Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/135

Rh the employment of a numerous hierarchy, divided into many grades. The High Priest was an official of the highest rank, often a brother of the sovereign. He was called Uillac Uma, 'the head which counsels.' He was the supreme judge and arbiter in all religious questions and causes relating to the temples. His life was required to be passed in religious contemplation and abstinence. He was a strict vegetarian and never drank anything but water. His ordinary dress was a robe going down to the ankles, and a grey mantle of vicuna wool. But when he celebrated the festivals in the temple he wore the grand tiara, called Uilca Chucu, which included a circular plate of gold representing the sun, and under the chin a half-moon of silver. The head-dress was adorned with the feathers of the guacamaya, or great macaw; the whole covered with jewels and plates of gold. The complete head-dress was called Huampar Chucu. His ceremonial tunic without sleeves reached to the ground, with no belt. Over it there was a shorter pelisse of white wool, trimmed with red, which came down to the knees, and was covered with precious stones and plates of gold. His shoes were of fine wool, and bracelets of gold were on his arms. Directly the ceremony was over he divested himself of his vestments and remained in his ordinary clothes. He received ample rents, bestowing the greater part on those afflicted by blindness or other disabling infirmities. Besides being of illustrious lineage, the High Priest was an