﻿Vol.2] 
  INCA 
  CULTURE 
  — 
  ROWE 
  299 
  

  

  ficers, 
  caretakers, 
  and 
  so 
  forth. 
  Shrines 
  of 
  the 
  official 
  cult 
  ("Sun 
  Tem- 
  

   ples") 
  also 
  had 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  consecrated 
  women 
  (mama-kona, 
  "moth- 
  

   ers"), 
  chosen 
  from 
  among 
  the 
  Chosen 
  Women 
  (p. 
  269), 
  who 
  were 
  sworn 
  

   to 
  perpetual 
  chastity, 
  and 
  who 
  spent 
  their 
  time 
  weaving 
  the 
  textiles 
  

   used 
  in 
  ceremonies 
  as 
  garments 
  by 
  the 
  priests, 
  victims, 
  and 
  images, 
  

   or 
  as 
  sacrifices, 
  and 
  preparing 
  chicha 
  for 
  festivals. 
  These 
  women 
  

   formed 
  a 
  sort 
  of 
  order, 
  presided 
  over 
  by 
  a 
  high 
  priestess 
  (*Coya 
  pacsa), 
  

   who 
  was 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  Sun's 
  wife, 
  and 
  was 
  always 
  of 
  the 
  noblest 
  

   birth 
  (Molina 
  of 
  Cuzco, 
  1913, 
  p. 
  141; 
  Cobo, 
  1890-95, 
  bk. 
  12, 
  ch. 
  37). 
  

   The 
  priests 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  official 
  shrines 
  were 
  organized 
  into 
  a 
  graded 
  

   hierarchy, 
  corresponding 
  roughly 
  to 
  the 
  pyramid 
  of 
  Government 
  

   officials. 
  The 
  lowest 
  rank 
  included 
  the 
  assistants 
  at 
  the 
  important 
  

   shrines, 
  then 
  priests 
  in 
  charge, 
  with 
  responsibility 
  varying 
  according 
  

   to 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  shrine, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  top 
  a 
  high 
  priest 
  who 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  most 
  important 
  officials 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  and 
  was 
  usually 
  a 
  

   near 
  relative 
  of 
  the 
  emperor. 
  32 
  

  

  Shrines 
  of 
  only 
  local 
  importance 
  were 
  supported 
  by 
  the 
  families 
  

   or 
  ayllu 
  interested 
  and 
  attended 
  by 
  an 
  old 
  man 
  incapable 
  of 
  doing 
  

   hard 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  fields, 
  who 
  probably 
  was 
  not 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  official 
  

   hierarchy. 
  Besides 
  tending 
  the 
  shrine, 
  making 
  sacrifices, 
  and 
  pray- 
  

   ing 
  when 
  paid 
  to 
  do 
  so, 
  the 
  priest 
  or 
  attendant 
  was 
  a 
  diviner, 
  inter- 
  

   preter 
  of 
  oracles, 
  and 
  confessor. 
  In 
  ordinary 
  Quechua 
  usage, 
  his 
  title 
  

   varied 
  according 
  to 
  his 
  function; 
  there 
  was 
  probably 
  no 
  general 
  word 
  

   summing 
  up 
  all 
  bis 
  priestly 
  functions. 
  He 
  might 
  be 
  called 
  *huatu- 
  

   ysaoa 
  (aciq), 
  diviner; 
  ichori, 
  confessor; 
  omo, 
  sorceror; 
  *yacarca, 
  

   consultant 
  of 
  the 
  dead; 
  kai/pa-rikoq, 
  diviner 
  from 
  the 
  lungs 
  of 
  sac- 
  

   rificed 
  animals. 
  There 
  were 
  undoubtedly 
  specialists, 
  but 
  the 
  variety 
  

   of 
  titles 
  does 
  not 
  mean 
  that 
  methods 
  of 
  dealing 
  with 
  the 
  supernatural 
  

   world 
  were 
  rigidly 
  departmentalized 
  among 
  the 
  Inca. 
  (See 
  The 
  

   Aymara, 
  p. 
  564.) 
  

  

  As 
  the 
  diagnosis 
  and 
  treatment 
  of 
  disease 
  was 
  essentially 
  a 
  priestly 
  

   function, 
  and 
  disease 
  was 
  explained 
  by 
  the 
  Indians 
  in 
  religious 
  terms, 
  

   the 
  priests 
  and 
  attendants 
  at 
  the 
  huacas 
  were 
  usually 
  curers 
  besides, 
  

   and 
  might 
  answer 
  to 
  the 
  additional 
  titles 
  of 
  hamp'i-kamayoq, 
  "med- 
  

   icine 
  expert," 
  kamasqa, 
  "cured," 
  etc, 
  (See 
  Disease 
  and 
  Curing, 
  p. 
  

   312) 
  Practitioners 
  of 
  white 
  or 
  black 
  magic 
  might 
  or 
  might 
  not 
  also 
  

   be 
  attendants 
  on 
  the 
  huacas. 
  Bias 
  Valera 
  mentions 
  a 
  special 
  class 
  of 
  

  

  *2 
  The 
  chroniclers 
  give 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  widely 
  differing 
  accounts 
  of 
  the 
  official 
  priesthood, 
  but 
  the 
  differences 
  

   seem 
  to 
  be 
  due 
  mostly 
  to 
  the 
  varying 
  influence 
  of 
  Catholic 
  ideas 
  on 
  the 
  description, 
  and 
  to 
  lack 
  of 
  agreement 
  on 
  

   the 
  Quechua 
  names 
  for 
  the 
  official 
  priests 
  ("sun 
  priests"). 
  Cobo 
  calls 
  the 
  priests 
  tarpontay, 
  and 
  says 
  that 
  

   they 
  all 
  belonged 
  to 
  the 
  ayllu 
  of 
  that 
  name. 
  Guaman 
  Poma 
  and 
  Pachacuti 
  call 
  them 
  wisa 
  (in 
  compound 
  

   forms 
  walya-wisa, 
  "hualla- 
  priest"; 
  konti-wisa, 
  "conti- 
  priest," 
  etc.). 
  Bias 
  Valera 
  says 
  that 
  import- 
  

   ant 
  priests 
  were 
  called 
  wil'ka, 
  and 
  assistants 
  yana-wtl'ka 
  "servant 
  priest"). 
  Bias 
  Valera 
  is 
  generally 
  

   unreliable 
  about 
  religion, 
  and 
  the 
  dictionaries 
  give 
  wil'ka 
  as 
  a 
  synonym 
  for 
  wak'a, 
  "shrine." 
  

  

  The 
  high 
  priest's 
  title 
  is 
  variously 
  given 
  as 
  wtla-oma, 
  wilya-oma, 
  ("announcement 
  head," 
  cf. 
  Catholic 
  

   nuncio) 
  or 
  wilyaq-omo 
  ("announcing 
  sorceror"). 
  The 
  second 
  form 
  is 
  probably 
  the 
  correct 
  one. 
  (Cobo, 
  

   1890-95, 
  bk. 
  13, 
  ch. 
  33; 
  Cieza, 
  1554, 
  bk. 
  1, 
  ch. 
  92; 
  bk. 
  2, 
  ch. 
  27; 
  Las 
  Casas, 
  1892, 
  ch. 
  10; 
  Valera, 
  1879, 
  pp. 
  157-163; 
  

   Garcilaso, 
  1723, 
  pt. 
  1, 
  bk. 
  3, 
  ch. 
  22; 
  Molina 
  of 
  Santiago, 
  1916.) 
  

  

  