religious celebration.

For three days previous, there was a general fast, and no fire was allowed
to be lighted in the dwellings. When the appointed day arrived, the Inca
and his court, followed by the whole population of the city, assembled at
early dawn in the great square to greet the rising of the Sun. They were
dressed in their gayest apparel, and the Indian lords vied with each other
in the display of costly ornaments and jewels on their persons, while
canopies of gaudy feather-work and richly tinted stuffs, borne by the
attendants over their heads, gave to the great square, and the streets that
emptied into it, the appearance of being spread over with one vast and
magnificent awning. Eagerly they watched the coming of their deity,
and, no sooner did his first yellow rays strike the turrets and loftiest
buildings of the capital, than a shout of gratulation broke forth from the
assembled multitude, accompanied by songs of triumph, and the wild
melody of barbaric instruments, that swelled louder and louder as his
bright orb, rising above the mountain range towards the east, shone in
full splendor on his votaries. After the usual ceremonies of adoration, a
libation was offered to the great deity by the Inca, from a huge golden
vase, filled with the fermented liquor of maize or of maguey, which,
after the monarch had tasted it himself, he dispensed among his royal
kindred. These ceremonies completed, the vast assembly was arranged
in order of procession, and took its way towards the Coricancha.27

As they entered the street of the sacred edifice, all divested themselves of
their sandals, except the Inca and his family, who did the same on
passing through the portals of the temple, where none but these august
personages were admitted.28 After a decent time spent in devotion, the
sovereign, attended by his courtly train, again appeared, and preparations
were made to commence the sacrifice. This, with the Peruvians,