Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/76

50 tribe served under the salt Ayar. With it were the tribe, the  the  the  and the  The  was probably the priestly and sacrificial caste, while the  ayllu was also a religious body conducting ceremonials and musical festivals. The gathering of these ten tribes together seems to have been a veritable exodus under the leadership of the Ayars. For they not only took with them their arms, but also their movable property, wives and children.

Their way was north-east for not more than twenty-five miles, for no doubt Cuzco was their goal from the beginning, well known to them as a desirable central position where megalithic buildings gave evidence of former occupation by the ancient civilisers. Starting from their homes at their movements were slow and deliberate, even stopping to sow and reap. The Ayar Manco was the leader. He took with him a golden staff. When the soil was so fertile that its whole length sank into the rich mould, there was to be the final resting-place. He also had with him a bird like a falcon, carried in a hamper, which all the people looked upon as sacred. It does not appear whether it was alive or artificial, but it was the Ayar's familiar spirit called or brother.

Their first march took this army of empire builders to a place called Huanacancha, where there