Inca Religion and Customs continues Bernabe Cobo's work on the Inca Empire. Instead of history, however, the author emphasizes religion, customs, rites, superstitions, and everyday life among Peruvian Indians. Those who have read El Inca Garcilaso and other sources on life in the Inca Empire will be familiar with much of the information reported here. However, since Cobo relied heavily on a lost work by Polo de Ondegardo, plus his own observations and travels across Peru, one occasionally finds gems of information or additional references to further research. For instance, some idea of the role of constellations in Inca cosmology and understanding of the origins of humans and animals is apparent here. In addition, a detailed list of several guacas and the types of service or tribute and sacrifice they received helps one comprehend the tight relationship between the guacas and the Inca state. One can even find a functionalist and rational explanation for the practices of sorcery, divination and magic among the elderly in Inca society since, according to Cobo, elderly men had no other source of living except selling or exchanging their spiritual or magical services. Furthermore, Cobo mentions juntas or convitas among the farmers of the empire, the monopolization of the services of specialized artisans by the Inca and caciques, and the accomplishments of the pre-colonial Peruvians in architecture, weaving, agriculture, infrastructure, and metallurgy.
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