﻿Vol.2] 
  INCA 
  CULTURE 
  — 
  ROWE 
  305 
  

  

  The 
  Emperor's 
  illness 
  was 
  attributed 
  to 
  the 
  sinfulness 
  of 
  his 
  subjects, 
  

   who 
  confessed 
  and 
  purified 
  themselves 
  to 
  speed 
  his 
  cure. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  serious 
  sins 
  were 
  murder, 
  especially 
  by 
  poisoning 
  or 
  witch- 
  

   craft, 
  stealing, 
  carelessness 
  in 
  worship, 
  neglect 
  of 
  festivals, 
  and 
  

   cursing 
  or 
  disobeying 
  the 
  Emperor. 
  Fornication 
  and 
  seduction 
  were 
  

   sins 
  because 
  the 
  Emperor 
  had 
  forbidden 
  them. 
  Only 
  overt 
  acts 
  were 
  

   confessed; 
  thoughts 
  were 
  not 
  considered 
  sinful. 
  

  

  The 
  confessors 
  were 
  usually 
  priests 
  of 
  both 
  sexes 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  huacas. 
  

   Serious 
  sins 
  were 
  taken 
  to 
  more 
  important 
  priests. 
  Aymara 
  con- 
  

   fessors 
  were 
  considered 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  best, 
  and, 
  at 
  Cuzco, 
  the 
  Aymara 
  

   name 
  (ichori, 
  "straw 
  man") 
  was 
  used 
  for 
  the 
  office. 
  Members 
  of 
  

   the 
  Inca 
  royal 
  family 
  uever 
  consulted 
  professional 
  confessors, 
  but 
  

   confessed 
  directly 
  to 
  the 
  Sun 
  in 
  secret, 
  asking 
  the 
  Sun 
  to 
  be 
  their 
  

   intercessor 
  with 
  Viracocha. 
  After 
  such 
  a 
  confession, 
  the 
  noble 
  bathed 
  

   in 
  a 
  river, 
  asking 
  the 
  river 
  to 
  carry 
  away 
  his 
  sins. 
  With 
  a 
  few 
  ex- 
  

   ceptions, 
  professional 
  confessors 
  were 
  bound 
  to 
  secrecy. 
  

  

  In 
  confessing 
  one 
  was 
  supposed 
  to 
  tell 
  the 
  whole 
  truth, 
  for 
  hiding 
  a 
  

   sin 
  was 
  a 
  serious 
  sin 
  in 
  itself. 
  The 
  confessor 
  counted 
  a 
  pile 
  of 
  small 
  

   stones 
  or 
  examined 
  the 
  entrails 
  of 
  an 
  animal 
  to 
  see 
  if 
  the 
  truth 
  had 
  

   been 
  told. 
  If 
  the 
  augury 
  were 
  unfavorable, 
  or 
  if 
  there 
  were 
  any 
  other 
  

   reason 
  to 
  suspect 
  a 
  lie, 
  the 
  confessor 
  struck 
  the 
  man 
  in 
  the 
  back 
  with 
  a 
  

   stone 
  and 
  made 
  him 
  confess 
  again. 
  

  

  After 
  a 
  satisfactory 
  confession, 
  the 
  confessor 
  gave 
  a 
  penance, 
  usually 
  

   several 
  days' 
  fasting 
  or 
  a 
  night 
  spent 
  in 
  prayer 
  at 
  the 
  huaca. 
  The 
  

   penance 
  was 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  heavier 
  if 
  the 
  sinner 
  were 
  poor 
  and 
  could 
  not 
  

   pay 
  the 
  confessor. 
  The 
  penitent 
  finally 
  washed 
  in 
  running 
  water 
  to 
  

   purify 
  himself. 
  Some 
  confessors 
  made 
  the 
  penitent 
  hold 
  a 
  handful 
  

   of 
  straw 
  during 
  the 
  confession, 
  spit 
  in 
  it, 
  and 
  throw 
  the 
  straw 
  into 
  a 
  

   river 
  afterward 
  as 
  a 
  symbol 
  of 
  purification 
  (hence 
  the 
  name 
  ichori). 
  

   (Cobo, 
  1890-95, 
  bk. 
  13, 
  chs. 
  24, 
  38; 
  Molina 
  of 
  Cuzco, 
  1913, 
  pp. 
  130-31; 
  

   Polo, 
  1916 
  a, 
  ch. 
  5.) 
  

  

  Sacrifices. 
  — 
  A 
  great 
  many 
  sacrifices 
  were 
  made 
  as 
  part 
  of 
  certain 
  

   festivals 
  celebrated 
  at 
  fixed 
  seasons. 
  The 
  sacrificial 
  objects 
  were 
  pro- 
  

   vided 
  from 
  the 
  fields 
  and 
  flocks 
  dedicated 
  to 
  religion, 
  part 
  of 
  which 
  

   were 
  assigned 
  to 
  each 
  huaca. 
  State 
  sacrifices 
  to 
  the 
  Creator 
  were 
  

   made 
  in 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  huacas 
  rather 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  Emperor's 
  

   name. 
  The 
  priests 
  of 
  a 
  huaca 
  selected 
  the 
  proper 
  offerings 
  from 
  its 
  

   income 
  and 
  sacrificed 
  them 
  in 
  its 
  name. 
  Extraordinary 
  sacrifices 
  

   were 
  contributed 
  by 
  the 
  people 
  interested. 
  The 
  priests 
  first 
  deter- 
  

   mined 
  by 
  divination 
  the 
  most 
  acceptable 
  offering, 
  and 
  then 
  collected 
  

   the 
  offerings. 
  An 
  individual's 
  sacrifice 
  was 
  divided 
  between 
  the 
  huaca 
  

   and 
  its 
  priests, 
  providing 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  's 
  upkeep. 
  

  

  The 
  most 
  valuable 
  sacrifice 
  was 
  of 
  human 
  beings, 
  who 
  were 
  offered 
  

   only 
  to 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  divinities 
  and 
  huacas 
  on 
  the 
  most 
  solemn 
  

   occasions, 
  such 
  as 
  pestilence, 
  famine, 
  and 
  war 
  reverses, 
  at 
  the 
  corona- 
  

  

  