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< The
Temple of the Sun was located on the site that today is occupied by the
Church of San Dominique, and its walls, which are made of high polished
stone, still exist. What we shall call the high altar, although this
expression did not exist among the Indians, was to the east, and the roof,
which was very high, was of wood, covered with straw. The four walls were
hung with plaques of gold, from top to bottom, and a likeness of the Sun
topped the high altar. This likeness was made of a gold plaque twice as
thick as those that panelled the walls, and was composed of a round face,
prolonged by rays and flames, the way the Spanish painters represented it;
the whole thing was so immense that it occupied the entire back of the
temple, form one wall to the other. There was no other idol in the temple,
nor in any other, for the Sun was the only god of the Incas, whatever
people may say on this subject [...]
On either
side of this Sun, were kept the numerous mummies of former Inca kings,
which were so well preserved, that they seemed to be alive. They were
seated on their golden thrones resting on plaques of this same metal, and
they looked directly at the visitor. Alone among them, Huaina Capac's body
had assumed a peculiar pose, facing the Sun, as though form childhood, he
had been his favourite son who deserved to be adored for his unusual
virtues .[...]
The temple
was prolonged by a square cloister with an adjoining wall, and crowned by
a gold band like the one we have just described. [...] The three other
sides of the cloister gave on to five large square rooms, that had no
communication between them, and were roofed over
in the form of a pyramid. >
The Shrine of the Moon
< The
first of these rooms was
dedicated to the Moon,
the bride of the Sun, and for this reason it was nearest to the main
building. It was entirely paneled with silver, and a likeness of the Moon,
with the face of a woman, decorated it in the same way that the sun
decorated the larger building. [...They called her Mamaquilla, which means
our mother the Moon.
The bodies of queens were laid away in this Temple,
just as those of the kings were kept in the other. >
••••••••••••••
|
Niche in
polished granite in the exterior wall of the cosmological Temple room
dedicated to "Venus, the Pleiades and to all the stars" |
-mr-new.jpg)
The Shrine of Venus,
The Pleiades and All the Stars
< The room nearest to that of the Moon was
devoted to Venus, to the Pleiades and to all
the stars. As we said
before, Venus was honoured as the sun's page, who accompanies him on his
way [...]. The Indians considered the other stars as servants of the Moon,
and this was why they were represented near her. The constellation of the
Pleiades was particularly revered because of the regularity and perfection
of its well-grouped design. This room was hung with silver, like that of
the Moon, and the ceiling was dotted
with stars, like the firmament.
The next room was
dedicated to lightning, and to thunder,
which they were both expressed by the single name, illapa. [...]
This room was entirely covered with gold, but neither thunder not
lightning were represented there [...]. The fourth room was
devoted to the rainbow,
which they said descended from the Sun [...]. It was entirely covered with
gold and the rainbow was painted, in beautiful colours, across the entire
surface of one of the walls. They called the rainbow cuichu and
revered it very specially. [...] The fifth room and last room was reserved
for the high priest and his assistants, who were of royal blood. [...] The
name of the high priest was uilac-umu [...] This means "he who
speaks of divine matters" [..]
>
The Golden Garden
<The temple
was decorated with five fountains that were fed from different
sources. Their pipes were of solid gold and their stone pillars were
covered with either gold or silver, for the sacrifices were washed in
these waters. [..] In the time of the Incas, this garden [...] was
entirely made of gold and silver; [...] Here could be seen all sorts of
plants, flowers, trees, animals, both small and large, wild and tame, tiny
crawling creatures such as snakes, lizards, and snails, as well as
butterflies and birds of every size; each one of these marvels being
placed at the spot that best suited the nature of what it represented.
There were a tall corn stalk [...], as well as other vegetables, and fruit
trees, the fruits of which were faithfully reproduced in gold and silver. There were also, in the
house of the Sun, as well as in that of the King, piles of wool made of
gold and silver, and larger statues of men, women and children made of the
same materials [...]. All of these valuable works were made by the
goldsmiths attached to the temple, form the tribute of gold and silver
that arrived every year from all the provinces of the Empire [...].
For this reason, the temple and its service quarters were called
Coricancha, which means the place of gold. >
Garcilaso de la
Vega, The Royal Commentaries of the Yncas
(translation by
Maria Jolas, Lima 2002: 115-117, 119-120) |
