Peruvian antiquities / by Mariano Edward Rivero and John James von Tschudi ; translated by Francis L. Hawks.

  • Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz
Date:
1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Peruvian antiquities / by Mariano Edward Rivero and John James von Tschudi ; translated by Francis L. Hawks. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ished these rude customs, and fixed conditions under which matrimony might take place; which were the following: the bridegroom and bride must be of the same town or tribe, and of the same class or position; the former must be some- what less than twenty-four years old, the latter eighteen. The consent of the parents and chiefs of the tribe was indis- pensable ; the bridegroom must provide all that was neces- sary for the house, which the whole town must assist him in building; the furniture which the bride should bring to her husband was supplied by the parents; all the marriages must take place on an appointed day, and in the presence of the governor of the province. The Inca himself presided at the unions of the royal family, as monarch and high priest, and taking by the hand the different parties to be united, he gave them to each other and pronounced them to be man and wife; in the same manner did the curacas [princes of conquered provinces] unite the couples belong- ing to his class, or of other inferiors in their districts, with- out the intervention of the priest. They then celebrated the wedding with splendid banquets and balls, more or less luxurious, as the means of the parties permitted. Polygamy was one of the prerogatives of the royal family and nobles, but the sovereign alone could have more than one wife and an unlimited number of concubines. Gentlemen w'ere permitted to have some, but one proper wife only. With the permission of the governor of the province, or head of the tribe, and by means of a legal sentence, a divorce might be obtained, provided mutual consent was obtained or on account of serious charges; and it is a singular fact that the adultery of the husband was unpunished, if with a spinster, but loss of life was the penalty for all unfaithfulness com- mitted with a married woman. After the death of her husband, the woman might choose
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