Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
After the Spanish occupied the capital of Cusco, the Plaza de Inca became the witness of many important events. Citizens always go to Inca Square every day to see if there is anything worth watching or watching. Because the Indians with simple folk customs are always curious about some new things done by the Spaniards.
For several days, they saw some Indians hired by Spain carrying wood and building a wooden platform in the square, and then decorated the platform with bright red and purple brocade velvet and floral cloth, which was particularly dazzling. Based on this scene, they expected that another major event would happen here.
Then, I don’t know what kind of wind blew away Manco’s coronation. This wind blew throughout the entire empire like the plateau wind before the storm. After so many tragedies and disasters occurred in this empire, people missed the great and outstanding monarch Huayna Kabak the Great even more, and yearned for the re-establishment of an ancient and peaceful Inca Empire. Therefore, they looked forward with great enthusiasm to the enthronement of the monarch's son, the legitimate heir to the Inca throne. For this reason, many Indians rushed to the capital city of Cusco. Even people from the most remote areas heard the news and came to participate in the coronation celebration of the new Inca king who they considered supreme.
On the day of the coronation ceremony, hundreds of thousands of Indians from all over the empire crowded the entire square, and even the streets and alleys next to the square were packed. It was even more grand and lively than the annual Sun God Festival held by the Incas. Much more. In order to protect and maintain the celebrations, the Spanish soldiers, who numbered less than 500, seemed to be so weak and lacking in resources at this time. He guarded the entire square closely at every step and every five steps to maintain order and prevent unexpected events.
Before the coronation ceremony began, some mummies of the late emperors appeared in the square in gorgeous costumes. These late kings were dressed in king's attire, draped in gorgeous big cloaks, with Bola crowns on their heads, and were sitting upright on their seats. It's just that there is no longer a pure gold base under the seat. Those pure gold bases were snatched by the Spaniards and made into gold ingots and distributed to the soldiers. Now the bases of their seats are made of wood. From their clothes to their hair and eyebrows, these late emperors looked as lifelike as living people. When they were surrounded by many princes and nobles and carried through the streets and squares by uniformed servants, all the Indians immediately fell to the ground and knelt down to show their respect. Afterwards, people burst into mourning and burst into tears. When the mummies of the late emperors were carried to the square and placed on both sides of the rostrum, the Indians knelt down and worshiped the late kings again. When they saw some Spaniards taking off their hats to pay tribute to the late kings, they were even more moved.
The royal family members who had been buried in suburban cemeteries were also dug out from the cemetery that morning, their not yet completely decomposed bodies were smeared with antiseptic sesame oil, put on gorgeous and brand-new clothes, and placed in sedan chairs. He was carried by the slaves to the Inca Square and lined up behind the mummies of the previous kings. People walked past them with great reverence and silently saluted or knelt down to them.
The celebration begins after noon, and everything will go according to the Indians' imagination. The people looked forward to seeing a new dynasty ruled by the ancient Cusco family. At the beginning of the celebration, several Spanish cavalry bugles were blown at the same time, echoing in the Palace Square for several minutes. When the trumpet sound stopped, Father Valverde, dressed in black, stepped onto the podium and began to say mass in a Christian way. This made the Indians crowded in the square feel fresh and curious, but also puzzled. However, people still watched with bated breath what the priest in black did.
After the Mass, Pizarro, dressed in military uniform, walked onto the stage. He waved to the tens of thousands of Indians crowded in the square with his hands behind his back, and then delivered a speech in a tone announcing a major event, saying, "The Inca prince and the People, after our revered young king Huaypalcon was killed with poisoned wine by the abominable Chalcuchima, our country has been looking forward to a new Inca king, one who can make us worship and Faith, a king who makes us feel trustworthy and reassuring. Now, we have found such a king. He is the son of the late Inca king Huayna Kabak, Prince Manco, the brother of Huascar, an Inca throne The legal heir, Manco. He used his foresight and cleverness to escape the massacre of the Cusco royal family by the murderer King Atahualpa. We also believe that he can fulfill his duties after becoming the king of the Incas. Do your part for the peace and tranquility of this country." Martin, the Indian interpreter, then translated his speech to the Indians present. The Indians in the square immediately cheered enthusiastically.
After the endless cheers subsided, young Manco appeared on stage and walked to the center of the rostrum. He wore a yellow vincu often worn by the Inca kings, and a bright red velvet cloak draped behind him. The cloak was very thick and long, so long that two princes followed behind to help drag it. Behind him, two princes brought a large golden chair and placed it behind him. It was the throne where Huascar had sat in the past.
According to the traditional coronation ceremony, the Inca palace priest puts the red bola hat, which symbolizes supreme power, on the head of the new king, and hands the pure gold scepter to the new king. However, the method of coronation this time seems to be different from the traditional Inca method. Father Valverde walked up to Pizarro holding a red Pola crown. The crown is made of a crimson turban with many colorful folds, and a tasseled ribbon is sewn around it. It is not only colorful and inlaid with a large number of gold ornaments and gems, but also has two rare bird strings stuck straight into it. feather. These feathers were plucked from a rare bird in the mountains; harming or capturing this bird would be punishable by death by the Inca kings, because this bird was specially used to make the king's headdress.
