 
  great 
  care 
  in 
  supervising 
  their 
  cultivation, 
  harvesting 
  

   the 
  products 
  and 
  putting 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  storehouses. 
  The 
  labor 
  of 
  sowing 
  and 
  

   cultivating 
  these 
  lands 
  and 
  harvesting 
  their 
  products 
  formed 
  a 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   tribute 
  which 
  the 
  taxpayer 
  paid 
  to 
  the 
  king. 
  The 
  boundaries 
  of 
  the 
  lands 
  and 
  

   fields 
  of 
  each 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  divisions 
  were 
  so 
  exact, 
  and 
  the 
  care 
  of 
  the 
  markers 
  of 
  the 
  

   fields 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  and 
  of 
  religion, 
  the 
  responsibility 
  of 
  cultivating 
  them 
  first 
  and 
  

   at 
  the 
  proper 
  season, 
  and 
  their 
  protection 
  against 
  damage 
  or 
  loss 
  so 
  impressed 
  

   upon 
  the 
  Indians 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  religious 
  duties 
  that 
  they 
  

   had; 
  so 
  much 
  so 
  that 
  no 
  one 
  dared 
  to 
  cross 
  these 
  fields 
  without 
  indicating 
  his 
  

   respect 
  with 
  special 
  reverent 
  phrases 
  reserved 
  for 
  the 
  purpose. 
  

  

  The 
  lands 
  dedicated 
  to 
  the 
  gods 
  were 
  divided 
  among 
  the 
  Sun, 
  Lightning, 
  and 
  

   the 
  other 
  idols, 
  shrines, 
  and 
  guacas 
  [wak'a] 
  of 
  general 
  worship 
  or 
  restricted 
  to 
  the 
  

   province 
  or 
  town; 
  the 
  amount 
  belonging 
  to 
  each 
  god 
  and 
  guaca 
  was 
  specified, 
  and 
  

   these 
  fields 
  were 
  cultivated 
  before 
  the 
  others 
  that 
  belonged 
  to 
  the 
  Inca 
  and 
  the 
  

   community. 
  The 
  people 
  assembled 
  to 
  cultivate 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  way. 
  If 
  

   the 
  Inca 
  himself, 
  or 
  his 
  governor, 
  or 
  some 
  high 
  official 
  happened 
  to 
  be 
  present, 
  he 
  

   started 
  the 
  work 
  with 
  a 
  golden 
  taclla 
  [taklya] 
  or 
  plow, 
  which 
  they 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  

   Inca, 
  and, 
  following 
  his 
  example, 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  officials 
  and 
  nobles 
  who 
  accompanied 
  

   him 
  did 
  the 
  same. 
  However, 
  the 
  Inca 
  soon 
  stopped 
  working, 
  and 
  after 
  him 
  the 
  

   other 
  officials 
  and 
  nobles 
  stopped 
  also, 
  and 
  sat 
  down 
  with 
  the 
  king 
  to 
  their 
  ban- 
  

   quets 
  and 
  festivals 
  which 
  were 
  especially 
  notable 
  on 
  such 
  days. 
  

  

  The 
  common 
  people 
  remained 
  at 
  work, 
  and 
  with 
  them 
  only 
  the 
  curacas-pachacas 
  

   [pacaka-koraka], 
  who 
  worked 
  a 
  while 
  longer 
  than 
  the 
  nobles; 
  thereafter 
  they 
  

   supervised 
  the 
  work, 
  giving 
  any 
  orders 
  that 
  were 
  necessary. 
  The 
  Hilacatas 
  

   [hilaqata, 
  an 
  Ay 
  mar 
  a 
  name 
  now 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  an 
  ayllu; 
  here 
  indicating 
  

   probably 
  some 
  lowerrank] 
  and 
  decurions^in 
  charge 
  of 
  ten 
  subjects 
  worked 
  all 
  day 
  

   as 
  did 
  the 
  ordinary 
  Indians 
  who 
  had 
  no 
  official 
  position. 
  These 
  divided 
  the 
  work 
  

   they 
  had 
  to 
  do 
  by 
  lines, 
  each 
  section 
  being 
  called 
  a 
  suyu 
  [soyo, 
  division 
  of 
  any 
  

  

  