Abstract

Fray Martin de Murua's Galvin manuscript includes numerous paintings, several of which depict the Incas. The upper right margins of some of these contain verses written in Quechua alongside versions of the same in 16th-century Spanish. I propose that these verses are part of a historical song about the Inca rulers, a type of oral poetry that kept the dynastic memory alive. In this article I propose an order for reading this song as well as some keys for its interpretation, and, ultimately, some open questions.