Nine figures are presented:
Poma began his letter to the King of Spain with this frontpiece:
Pictured are the Pope (upper left), the King Philip III of Spain (middle right),
and Guaman Poma (lower right). Notice that both the King of Spain and Guaman Poma
are shown next to their heraldry. Poma's is a hawk and a puma
(Guaman = hawk, Poma = puma).
Poma had a strong feeling for hierarchy and tradition, as this drawing shows.
However, he insisted that the Indians (and he himself) be given their
rightful places within this hierarchy.
The following figure depicts the beginning of the human race,
Adam and Eve. Adam is using the foot-operated plow that the
Andean Indians used (remember -- there were no draft animals, no
oxen or horses, to pull plows in the Andes!)
These four drawings show four of the
age categories used by Inca administrators in their census.
Poma called these categories "Calles" (streets).
The boy in the
upper left is hunting birds. The older boy in the upper right
is herding llamas and spinning wool with a drop spindle.
The young woman in the lower left is also spinning wool with a
drop spindle. The old man in the lower right is walking with
a staff.
Each drawing of an age group
is labelled in both Spanish and in Quechua.
For example, the lower left
drawing is labelled "QVNTA CALLE" ("Fifth Street") in Spanish,
and "CIPAS CONA" in Quechua.
For a more detailed explanation,see
An Example: The "Calle" Series
As part of his depiction of the customs and the rituals of the
Andean peoples, Poma drew this picture of the Festival of
the Dead (Fiesta de los Defuntos).
Poma writes:
"This was the month in which reverence was paid to the dead. It was the
custom to take the corpses out of their tombs and put them on show in
the open air. Food and drink were placed beside them, they were dressed
in their best clothes and feathers were stuck in their heads. The people
danced and sang in their company."
"Afterwards the dead bodies were put in litters and carried from house to
house by way of the streets and squares. Then, when the procession
was over, they were put back in their tombs."
(Guaman Poma in Dilke, page 67.)
This figures pictures the author underway with his son Francisco,
his horse Giado and his two dogs, Amigo and Lautaro. According to
Poma, he spent 30 years wandering Peru gathering material for his letter.
Note the broad-brimmed hat and European-style hose.
Many of Poma's figures represent the harsh treatment of the Indians at the
hands of the Spaniards. Here, he shows some of the punishments meted
out to the Indian miners:
"Beatings are incessant. The victims are mounted for this purpose on
a llama's back, tied naked to a round pillar or put in the stocks."
(Guaman Poma in Dilke, page 135.)
Many of Poma's drawings have the shock value of a news photo, such
as this figure of a Spaniard kicking an Indian porter:
Cruelty and drama are common in the drawings. An Inca captain
plucks out the eyes of his bound and kneeling enemy with a pair
of pinchers. Two officials expose the
private parts of an Indian woman, ostensibly to verify whether
she was a prostitute or living with a man. Pizarro locks
Indian nobles in a room and burns them alive when they don't
turn over their gold and silver.
Dilke compares Poma's drawings to those of Goya. Both
seem to say, "This is how it was. I saw this. This is
what was done."
Although Poma was old and impoverished, he boldly offered his
advice to the King of Spain on how better to manage his empire
in the Andes. Since he is 80 and in poor health, he cannot visit
the King in person, he writes, but instead will communicate
by letter. The letter continues with several pages of incredible
dialogue, in which Poma instructs the King.
[Poma:] `I say with all frankness that the Indians provide much of Your Majesty's
revenue. I am an Indian chief and I stand up for their interests. If
they are allowed to perish, the land will become barren and
inhospitable. That is the reason why Your Majesty ought to
impose heavy penalties for any interference with the rights of the
chiefs and also of the ordinary Indians."
(Guaman Poma in Dilke, page 135.)
Although it may seem incredible to us today, such a plea was not
necessarily a sign of insanity.
Over the previous century, the Spanish crown
had listened to advocates for the Indians and to Indians themselves,
responding with enlightened legislation which was bitterly resented
by Spanish colonists.
The Incas called their empire "Tawantinsuyu," land of the four quarters.
The quarters were unified by a fifth part, the capital Cuzco, in the center.
(See the map of Tawantinsuyu).
When Poma depicted the Spanish empire, he also imagined it as four
quarters (villages), unified by a central capital.
The Inca empire is
on top, amid mountains, nearest the sun. The
Spanish empire is beneath, labelled "Castilla".
Adam and Eve
Census Categories ("Calles")
Festival of the Dead
Aya Marcay Quilla (Corpse Carrying Month
The Author Underway
Punishments in the Mines
"At the mercury mines of Huancavelica the Indian workers are punished
and ill-treated to such an extent that they die like flies and our whole
race is threatened with extermination. Even the chiefs are tortured by
being suspended by their feet. Conditions in the silver-mines of
Potosí and Choclloccocha, or at the gold-mines of Carabaya,
are little better. The managers and supervisors, who are either
Spaniards or half-castes, have virtually absolute power. There is
no reason for them to fear justice, since they are never brought
before the courts."
Kicking an Indian Porter
The King Asks, Poma Responds
"[King:] `Go on, author. Tell me what you mean by these remarks of yours.'
The Four Quarters of the Inca and Spanish Empires