Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-12-03

sea- The third race, known as the Huancas, dwelt in
the territory comprehended between tho Corderas and
Andes and between the degrees Of nine and fourteen
OF south latitude The race of the Aymaraes the
root of the Incas Peruvian emperors and from this
race proceeded the modifying influences which finally
ended by absorbing the adjacent tribes and nations The
origin of the Peruvian Empire is involved in darkness
dense than the twilight of fable" According to
the popular myth of Peru the barbarism of the ancient
nhabiting the continent disspated by the sum-
that great light Of the heavens which regarded
the parent Of mankind The SUM- touched with pity at
the degraded and lost condition Of men, SENT says the
legend two of his children Nance Capac and Mama Cello
Huaco, to gather the natives into communities and teach
them the arts Of civilized life. They directed to
bear with them golden WEDGE and to select as the ap
pointed of their destined empire the spot where this
golden wedge should sink without effort into the ground
Cuzco being found to be the spot designated in accord
with this preconcerted token the children of the
here took up their abode and taught the natives the
arts Of hushandy and the mysteries Of weaving and spin
ming Such is the simple story narrated by Garclasso
de la Vega who boosted himself descendant Of these
ncas under whose auspices the civilization of Peru
attained its measure Of perfection. @
The annals of Peru have yet been sed like those
Of elder Rome by Niebuhr. Who this Nance
Capac of the Peruvian legends What the state Of
Peruvian culture before his ADVENT What the origin
Of this antecedent culture Was successive progress
sve manifestation Of the mind Of the aboriginal nations
rather transplantcd from another soil These
questions which remain to be answered.
The most eminent period of the dynasty of the ncas
is the reign of HuaynaCapac who died years be-
fore the arrival of the Spaniards after having governed
half century The population Of the empire numbered
this period eleven million inhabitants The authority
of the Peruvian monarchs Incas absolute. They
united in their single persons the legislative and
tive powers, the supreme command in war; absolute
sovereignty in peace and the sacerdo.al functions of
venerated priesthood. The Government is termed by
Senior Riyero "a theocratical autocracy, species of
mixed government to which the history of the world pre-
sens parallel in its perfect consolidation of power
1t is instructive fact that in the administrative organ
zation Of his Government the Inca pursued line of
policy similar that which is advocated at the
day by certain European puhlicsts who camor loudly
for the rght of labor and the equal distribution Of
property socialism found its full and rotund deyel
opment under the institutions of these auocrac rulers
swayng at will ignorant and degraded popuace whose
equality consisted only in equality of barbarsm,
may judge what results similar policy would conduct
the nations of Europe.
The ncas fond of conquest and their zeal for the
annexation of contiguous territories have
almost highly raised that of own modern Demo-
cracy, though they certainly evinced much dscre
ton in their schemes of territorial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT than
is dscovcrable in the policy of their in this
ne for the Peruvian monarch did not think it prudent
to subject nation to his dominens until he had
first sent among them his auautds, wise men, in
sruct the people in the Qucha tongue in the institutes
of the Peruvian religion and in the theory of the Govern
beneath whose practical workings they be
ultimately brought We hope modern annexatonists
will learn at least lesson of wisdom from the practice of
these aggressive princes for thus only it that they
enabled to amalgamate intimately such different
nations, and to form of them whole compact that
history according Senior Ryero has record Of any
Government that at all be compared to that of the
| Incas in this respect
We have not time to enter into any diseuisitions re-
specting the American languages in general the
Quicha dialect in particular though under both of these
heads the reader will find much instructive in the
work under notice The ancient Peruyans had two
kinds Of writings one, and certanly the more ancient
consisted in species of herogyphic characters; the
other in knots made threads Of divers colors These
knotted threads called qugps This latter method
of writing f it deserves the name) was not original in
Peru least peculiar to this country since in various
parts of Central Asia and China it the custom from
very remote period resort to these knotted threads
well as in Mexico and Canada. The Peruvian quppus
of twisted WOOL and consist of string large cord
the base of the document and threads more or less
fne which fastened to it by knots.
AS to the intellectual character of the ancient Peru
VANS under scientific aspect learn that of all the
branches which compose abstract philosophy, the only
one which cultivated the moral duties arising
from religious belief And in this department they raised
Of the thorny metaphysical questions which ndi-
cate acuteness and inquistveness of intellect Their
knowledge have been confined to the cany and
confused ideas supplied to them by the priesthood Their
jurisprudence was also exceedingly meager and the sim
pcty of their code required few commentaries Medi-
cal art among the Peruvians quackery without
any nosoogica therapeutic system, according to
authors. OF mathematics the dmdntds knew almost
thing and we at loss to know how they invented
their excellent system Of numeration without having skill
enough to make a better of it.
The religion Of nation is always index Of its
civilization "Give the idea which exists Of God
among nation, (says Descartes,) and will give you
their strength The worship of the Sum- introduced by
the Incas superseded anterior worship which, how
grossly dsfgured by puere supersttions still at
tanned to the conception Of Supreme Being and to
system of belief containing vestges Of the dogmas Of the
fall of man and Of the redemption. Upon examining the
religious system introduced by the Incas, says Senior
Rvero do not find in it Of those profoundly
taphysical and sublime ideas which so prominent
among the Asatic religions and which the polytheistc
worship also reveals to The base Of their religion
the private interest Of the royal family whose
thorty was by this rendered more firm and IL.
mitabe than that Of the powerful autocrat Of the
East. The Sun the supreme deity whom the nation
revered by erecting sumptuous temples, wherein they