Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/139

Rh the means of becoming acquainted with the ancient customs. So that he could not fail to write down many things which were quite different from what the Indians said. Polo was followed by Molina and others, especially by Sarmiento, whose official instructions were to make the worst of the Inca polity and government.

Valera declares, on the contrary, that there was a law prohibiting all sacrifices of human beings, which was strictly observed. It is true that Huahuas, or children, and Yuyacs, or adults, were sacrificed, but the Huahuas were lambs, not human children, and by Yuyac were meant full-grown llamas, not men. Valera is supported by Garcilasso de la Vega and other authorities, and the weight of evidence is decidedly against Polo's accusation.

There remains the logical tendency of the sacrificial idea to offer up the dearest and most valued possession; while the admission of Blas Valera that there was a law against human sacrifices seems to show that they were not unknown. Cieza de Leon is the most unprejudiced and the most reliable of all the authorities, and he says that if human sacrifices were ever offered, they were of very rare occurrence. This is probably the truth. The horrible offerings were not common nor habitual, but they had been known to be offered, on very extreme and exceptional occasions.

With the worship of the ancestor, Paccarisca, or the fabulous origin of each clan, whether the