It was necessary that the fire for the sacrifice should be new, and given by the hand of the Sun, as they expressed it. For this purpose they took a large bracelet, called chipana (like those they usually wear on the left thumb). This was held by the high priest. It was larger than usual, and had on it a highly polished concave plate, about the diameter of an orange. They put this towards the Sun, at an angle, so that the reflected rays might concentrate on one point, where they had placed a little cotton wool well pulled out, for they did not know how to make tinder; but the cotton was soon lighted in the natural way.
Vega, Garcilaso de la, First Part of the Royal Commentaries of the Yncas, 2 vols., trans. Clements R. Markham, London: printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1871, vol. 2, pp. 162-3.
No comments:
Post a Comment