In the previous chapter I recounted all there is to be said concerning the belief of these Indians in the immortality of the soul, and what the enemy of the human race makes them think concerning it. It now seems good to me that in this place I should give some account of their mode of burying their dead.

In this there are great differences, for in some parts they make holes, in others they place their' dead on heights, in others on level ground, and each nation seeks some new way of making tombs. Certain it is that, though I have made many inquiries, and talked with learned and curious men, I have not been able to ascertain the origin of these Indians, nor of their customs.

These Indians, then, have various ways of constructing their tombs. In the Collao (as I shall relate in its place) they make them in the cultivated land in the form of towers, some large and others small, and some built with great skill. These towers have their doors opening towards the rising sun, and near them (as I will also relate presently) they were accustomed to make sacrifices and to burn certain things, sprinkling the towers with the blood of lambs and of other animals.

In the district round Cuzco they bury their dead in a sitting posture, on certain seats called duhos, dressed and adorned with their most precious ornaments.