Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/254

216 extraordinary magnificence, and that his subjects, though working hard, lived in abundance and comfort.

There is only one account of the religion of these people, written by Antonio de la Calancha, in his 'Coronica Moralizada del Orden de San Agustin.' Calancha was prior of the Augustines at Truxillo in 1619, eighty years after the Spanish conquest, when traditions still lingered among the people. He says that the Chimu worshipped the moon, called Si, as the principal god, because it ruled the elements and caused the tempests. The temple of the moon was called Si An. They held that the moon was more powerful than the sun because the latter did not appear in the night, while the moon appears both by day and night. Sacrifices were offered to the moon, consisting, on great occasions, of children wrapped in coloured cloths, with chicha and fruits. Devotion was also shown to some of the stars. The ocean, called Ni, received worship and, apparently, sacrifices; as well as the earth, Vis. Prayers were offered up to one for fish, and to the other for good harvests, with offerings of flour of white maize. Certain rocks were also objects of veneration, called Alespong.

The Si An, or temple of the moon, was to the south, near the banks of the river Muchi. It is a rectangular structure, 800 feet by 470, covering seven acres, with a height of 200 feet. It is built of large adobes. It consists of a level area 400 feet