ACT II

SCENE 1

Ollantay-tampu. Hall of the fortress-palace. Back scene seven immense stone, slabs, resting on them a monolith right across. Above masonry. At sides masonry with recesses; in the R. centre a great doorway. A golden tiana against the central slab.

(Enter OLLANTAY and URCO HUARANCA, both fully armed.)

Urco Huaranca. Ollantay, thou hast been proclaimed
By all the Antis as their Lord.
The women weep, as you will see--
They lose their husbands and their sons,
Ordered to the Chayanta war.
When will there be a final stop
To distant wars? Year after year
They send us all to far-off lands,
Where blood is made to flow like rain.
The King himself is well supplied
With coca and all kinds of food.
What cares he that his people starve?
Crossing the wilds our llamas die,
Our feet are wounded by the thorns,
And if we would not die of thirst
We carry water on our backs.
Ollantay. Gallant friends! Ye hear those words,
Ye listen to the mountain chief.

p. 369

Filled with compassion for my men,
I thus, with sore and heavy heart,
Have spoken to the cruel king:
'The Anti-suyu must have rest;
All her best men shan't die for thee,
By battle, fire, and disease--
They die in numbers terrible.
How many men have ne'er returned,
How many chiefs have met their death
For enterprises far away?'
For this I left the Inca's court, 1
Saying that we must rest in peace;
Lot none of us forsake our hearths,
And if the Inca still persists,
Proclaim with him a mortal feud.

(Enter HANCO HUAYLLU, several chiefs, and a great crowd of soldiers and people.)

People. Long Eve our king, Ollantay
Bring forth the standard and the fringe,
Invest him with the crimson fringe
In Tampu now the Inca reigns,
He rises like the star of day.

(The chiefs, soldiers, and people range them selves round. Ollantay is seated on the tiana by Hanco Huayllu, an aged Auqui or Prince.)

Hanco Huayllu. Receive from me the royal fringe,
'Tis given by the people's will.

p. 370

Uilcañota 1 is a distant land,
Yet, even now, her people come
To range themselves beneath thy law.

(Ollantay is invested with the fringe. He rises.)

Ollantay. Urco Huaranca, thee I name
Of Anti-suyu Chief and Lord;
Receive the arrows and the plume,

(Gives them.)

Henceforth thou art our general.
People. Long life to the Mountain Chief.
Ollantay. Hanco Huayllu, 2 of all my lords
Thou art most venerable and wise,
Being kin to the august High Priest,
It is my wish that thou shouldst give
The ring unto the Mountain Chief.

(Urco Huaranca kneels, and Hanco Huayllu addresses him.)

  Hanco Huayllu. This ring around thy finger's placed
That thou mayst feel, and ne'er forget,
That when in fight thou art engaged,
Clemency becomes a hero chief.
  Urco Huaranca. A thousand times, illustrious king,
I bless thee for thy trust in me.
  Hanco Huayllu. Behold the valiant Mountain Chief,
Now fully armed from head to foot,
And bristling like the quiscahuan, 3
Accoutred as becomes a knight.

p. 371

(Turning to Urco Huaranca.)

Ne'er let thine enemies take thee in rear
Man of the Puna, 1 it ne'er can be said
You fled or trembled as a reed.
  Urco Huaranca. Hear me, warriors of the Andes!
Already we have a valiant king,
It might be he will be attacked;
'Tis said th' old Inca sends a force,
The men of Cuzco now advance.
We have not a single day to lose;
Call from the heights our Puna men,
Prepare their arms without delay,
Make Tampu strong with rampart walls,
No outlet leave without a guard;
On hill slopes gather pois'nous herbs
To shoot our arrows, carrying death.
  Ollantay (to Urco Huaranca). Select the chiefs!
Fix all the posts for different tribes;
Our foes keep marching without sleep--
Contrive to check them by surprise.
The compi 2 ruse may cause their flight.
  Urco Huaranca. Thirty thousand brave Antis are here,
Amongst them no weakling is found;
Apu Maruti, 3 the mighty in war,
From high Uilcapampa 4 will come,
On steep Tinquiqueru 5 he'll stand

p. 372

To march when the signal appears;
On the opposite side of the stream
Prince Chara 1 has mustered his force;
In the gorge Charamuni 2 I post
Ten thousand armed Antis on watch;
Another such force is in wait
On the left, in the vale of Pachar. 3
We are ready to meet our foes,
We await them with resolute calm;
They will march in their confident pride
Until their retreat is out off,
Then the trumpet of war shall resound,
From the mountains the stones shall pour down,
Great blocks will be hurled from above.
The Huancas 4 are crushed or dispersed,
Then the knife shall do its fell work,
All will perish by blows from our hands,
Our arrows will follow their flight.
People and soldiers. It is well! It is very well!

(Cheers and martial music.)

[Exeunt.

Footnotes

369:1 This, as we have seen, was not the reason why Ollantay fled from Cuzco; but, from a leader's point of view, it was an excellent reason to give to the people of Anti-suyu. The great wars of the Incas were, to some extent, a heavy drain upon the people, but the recruiting was managed with such skill, and was so equally divided among a number of provinces, that it was not much felt.

370:1 The snowy mountain far to the south, in sight from Cuzco. Uilca, sacred; unuta, water. Here is the source of the river Uilcamayu, which flows by Ollantay-tampu.

370:2 The aged Hanco Huayllu as Auqui, or Prince of the Blood, and relation of the High Priest, gave éclat to these ceremonies.

370:3 Quiscahuan. anything full of thorns.

371:1 Puna, the loftier parts of the Andes.

371:2 Compi, cloth or a cloak. This was an expression of the ancient Peruvians, perhaps equivalent to our 'hoodwinking.'

371:3 Apu Maruti was the head of the ayllu of the Inca Yahuar Huaccac, grandfather of Pachacuti. It was called the ayllu Aucaylli Panaca.--Mesa, Anales del Cuzco, quoted by Zegarra.

371:4 Uilcapampa, mass of mountains between the Uilcamayu and Apurimac.

371:5 Tinqui Queru, between Urupampa and Tampu. The word means 'two vases coupled.' Here are two rounded hills connected by a saddle, three and a half miles from Tampu.

372:1 Chara, was another descendant of Yahuar Huaccac.

372:2 A ravine on the right bank of the Vilcamayu.

372:3 Pachar is on the left bank of the Vilcamayu opposite Ollantay-tampu, with which it is connected by a rope bridge.

372:4 Huancas, natives of the valley of Jauja--Inca recruits.

Next: Scene 2