And I, poor flea,[1] must also die.
Tupac Yupanqui. Tell me, Hanco Huayllu, tell me,
Why art thou Ollantay's man?
Did not my father honour thee?
Did he not grant thy requests?
Did he ever have a secret from thee?
Speak also, you, the other rebels,
Ollantay and the Mountain Chief.
Ollantay. O father, we have nought to say,
Our crimes are overwhelming us.
Tupac Yupanqui (to the Uillac Uma). Pronounce their sentence, great High Priest.
Uillac Uma. The light that fills me from the Sun
Brings mercy and pardon to my heart.
Tupac Yupanqui. Now thy sentence, Rumi-ñaui.
Rumi-ñaui. For crimes enormous such as these
Death should ever be the doom;
It is the only way, O King!
To warn all others from such guilt.
To stout tocarpus[2] they should be
Secured and bound with toughest rope,
Then should the warriors freely shoot
Their arrows until death is caused.
Piqui Chaqui. Must it be that evermore
The Antis must all perish thus?
Alas! then let the branches burn—
What pouring out of blood is here.[3]
Rumi-ñaui. Silence, rash man, nor dare to speak,
- ↑ Piqui Chaqui is literally 'flea foot.' He is punning on his name.
- ↑ Tocarpu, a pole or stake used at executions. Condemned prisoners were fastened to a tocarpu before being hurled over a precipice.
- ↑ Piqui Chaqui had an inkling that the Inca had expressed dislike at the shedding of blood. He ventured to say these words in the faint hope that they might remind the Inca of this dislike.