Pizarro picked up the crown with flower spikes from a tray and put it on Manco's head in a majestic and solemn manner. Then, the new king sat on the pure gold Inca throne and began to accept the kneeling worship of thousands of princes and nobles. Then, tens of thousands of Indians in the entire square prostrated on the ground at the same time, pressing their faces to the ground and kneeling in continuous worship. After a period of kneeling and worshiping, there was a wave of deafening cheers like "Long live the king! Long live the king!". The young king kept waving his hands before slowly quieting down the subjects in the square.
When the people in the square fell silent, Treasurer Riquelme, as a notary, read out a document in a high-pitched voice. He said, “Pizarro, the commander of the Spanish Expeditionary Force, Riquelme, the treasurer of the King of Spain’s representative, Valverde, the bishop of Cusco, Spain, and Manco, the King of the Inca Empire, all expressed their insistence on supporting the supreme and absolute authority of the King of Spain and expressed their support for the supreme and absolute authority of the King of Spain. The orders and interests of the King of Spain serve as the absolute guideline for our actions, and we will never violate or betray the supreme Spanish monarch at any time, under any circumstances, or under any conditions.”
When the translator Martin translated the entire document in a very loud voice, Pizarro, treasurer Riquelme and Valverde successively held a flag with the royal emblem of Castile and waved it towards the people in the square. Two or three times. But when the new Inca King Manco also waved the flag to the people, instead of cheering in the square, it became unusually quiet. Many people lowered their heads, as if they couldn't bear to see this kind of thing that was both funny and disturbing. Sad scene.
At this time, someone brought several large glasses of Chicha wine and gave each of the four people standing on the stage a glass. Manco walked up to Pizarro with a cup in hand, raised his cup and said, "I wish Mr. Marquis good health!" The two clinked their glasses and drank it down. Pizarro returned the cup to the soldier, and then said happily, "Congratulations on your succession to the throne of the Inca Empire." With that, he and Manco embraced each other warmly. At this time, the sound of military bugles rang out in unison, piercing the sky for a long time. The Indians in the square cheered like a tsunami again.
But this was not a trumpet of victory, but of humiliation; for it announced that the iron hooves of the outsiders were trampling the halls of the Inca kings; that the coronation was but a pitiable farce, and that their Inca prince himself was nothing more than a slave to the conquerors. puppet. The glory of the Son of the Sun God is gone forever! Yet the people remain willing to indulge in illusions and seem happy to accept the phantom of their age-old independence. They celebrated the accession of the young king with all the usual joy as if a conqueror had not invaded their empire.
After the Inca King left, the Spanish soldiers gradually withdrew from the square. Because there was no sumptuous and luxurious reception, many people spontaneously cheered, celebrated, sang and danced. Many of them gathered together, some in large circles, and the men and women held hands, danced their unique dances, and sang their own carnival songs. Some people gathered together, some people were dancing, while others were singing along.
The truly grand and grand celebration banquet was not held in the square, but in the spacious palace hall of Emperor Wayna Kabak. The banquet was extremely luxurious, and the tables were filled with all kinds of expensive delicacies and delicacies from mountains and seas. When the last light over Cusco disappeared behind the Western Mountains, hundreds of oil lamps illuminated the palace hall. Nearly a hundred banquet tables were already filled with people.
At the guest table, sat the Spanish leader and the new Inca king Manco and his ministers, as well as the mummies of the previous kings. Next to each mummy are many slaves and followers. They sat at the table in front of the late king, maintaining the same respect and etiquette as before. At other banquets were Spanish soldiers and Indian princes and nobles.
As soon as the banquet began, the Spanish soldiers guessed the wine orders, shouted and made a fuss, swept away the food and wine like the wind swept away the remaining clouds, and then returned to the barracks to play dice and gamble. But those Inca nobles and princes ate more elegantly. They chatted slowly while eating vegetables and drinking wine, telling various oracles and stories with relish, and telling stories about the past. good times. They even toasted to the mummies of the late kings to express their memory and respect for the late kings.
By the time they finished eating and drinking, it was already late at night, but they were not in a hurry to go home and sleep. Instead, they continued to gather together, started singing, dancing, and reveling. It didn't end until the dead of night. However, when they left the palace hall and came to the square, they found that there were still many locals or outsiders continuing to sing and dance in the square and some streets.
This time of carnival and celebration lasted for a long time. Some lasted all night, some even lasted a month. Not only in the square, but also in many streets, they began to gather together after lunch and began to sing and dance endlessly. It seemed like they had nothing else to do except sing and dance. This made the Spanish soldiers incomprehensible. In fact, the Indians themselves have the habit of reveling and partying. Whenever there is something worthy of celebration and joy, they will get together to have a carnival and have fun all night long.
They party sometimes to celebrate, but mostly to entertain themselves. Most of the Indians are very poor. They live in low and simple huts that are exposed to the weather. Apart from food and clothing every day, the house is almost bare and destitute. Moreover, it is impossible to rely on hard work or hard work to earn money. Doing things to get rich, because their identity and origin have already determined their destiny in this life and the next. Therefore, they have no extravagant thoughts or desires and are carefree. They just want to live happily or enjoy hardships. Every night, people gather together to sing and dance to the sound of drums until midnight.
