In times of old, our land was one of shrubs and small trees and rail mountains. The people were unmannered and untaught. They lived as wild animals live, Without clothes made from woven cloth, without houses, and without cultivated food: They lived apart from other human beings in small family groups, finding lodging as nature provided it, within mountain caves and in hollow places beneath the great rocks. They covered their bodies with animal skins, leaves, and the bark of trees, or they wore no clothes at all. They gathered whatever food they could find to eat, such as grass, wild berries, and the roots of plants, and sometimes they are human flesh.

Father Sun looked down from the heavens and pitied these humans who lived like wild creatures. He decided to send one of his sons, Manco Capac, and one of his daughters, Mama Ocllo Huaco, down to earth at Lake Titicaca to teach them how to improve their lives.

When his children were ready to leave, the Sun said to them, "I devote myself to the well-being of the universe. Each day, I travel across the sky so that I can look down upon the earth and see what I can do for the human beings who live there. My heat provides them with the comfort of warmth. My light provides them with the knowledge that comes from sight. It is through my efforts that fields and forests provide food for them, for I bring sunshine and rain, each in its proper season.

“Yet all this, good as it is, is not enough. The people live like wild animals. They know nothing of living in houses, wearing clothing, or raising food. They have no villages, they use no tools or utensils, and they have no laws.

“Therefore," Father Sun continued, "I am making you the rulers of all the races in the region of Lake Titicaca; I want you w rule those peoples as a father rules his children. Treat them as I have treated you, with tenderness and affection and devotion and justice. Teach them as I have taught you, for the races of human beings are my children also. I am their provider and their protector, and it is time they stopped living like animals.

"Take this golden rod with you," the Sun concluded. "It is only two fingers thick and shorter than the arm of a man, yet it will tell you how good the soil is for cultivating crops. As you travel, whenever you stop to eat or to sleep see if you can bury it in the land. When you come co the place where the rod sinks into the earth with one thrust, establish my sacred city, Cuzco, city of the sun. Soft soil as deep as this golden rod will be fertile soil."

So Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo Huaco went down to Lake Titicaca and set out on foot to examine the land. Wherever they stopped ·they tried to bury the golden rod, but they could not do it. The soil was too rocky.

Finally they descended into a valley. The land was wild and without people, but the plane growth was lush and green. They climbed to the crest of a hill (the hi1l where Ayar Cachi and Ayar Ucho had turned to stone) and pressed the golden rod Into the soil. To their great pleasure, It sank into the earth and disappeared.

Manco Capac sm1led at Mama Ocllo Huaco and said, "Our father, the Sun, intends us to rule this valley. Here we will build his sacred city, Cuzco. Let us now go separate ways, you to the south and I to the north. Let us gather together the peoples we find and bring them into this fertile valley. Here we will instruct them in the ways of human beings, and we will care for them as our father has commanded us."

Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo Huaco set our for the mountain plateaus to collect the peoples of the land. The men and women they found in the barren regions were impressed with their clothing and pierced ears, their regal bearing, and their message. "Let us teach you how to lead a better life," the children of the Sun announced. "Let us teach you how to build houses, make clothes, and raise cattle and crops. Right now you live like wild animals. Let us teach you how to live like human beings. Our father, the Sun, has taught us and has sent us here to teach you."

The peoples of the land placed their confidence in these children of the Sun and followed as they led the way toward a new and better way of living. When many people had gathered together, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo Huaco divided the group into those who would be responsible for gathering food and those who would learn how to build houses. Their new life had begun.

Manco Capac taught the males which foods were nourishing so their diet would include both grains and vegetables, how to choose the best seeds, and how to plant and cultivate each kind of plant. In the process, he taught them how to make the tools and equipment necessary for farming and how to channel water from the streams in the valley for irrigation. He even taught them how to make shoes. Meanwhile, Mama Ocllo Huaco taught the women how to weave wool and cotton into doth and how to sew that doth into clothing.

So it came to pass that the Incas became an educated people. In honor of their great provider and protector, the Sun, the people built a temple on the crest of the hill where Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo Huaco had plunged the golden rod into the earth and from which they had set out to gather the Inca people together and teach them. Their prosperity drew ocher peoples to join them and learn their ways. Manco Capac finally taught the men how to make weapons-such as bows and arrows, clubs, and lances-so that they could defend themselves and extend their kingdom. The Incas were on their way to becoming a great people.