When they
manifested a satisfactory acquaintance with this curriculum, they were
appointed by their superiors to such positions as their natural talents
and the use they had made of them qualified them for, some to instruct
children, others to the service of the temples, and others again to take
charge of what we may call country parishes. Implicit subordination of
all to the high priest of Huitzilopochtli, hereditary _pontifex
maximus_, chastity, or at least temperate indulgence in pleasure,
gravity of carriage, and strict attention to duty, were laws laid upon
all.
The state religion of Peru was conducted under the supervision of a
high priest of the Inca family, and its ministers, as in Mexico, could
be of either sex, and hold office either by inheritance, education, or
election. For political reasons, the most important posts were usually
enjoyed by relatives of the ruler, but this was usage, not law. It is
stated by Garcilasso de la Vega[283-1] that they served in the temples
by turns, each being on duty the fourth of a lunar month at a time.
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