Finding an Inca: The Sahuaraura Manuscripts and the Search for Lost Lineage
Witnesses of Inca nobility in the Republic of Peru in the archives of the National Library of Peru
[Succession of the 22 emperors of Peru: from Manco Cápac to Fernando VI] (1748) by Juan Bernabé de Palomino, engraver and Diego de Villanueva, artistNational Library of Peru
The representation of the Incas
The representation of the Incas during the colonial period was a practice that arose, initially, from the interest in making known, in Europe, the events that occurred during the conquest, as well as the processes of Spanish colonization of America.
The proofs of nobility in the Peruvian Viceroyalty
In the Viceroyalty, the noble descendants of the Incas were the intermediaries between the Spanish and the Indians, thus they held status and certain privileges. Because many people posed as Incas, it was necessary to prove nobility through family trees and documents.
In the 18th century, after the defeat of Túpac Amaru, the Spanish distrusted the indigenous nobility for keeping the memory of the Inca alive, as well as the support they could gather. They disregarded the nobility of many, which l
View of the manuscript Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy…National Library of Peru
The images of the Inca genealogies
Images of Inca genealogies circulated in the Peruvian Viceroyalty and even in the Republic. These showed, depending on the period and intention, some variations: in the Viceroyalty, some included the Spanish monarchs and, in the 19th century, Bolívar.
Who was Justo Sahuaraura?
Sahuaraura (1775-1853?) was a Cusco canon who, in the 19th century, claimed to be the last heir of the Incas from whom he claimed to descend through the maternal line from Huayna Cápac and Paullo Inca.
[Last page of the manuscript Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy…] (ca. 1836) by José SahuarauraNational Library of Peru
Sahuaraura's texts
Between 1836 and 1838, Sahuaraura wrote about Inca history and the Quechua language. He produced two manuscripts and one printed book.
This, with the objective of providing an Inca genealogy with the aims of proving that the author was their heir, exalting the values of the Inca nobility and presenting his vision of history.
View of the manuscript Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy…National Library of Peru
Two manuscripts
Of the two manuscripts, one does not contain images and the other, the one we observed here, contains 17 watercolors representing the Incas. These watercolors included Huáscar and suppressed Atahualpa, as "illegitimate"; Likewise, they registered the Incas of Vilcabamba and Paullo Inca
Peruvian monarchy
The printed version included sixteen (16) lithographed portraits of the Incas. Unlike the watercolor series, it did not include Paullo Inca, but presented a portrait of the author and four coats of arms.
It is noted that Juan Centeno, a friend of Sahuaraura, who was in charge of the printing, would have intervened in the text and images. Unfortunately, when its sale was announced in Lima, Sahuaraura had already died.
Manuscript watercolors
The watercolors present us with 17 Incas and intended to prove that Sahuaraura was the last of them. It is likely that the images were modeled on the images of the Incas from the "Fifth Decade" by the chronicler Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, although they present differences.
Clothing and details
The watercolors are half-length portraits of the Incas. In most cases they wear earmuffs, parteanas or scepters and a "crown."
They have an oval frame surrounded by laurels, a republican symbol, since the genealogy dates back to the 19th century. Likewise, they also contain texts that explain who they are.
The crowns
In these watercolors we find that the headdress or crown of Huiracocha is different from the one used by the Incas between Pachacutec and Huáscar. Following Gisbert, it can be thought that this fact was intended to emphasize the political and religious changes achieved by Pachacutec.
The representation of the Inca headdress goes from the headband and the mascapaycha to a four-fold cap. Curiously, the latter was used by the Incas who we can call warriors of the expanding empire.
[Ynca Yupanqui] (1838) by Manuscript: Justo Sahuaraura and Illustration: unknown authorNational Library of Peru
It should be noted that Inca Yupanqui, Túpac Inca Yupanqui and Huáscar carry shields, which would reinforce the idea of placing particular elements in these representations to indicate their warrior or emperor character.
