eventually be committed to writing. The dramatic aptitude of the people was discovered by the Spanish priests almost immediately after the conquest, and they endeavoured, with notable success, to turn this talent to account, as a means of conveying religious instruction. Garcilasso tells us that the Jesuits composed dramas for the Indians to act, because they knew that this was the custom in the time of the Yncas, and because they saw that the Indians were so ready to receive instruction through that means. He adds that one of the Jesuits in a village near the shores of lake Titicaca, called Juli, composed a play in the dialect spoken in that part of the country,[1] on the enmity between the serpent and the seed of the woman, which was acted by Indian lads. Other plays on religious subjects were acted in the Quichua language at Potosi, Cuzco, and Lima; and Garcilasso assures us that the lads repeated the dialogues with so much grace, feeling, and correct action, that they gave universal satisfaction and pleasure, and with so much plaintive softness in the songs, that many Spaniards shed tears of joy at seeing the ability and skill of the little Indians.[2] One of these dramas, composed by priests in the Quichua language, is in my possession, and is a most valuable relic of those early efforts to introduce the miracle plays of Spain into Peru.[3]
- ↑ This dialect was called Aymara by the Jesuits at Juli, a blunder which is carelessly repeated by Garcilasso. The nature and origin of the mistake has been explained by me elsewhere.
- ↑ G. de la Vega, i. p. 204.
- ↑ The MS. was kindly presented to me by a Cura at Paucar-tambo in 1853. (See Cuzco and Lima, p. 190.) It is entitled, "Usca Paucar, Auto Sacramental el Patrocinio de Maria, Señora Nuestra en Copacabana."
