Encyclopedia of the Incas

Andes sometime before 1585, serving as parish priest in Capachica on Lake
Titicaca and perhaps in Curahuasi, near Cuzco as well as in Arequipa. He was
an acquaintance of the indigenous chronicler Felipe Guaman Poma de
Ayala, although the exact nature of their relationship is unclear. Both men
wrote chronicles detailing myriad aspects of life in the Andes under the Incas
and in the early Colonial period. Both men’s works included copious
drawings, and it is certain that Guaman Poma produced a few of the drawings
that appear in at least two of Murúa’s manuscripts. The two men had a falling
out following their collaboration, and, in his chronicle, Guaman Poma derided
Murúa’s character and qualities as a historian. Murúa returned to Spain
where, in 1616, he sought license to publish a chronicle about the Incas and
Peru. He died a few years later, at an unknown date, probably in Spain.
Describing Murúa’s “chronicle” is challenging, as it took different forms
over time as he reworked the manuscript. Murúa’s narrative survives today in
two manuscript versions, which may represent different stages in the
production of a history of the origin and genealogy of the kings of Peru. The
earliest manuscript, titled Historia del origen, y genealogía real de los reyes
ingas del Piru (History of the Origin and Royal Genealogy of the Inca Kings
of Peru), dates to 1590–1598. This manuscript is held in the Galvin
collection, Ireland. The second manuscript, titled Historia general del Perú
(General History of Peru), dates to 1611–1616. Formerly known as the
Wellington manuscript, this manuscript is now held at the J. Paul Getty
Museum, Los Angeles. A third manuscript, titled Historia del origen y
genealogía real de los reyes Inças del Perú, is largely a^ nineteenth-century
copy of the Galvin manuscript, but with additional, later material. This
version is known as the “Loyola manuscript,” as it is held at the convent of
Loyola, Azpeitia, Guipúzcoa, Spain.
The Murúa manuscripts are differentiated by the number, quality, and artist
of their respective illustrations. The Galvin manuscript contains 113
illustrations; the Getty manuscript has 37 watercolors; and the Loyola
manuscript includes five line drawings. A few of the illustrations in the
Galvin and Getty manuscripts were drawn by Guaman Poma. Murúa himself
probably produced the rest of the illustrations. In the two colorfully illustrated
manuscripts, the drawings are extremely important and useful for their view
into the dress, ritual paraphernalia, and symbolism associated with the kings,
queens, and assorted officials—both civil and ecclesiastical—in the Inca
Empire.