r the maintenance of the temples and their costly
ceremonial. The land of the people was parted equally among them, every
man when he was married receiving enough to support himself and his
wife, together with a house. An additional piece was granted for every
child, the portion for a son being double that for a daughter. The
division of the soil was renewed every year, and the possession of the
tenant increased or diminished according to the number of his family.
The country was wholly cultivated by the people. First the lands of the
Sun were tilled; then those of the old or sick, the widow and orphan,
and soldiers on active service; after this each man was free to attend
to his own, though he was still obliged to help any neighbour who might
require it. Lastly, they cultivated the land of the Inca. This was done
with great ceremony by all the people in a body. At break of day they
were called together, and men, women, and children appeared in their
gayest apparel as if decked for some festival, and sang as they worked
their popular ballads, which told the heroic deeds of the Inca. The
flocks of llamas belonged exclusively to the Sun and the Inca, they were
most carefully tended and managed, and their number was immense. Under
the care of their shepherds they moved to different pastures according
to the climate. Every year some were killed as sacrifices at the
religious festivals or for the consumption of the Court, and at
appointed seasons all were sheared and their wool stored in the public
magazines. Thence it was given out to each family, and when the women
had spun and woven enough coarse garments to supply their husbands and
children they were required to labour for the Inca. Certain officers
decided what was to be woven, gave out the requisite material, and saw
that the work was faithfully done. In the lower and hotter regions
cotton, given out in the same way, took the place of wool. Occupation
was found for all, from the child of five years to the oldest woman who
could hold a distaff. Idleness was held to be a crime in Peru, and was
severely punished, while industry was publicly commended and rewarded.
In the same way all the mines in the kingdom belonged to the Inca, and
were worked for his benefit by men familiar with the service, and there
were special commissioners whose duty it was to know the nature of the
country and the capabilities of its inhabitants, so that whatever work
was required, it might be giv