Encyclopedia of the Incas

Quizquiz, and Rumiñawi. But, jealousies, insecurities, and suspicions of treason
poisoned the half brothers’ relations, which quickly deteriorated. Huascar and
Atahualpa would battle for the title of “el Cuzco” and their father’s vacant
throne. In this scenario, the confrontations on the battlefield would allow the
Sun, their legendary forefather and origin of their lineage, to determine who was
most apt. Both Huascar and Atahualpa made sacrifices to their gods, imploring
their help, and visited famous oracles for predictions on the outcome of the
contest. Both faced infamy and death should they lose the god’s favor and show
weakness or incompetence in the field. Defeated leaders were labeled atisqa
(defeated, weak) and their followers—and their labor—were claimed by the
victor.
Memories of the civil war differ. One version recounts how Huascar’s forces,
which included aggressive Cañari troops from what is today Ecuador, won the
first matches. At one point, they captured Atahualpa and held him prisoner in
Tomebamba, a leading Inca settlement; he escaped, according to accounts, by
transforming himself into a snake. Others report how southern and northern
armies met at Riobamba or Mochacaxa, where Atahualpa’s forces won, killing
one of Huascar’s commanders. Subsequent battles were fought outside of
Tomebamba, where the outcome changed overnight. At this encounter,
Huascar’s forces triumphed on one day only to be ultimately overtaken by
Atahualpa’s forces the next. They retreated to Cusipampa, in the northern
highlands between Tomebamba and Cajamarca, where they were again routed.
Atahualpa’s experienced troops maintained their advantage pushing them south
to Cajamarca in the northern highlands of Peru, where they regrouped and
recruited thousands of fresh men, 10,000 of whom were formidable Chachapoya.
In the next battle, Atahualpa’s general wisely focused on breaking the
Chachapoya line. This success demoralized Huascar’s forces, some of whom
must have thought that Atahualpa’s victories demonstrated the Sun’s favor.
Atahualpa’s general, Quizquiz, continued to dominate at Pumpu, a center in the
central high plains. Additional victories followed in the Yanamarca Valley (north
of Hatun Jauja), at Angoyaco, and at Quipaypán (between Apurímac and
Cuzco).
As the confrontations turned against him, an oracle told Huascar that he must
appear at the front of his troops to reverse the outcomes of these confrontations.
Huascar followed the oracle’s counsel. Though versions differ on how Huascar
was captured, a particularly vivid story recounts how Huascar donned a
headdress and other fineries adorned with gold and, on his litter, entered the field