Page:The Incas of Peru.djvu/70

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
44
AMAUTA DYNASTY

as heretofore, his son and heir. This is a mistake, for five other Piruan kings are not said to be sons of their predecessors. The theory is, however, convenient, and there is perhaps a better reason for its adoption. After the eighteenth king the title Amauta first appears, and is given to thirteen out of the forty-six succeeding kings who are supposed to form the Amauta dynasty. The name was given to learned men, keepers of the records and revisers of the calendar. The Magian dynasty in Persia, when the same class seized the government, was much more short-lived. The words Atauchi and Auqui first appear as titles in the Amauta dynasty, the one meaning a married prince, and the other also a prince in Quichua, but a father in the southern dialect. There are also the names Raymi and Huquiz, which have no meaning in Quichua. It is said that the king with the former name gave it to the festivals he instituted, while King Huquiz gave his name to the intercalary days. The name Huanacauri occurs twice, and Cauri alone, once. This word is of peculiar interest because it was given to one of the most sacred idols of the Incas, near Cuzco. It has no meaning, though it has a Quichua appearance. Huan means 'with'; Huanac,[1] 'a warning.' Caura is a laden llama in the southern dialect. But it is useless to speculate. Two kings took the sacred name of the Deity. One was called Uilcañota, after the place where he

  1. G. de la Vega, I. vi. p. 29.