Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/68

42 the first recorded king is given as ; and the Deity is said to be his God—the God of Pirua. In modern Quichua Pirua means a granary or store-house. is the store-house or depository of all things—of creation. The ordinary meaning of is a lake, but here it is said to signify an abyss—profundity. The whole meaning of the words would be 'The splendour, the foundation, the creator, the infinite God.' The word was occasionally added—'the Teacher.'

It may well be that the Tiahuanacu carving was an effort to give expression to this idea of the Deity. The names show the sublimity of thought attained by the ancient Peruvians in their conception of a Supreme Being—the infinite cause, the fundamental principle, the light of the world, the great teacher.

The first recorded king, whose Deity is thus described, was Pirua Paccari Manco. His dynasty, which may be called the Pirua dynasty, would include the first eighteen kings in the list, who may possibly be megalithic sovereigns. It may be that some glimmer of light may be afforded by their names. They yield twenty-one words, of which sixteen have meanings in modern Quichua. Three of these are titles which occur frequently. These are, occurring eleven times; , four times; and twice in the