History of Ayaviri

accounts left by Pedro Cieza de León and “The Inca” Garcilaso de la Vega are the best written testimony available concerning the Incan conquest of Ayaviri. The conquest occurred under Inca Lloque Yupanqui, though it appears that many battles had passed before the inhabitants of Ayaviri submitted themselves to the rule of the Inca. Garcilaso de la Vega offers more details of these battles. He writes that the people of Ayaviri stubbornly went to battle, unwilling to hear the counsel or the promises offered and desiring to die fighting for their freedom. Both sides fought valiantly with great losses all around. However, the Inca called in for more troops of great number, hoping to set an example with the victory. Once the reinforcements had arrived, the people of Ayaviri were forced to surrender. Cieza de León writes that “they suffered so severely that they submitted to his service, to save themselves from entire destruction.”

The two historians appear to differ in their portrayal of Lloque Yupanqui’s disposition. Cieza de León describes some of the Incas as “vindictive” and, similar to his treatment of previous villages he conquered, he killed many “in such sort that few or none were left alive” even after their surrender. Garcilaso de la Vega, on the other hand, records that after a “grave reprehension” they were pardoned and it was ordered that they be treated well.

Pedro goes on to record a few of the acts of the Lloque Yupanqui in the area after the conquest. He ordered the construction of many buildings, including a palace and a temple of the sun. He also called in groups of indigenous families called mitimae to form a town around these edifices, to tend to the land and to be the heirs of the dead natives. Thus Ayaviri was fully incorporated into Tahuantinsuyo, its population under the control and distribution of the Inca and receiving the