Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/259

Rh two consonants, or a vowel. The adjective precedes the substantive, and the pronouns precede the verb. The roots of the tenses remain unaltered, the conjugating being effected by pronouns, and the passive voice by the verbs substantive, of which there are two. Prepositions come after the noun. The vocabulary is fairly abundant, and there is a sufficiency of nouns and verbs for the expression of abstract ideas.

We know nothing of the origin of the Chimu and his people. Not the vestige of a tradition has come down to us. All their designs and ornaments refer to their environment. There is nothing which points to a foreign origin. Their civilisation appears to have been developed by themselves without outside contact, in the course of many centuries. Yet the temple of the moon on the Muchi river, and the great pyramids, remind us of similar Maya works. If there was communication it was by sea, and at some very remote period. There is one coast tradition referring not to the Chimu, but to one of his feudatories, the chief of Lambayeque, to the north. It is related by Miguel Cavello Balboa in his work entitled 'Miscelanea Austral.' This cavalier, after serving as a soldier in the French wars, became an ecclesiastic, and went to South America in 1566. He wrote his work, apparently at Quito, between 1576 and 1586.