ayllu, specially trained for the duty, learnt by heart from generation to generation. They had help by means of the quipus, and also by the use of pictures painted on boards. These pictures, it was stated, were preserved with great care. But none have come down to us. Pictures are mentioned by Garcilasso de la Vega, and there are entries in the recently discovered manuscript of Huaman Poma which make it almost certain that portraits of the Incas and their queens once existed. Huaman Poma gives clever pen-and-ink sketches of the Incas and Ccoyas, with a page of description for each. In the descriptions he not only gives an account of the personal appearance, but also mentions the colour of the tunic and mantle of each Inca, and of the acsu[1] and lliclla[2] of each Ccoya. Now this would be quite out of place for pen-and-ink sketches. It is, therefore, fairly certain that Huaman Poma alluded to coloured pictures, or to the tradition of them, and that such pictures were used to assist and confirm the traditions handed down in the ayllus, with the aid of the quipus. The preservation of the traditions and lists of the ancient kings, as well as of the historical events in the reigns of the Incas, were secured by these means. Sarmiento tells us that the most notable historical events were painted on great boards and deposited in the hall of the temple of the sun. Learned persons were appointed, who were well versed in the art of understanding and explaining them.
