Far off I saw a crowd in chains,
No doubt the Anti prisoners,
For they are all defeated quite.
The cacti[1] on the mountains smoke,
E'en now the fortress is in flames.
Tupac Yupanqui. And Ollantay, is he taken?
Perhaps—I hope his life is saved.
Uillac Uma. Ollantay was among the flames,
'Tis said that no one has escaped.
Tupac Yupanqui. The Sun, my Father, is my shield,
I am my father's chosen child.
We must subdue the rebel host,
For that I am appointed here.
- (Enter a Chasqui with a quipu in his hand.)
The Chasqui. This morning at the dawn of day,
Rumi-ñaui despatched this quipu.
Tupac Yupanqui (to the Uillac Uma). See what it says.
Uillac Uma. This knot, coloured burnt ahuarancu,
Tells us that Tampu too is burnt;
This triple knot to which is hung
Another which is quintuple,
In all of quintuples are three,
Denotes that Anti-suyu's thine,
Its ruler prisoner of war.
Tupac Yupanqui (to the Chasqui). And thou. Where wert thou?
The Chasqui. Sole King and Lord! Child of the Sun!
I am the first to bring the news,
That thou mayst trample on the foe,
And in thine anger drink their blood.
Tupac Yupanqui. Did I not reiterate commands
- ↑ A kind of cactus, of which they make needles, grows abundantly on the mountains round Ollantay-tampu. It is called ahuarancu. They set fire to the cacti as a war signal. Zegarra calls it a thistle. The word in the Justiniani text is ahuarancu.