The succession
The logic of the succession presented by Sahuaraura is the following: Atahualpa is not represented because he is illegitimate. In this way, the succession falls to Huáscar. However, this Inca had no children.
The succession would then fall to his brothers Manco and Paullo Inca, with Manco Inca finally assuming the role, and after him his sons Sayri Túpac and Túpac Amaru I. These last two did not leave any known descendants.
[Sayri Tupac] (1838) by Manuscript: Justo Sahuaraura and Illustration: unknown authorNational Library of Peru
Once Túpac Amaru I died, and there being no descendants, the lineage falls on Paullo Inca, the brother of Manco Inca, and, later, on Sahuaraura.
[Cristobal Paulo] (1838) by Manuscript: Justo Sahuaraura and Illustration: unknown authorNational Library of Peru
Flores (2001) indicates that both these portraits, as well as those from "Década Quinta", could have followed a genealogy commissioned by Paullo's descendants.
He specifies that whoever painted these portraits did not know what the Incas looked like, since he could only have seen Sayri Túpac and Paullo. Likewise, she considers that, of the entire series, Paullo is the one with the most realistic details such as the nose and beard.
[First page of the manuscript Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy…] (ca. 1836) by José SahuarauraNational Library of Peru
Being a descendant of the Incas in the Republic
According to Majluf (2005), Sahuaraura, in the 19th century, could only seek honor and social recognition with proof of its lineage, because in the Republic all citizens were recognized as equal, therefore the indigenous nobility could not count with privileges.
The indigenous nobility
According to Majluf (2005), the indigenous nobility in the Republic assimilated into the Creole elite and the mestizo elite of the southern Andes. With documents like Sahuaraura's, they would only have sought recognition and became guardians of Inca memory.
What happened to the Sahuaraura manuscripts?
Both manuscripts belonged to the National Library of Peru. One of them remained in his collection and was affected by the fire in 1943. The second was stolen during the Chilean occupation and ended up in Brazil, where it was recovered in 2019.
Exlibris of the Argentine collector Eduardo Bullrich in the manuscript Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy… (ca. 1970)National Library of Peru
The manuscript
The manuscript that contains the watercolors (the so-called "Manuscript of Brazil") belonged to the National Library of Peru before the War with Chile.
It was donated to this institution on September 24, 1850 by Juan Manuel Loza to whom Sahuaraura gave it, as indicated in the original text.
According to the typewritten note found at the beginning of the text, and which was written by one of its owners, this manuscript would have been stolen during the occupation of Lima during the Pacific War.
The manuscript was sold and ended up in the hands of the Argentine collector Eduardo Bullrich. Later, it was acquired by José Mindlin, in 1970, who kept it in his library in Brazil until 2019, the year in which it was recovered and returned to the National Library of Peru.
[Last page of the manuscript Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy…] (ca. 1836) by José SahuarauraNational Library of Peru
The Incas in the Republic
In the 19th century, those who showed interest in the Incas and their history were their descendants, who became scholars and guardians of documents and images. Similarly, 19th-century romanticism turned the Incas into characters in its novels and folklore.
Bibliography
Gisbert, T. (2004). Iconography and indigenous myths in art. La Paz: Gisbert y Cía.
Majluf, N. (2005). “From rebellion to museum: Genealogies and portraits of the Incas, 1781-1900.” In The Incas, kings of Peru, pp. 253-319, edited by Banco de Crédito del Perú. Lima: Banco de Crédito del Perú.
Rosas, C. (2003). “Sahuaraura, Justo Apu. Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy or outline of the history of the Incas.” Historical XXVII (1), pp. 265-68.
Sahuaraura, J., Gisbert, T., Flores, J., Varón, R. and L. Toledo. (2001). Memories of the Peruvian Monarchy or outline of the history of the Incas, 2 vols. Lima: Telefónica Foundation of Peru.
Para acceder a más contenidos digitales de la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, te invitamos a ingresar a su Biblioteca Digital.
