The Inca Guainaapoc's escape into the mysterious land of Paititi
Pachacutec, who reigned from 1438 to 1471, was the first emperor of the Incas to conquer part of the Amazon jungle, known as Antisuyo (corresponding today to the Peruvian region of Madre de Dios and the Bolivian departments of Beni and Pando).
According to Vaca Castro in his "Relación sobre los quipucamayos" (1544), Pachacutec reached as far as the Paititi River (possibly the Rio Madeira or Rio Beni?), where he built two fortresses.
Upon Pachacutec's death in 1471, the peoples of Antisuyo refused to continue paying tribute to Cusco. In response, the new Inca, Tupac Yupanqui (who reigned until 1493), organized a powerful army to decisively conquer the Amazonian lands east of the Andes.
The Spanish writer Sarmiento de Gamboa recounted this campaign in his Historia de los Incas (1572). Here is an excerpt from his work:
And along the road now called Camata, [Tupac Inca Yupanqui] sent another great captain named Apo Curimache, who went to where the Sun rises and walked to the river now newly known, called "Paititi," where the Moxos of Inca Topa live.
According to Sarmiento de Gamboa, the Inca army penetrated deep into the jungle and left General Otorongo Achachi to guard two fortresses constructed in the land of Paititi.
Two other intriguing accounts of the Incas' permanent presence in the Amazon jungle come from Father Pedro Felipe de Alcaya and Captain Francisco Sanchez Gregorio, whose narratives were compiled in Lizarazu’s Información (1635).
According to these stories, the next Inca general to venture into the jungle was the nephew of Huayna Capac, named Manco (not to be confused with Manco Inca of Vilcabamba).
Since Huayna Capac ruled from 1493 to 1525, it is presumed that Manco led this third campaign of jungle conquest during the first two decades of the 16th century.
Here are two excerpts from Lizarazu's chronicle:
The Inca of Cusco sent his nephew Manco Inca, the second to bear this name, to conquer the Chunkos, Carib Indians living in the jungle east of Cusco, Chuquiago, and Cochabamba. Manco entered the jungle with 8,000 armed Indians, taking his son with him. And considering the difficulty of the terrain [Manco] settled on the opposite side of the mountain of Paititi, where the Guaraní Indians later learned of this powerful lord. They said that this mountain contains a great quantity of silver, which they extract, refine, and transform into pure silver. And just as he ruled the kingdom of Cusco, he now rules that grand kingdom of Paititi, called Moxos.
According to Sanchez Gregorio, Manco, Huayna Capac’s nephew, sought to create his own kingdom, independent of his uncle’s rule in Cusco.
Felipe de Alcaya further recounts that Manco sent his son, Guaynaapoc (the young king), to Cusco to inform Emperor Huayna Capac of the conquests achieved by his father. Here is another excerpt from the chronicle:
The nephew of the Inca sent his son Guaynaapoc to Cusco to inform his uncle, Inca Tupac Yupanqui, of his father’s conquests, and he sent neither silver nor gold... because he did not want what he had achieved with so much effort and sweat to be taken from him. Before leaving, he instructed him on the secrets of the Rich Land, telling him that if he wanted to be its ruler one day, he should tell the Inca that they found nothing beyond that silver mountain, which is Paititi. For "Titi" in their language means "silver," and "Pai" means "that one."
When Guaynaapoc arrived in Cusco, likely around 1537, he found the Spaniards in control. As a result, he decided to dramatically return to the jungle, possibly carrying with him the sacred symbols of Tahuantinsuyo: the great golden solar disk, Huascar's golden chain, and the mysterious royal and literary quipus (as referred to by scholar Laura Laurencich Minelli).
Here is a passage from Alcaya's chronicle:
When the "young king" [Guaynaapoc] finally arrived in the city of Cusco, he found the entire land conquered by Gonzalo Pizarro, his uncle [Huascar] murdered by the king of Quito [Atahualpa], and the other Inca retreating to Vilcabamba [Manco Inca].During this peculiar occasion, he gathered all the Indians who sided with him and invited them to follow him to the new land discovered by his father [Manco], called Mococalpa (now known as Moxos).
About twenty thousand Indians followed Guaynaapoc, although, according to the Indians of Cusco, they were far more than those who retreated to Vilcabamba with their king.
They brought with them many livestock and silver artisans, and during the journey, other lowland natives joined the multitude, which eventually reached the Rio Manatti (Guaporé? Madeira?).
Finally, they arrived at Paititi, where his father and other soldiers welcomed him warmly, and his happiness doubled as he found himself in an impregnable kingdom, far from Cusco, which was now in the hands of invaders.
This ancient account suggests that it was Guaynaapoc who led the Incas to Paititi in 1537 when Cusco was irretrievably lost. Here's how the sole survivor of Diego Aleman’s expedition, who was executed by fierce natives and whose skin was used to make drums, described Paititi in 1564:
Paititi is a very large province crossed by a great river, which the natives call Paititi, and it flows into a lagoon where the Temple of the Sun is located, where natives bring their offerings.The lord of these lands is as powerful as the Incas of Peru.
This province is rich in gold and silver, as it has many mines, and the locals often use these metals as utensils. They also raise Peruvian sheep and cultivate corn and other crops in very fertile valleys.
The next expedition to search for Paititi occurred in 1569, led by Juan Alvarez Maldonado. Although the Spanish troops failed to reach the fabled kingdom due to being defeated by the fierce Toromonas, led by the legendary chief Tarano, Maldonado managed to gather valuable information about the mythical and distant hidden domain.
From his Relación de la Jornada y descubrimiento del Río Manu (1572):
Beyond the river called Paititi, there are vast plains spanning fifteen leagues, leading to a high snowy mountain range similar to that of Pirú, according to the natives’ accounts.The plains' inhabitants are called Corocoros, and those of the mountains are called Pamaynos.
This mountain range is said to be very rich in metals and organized like a kingdom similar to Pirú, with the same ceremonies, animals, and clothing. The Incas of Pirú are said to have originated from them.
They are numerous, strong, and skilled in warfare, so much so that even the Inca of Pirú, a strong leader, sent valiant captains to Paititi several times but was defeated.
Realizing his inability to conquer them, the Inca sought communication with the great lord of Paititi, sending gifts and ordering his men to build two fortresses near the Rio Paititi to mark the extent of Inca reach.
This is the news of the greatest wealth in all of America. In the province of Paititi, there are abundant gold, silver, and amber mines. In the snowy mountain range, there are animals similar to those in Pirú, although smaller.
The natives dress in wool, and there are also crystal stones.
During the following century, countless attempts were made to reach the kingdom of Paititi, which most explorers located beyond the confluence of the Madre de Dios and Beni rivers, near a mountain range potentially corresponding to the Serra de Parecis.
An example of this is the 17th-century testimony of Vasco de Solis:
The news of the Rich Land of Moxos, also called Paititi, where the Yuga villages are located, with many vassal provinces, I know for sure.Veterans of Paraguay spoke of Guaraní Indians who explored north along a river flowing in that direction, called Manatti, which originates on the eastern slopes of the Parecis mountain range and flows north.
They said this river is up to a league wide along much of its course.
Ancient chronicles suggest with some certainty that, following Guaynaapoc’s escape, the Incas hid in the Serra de Parecis.
Despite numerous expeditions to find the lost city, none succeeded. The extreme remoteness, environmental and geographical challenges, and relentless attacks from fierce indigenous groups prevented anyone from reaching the hidden refuge of the Inca descendants.
YURI LEVERATTO
