was one’s turn to water one’s own fields got an “arbitrary punishment.” Bridge
burning was regarded as a serious offense (reflecting the strategic importance of
river crossings), resulting in the death penalty. Changing one’s costume and
“insignia of birthplace,” that is, masquerading as a person of an ethnic identity
different from one’s own, was considered a great transgression against the Inca,
the nation, and the province whose dress had been adopted. Such an offender of
the public order was “punished with rigor.” If one removed a stone boundary
marker, known as topo, or entered someone else’s property without that person’s
permission, the criminal was given the stone punishment the first time and the
death penalty the second time. Misuse of supernatural powers and sorcery were
grave offenses and resulted in death. If a “governor” of a province failed to
administer justice, or covered up anything because of bribery, the Inca himself
punished that official, removing him from office.
According to Garcilaso, severe reprisals awaited the curaca, or local lord, who
rebelled against the Inca. The chronicler also noted that seducing an aclla, or
chosen woman, was regarded as an especially outrageous crime. The aclla was
to be buried alive and her accomplice hanged. In addition, as violations of the
sanctity of these young women who were in service to the state were considered
so heinous, the guilty man’s wife, children, and servants were to be killed, as
were his kinsmen, neighbors, townsmen, and flocks, and his village was to be
destroyed and strewn with rocks. But, Garcilaso adds, the punishment struck
such fear in the hearts of the people that no one even contemplated committing
such a crime.
Cobo writes of two prisons in Cuzco. One, in the parish of San Sebastian just
south of Cuzco, was destined for thieves and other criminals. The wrongdoers
were hanged upside down and left there until they died. The other prison was an
underground dungeon where people who committed the “most atrocious
offenses,” such as treason against the king, were thrown to be devoured by
pumas, jaguars, bears, and snakes.
Further Reading
Cobo, Bernabé. History of the Inca Empire: An Account of the Indian’s Customs and Their Origin, Together
with a Treatise on Inca Legends, History, and Social Institutions. Translated and edited by Roland
Hamilton. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979 [1653].
Garcilaso de la Vega, El Inca. Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru, Part One.
Translated by Harold V. Livermore. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966 [1609].
■ADRIANA VON HAGEN