665:
289:
because it conferred status to the families of selected women and helped to build trust between officials and locals. Their service was also essential for establishing the Inca culture across the empire. The labor that they provided in the form of textiles was used in gift giving to help form alliances and they themselves were also used as a kind of gift that helped to confer status on the recipient. Those who received an
20:
297:
given in service for religious purposes conferred importance in a similar way because of their skills in creating the necessary means for rituals, namely the brewing of chicha that was integral to religious ceremonies. Their presence is noted at the ritual site of
Huanaco Pampa, where the structures
310:
were used in human sacrifice. This was tied to their role as gifts and the system of reciprocity throughout the entire empire due to their economic significance. In a ritual context, they were an extremely valuable sacrifice because they represented the capacity for so much potential wealth through
356:
were required to remain celibate and failure to do so was punishable by death. This requirement was a uniquely Inca need as Andean natives did not require celibacy from women. In fact, sexual relations prior to marriage and trial marriages were encouraged. This same requirement was not placed on
288:
were an extremely important tool of statecraft for Cuzco. They figured heavily in the system of reciprocity that kept the empire running without a formal monetary economy. Redistributing women was an extremely successful way of gaining the loyalty of those who had just been conquered by the Inca
267:
and be honoured in return. Those not sacrificed at Cuzco might be returned to their own communities and be sacrificed there. This would create a ritual bond between Cuzco and the local region; Cuzco had taken a member of the local community and made them a representative of the central state. The
190:
were tasked with creating textiles, preparing food, brewing chicha for ritual consumption, and any other skills they would need to make a good wife or priestess. Their services are considered to be a foundation for Inca conceptions of hospitality. This point was made clear by the Inca
328:
of Urcon. After visiting Cuzco and being honoured by the emperor, Tanta Carhua was credited with saying: “You can finish with me now because I could not be more honoured than by the feasts which they celebrated for me in Cuzco." Upon her return home, Tanta’s father became the
311:
the use of their skills in weaving, the brewing of chicha, and hospitality. They also represented a connection between Cuzco and the peripheral regions that it had conquered. This tying of the centre to the periphery was one of the most important aspects of the sacrifice of
347:
The overwhelming amount of knowledge of them suggests that a majority of them were women. This meant that they were subjected to specific rules and expectations. One of the most notable ways that they differed from not only the rest of the population but also from the
64:, chosen at about age 10. They performed several services. They were given in marriage to men who had distinguished themselves in service to the empire; they produced luxury items, weaving fine cloth, preparing ritual food, and brewing the
302:
who had access to the extensive storehouses of corn and grain to make chicha. It was important that they were present at the site because chicha could not be stored for long periods of time; it had to be made more or less on the spot.
369:
but tended to equate them with
European understandings of their function. They were often thought of as a virgin cult or a parallel to nuns. This does not accurately represent their position in their unique cultural context.
222:
who wove clothes and worked on chacras. Other sources suggest that they may have had more responsibilities than they are typically ascribed. Due to their unique position in society, they may have also had a role as scribes.
107:, to collect girls eight to ten years old from the provinces as tribute for the state. The girls selected were mostly from the higher social classes, frequently coming from the families of non-Inca provincial leaders of the
235:
are often thought of as commodities within the empire, their influence and significance reached much further than just an item to be traded. In fact, many of them tended to benefit socially from their position as an
364:
Related to this was their association with a kind of “holy status.” However, this notion may be related too closely with a colonial understanding of their function. Many colonists were fascinated by the
339:. Tanta was deified and her “sacrifice... ritually asserted her father’s, and father’s descendants’, new role as a nexus between Urcon and Cuzco while dramatizing the community’s subordination to Cuzco.”
167:’ societal role is that they were split into two groups: those who were involved with religious rituals and those who were given to men as wives. Within these roles, the assignment of
132:, the capital of the empire, and might become secondary wives or concubines of the Inca emperor and other noblemen. A few were destined to be sacrificed in a religious ceremony called
84:
The Inca Empire (1438-1533) created, or adopted from earlier cultures, several institutions to manage the labor of the people in the territory it ruled. Among the institutions were the
202:
However, their labor may have even been more specialized and nuanced than this general understanding of their role. Some sources suggest that there were many different types of
113:
class. They were chosen based on their beauty, skills, and intelligence and were sent for training in provincial centers to live together in complexes of buildings called
175:(those who were considered to be more beautiful, more skilled, and who came from high status families) were either sent to Cuzco in service to the sun at the
183:
typically stayed in their regions of origin and were placed in the service of lesser religious cults or were given as gifts to Inca nobility.
584:
124:
The girls were trained for about four years in religion, spinning and weaving, preparation of food, and brewing chicha. They then became
398:
Costin, Cathy Lynne (1998), "Housewives, Chosen Women, Skilled Men: Cloth
Production and Social Identity in the Late Prehistoric Andes,"
128:(priestesses) and were married to prominent men or assigned to religious duties. The most skilled and physically perfect were sent to
240:
as those who were married to provincial leaders were given their own land and command over the laborers who worked the land.
117:(house of the chosen women) which might have up to 200 women in residence. Only the highest status individuals were sent to
644:
577:
315:. The story of Tanta Carhua is one such account of the process of binding the centre and the periphery together.
878:
883:
146:. Their status and function in society is sometimes compared to a similar role that men occupied called the
528:
Gose, Peter. "The State as a Chosen Woman: Brideservice and the
Feeding of Tributaries in the Inka Empire."
751:
570:
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as a wife also received all of the skills she could provide which allowed that person significant power.
186:
Despite the differences in where they ended up, the services they provided tended to be very similar;
163:
were a diverse group in terms of their functionality in Inca society. The general understanding of
834:
873:
634:
888:
546:
893:
601:
8:
629:
513:
Pachacamac : report of the
William Pepper, M.D., LL.D, Peruvian expedition of 1896
35:
499:
California State
University Dominguez Hills Electronic Student Journal of Anthropology
68:(beer) drunk at religious festivals; and some, the most "perfect," were selected as
731:
624:
614:
69:
476:
Irene
Silverblatt (January 1988). "Inca Imperial Dilemmas, Kinship, and History".
143:
799:
497:
Bullock, Tori. "The
Influence of Inca Statecraft on the Site of Huánuco Pampa."
759:
741:
681:
654:
639:
779:
471:
469:
24:
868:
862:
379:
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Colonial documents contain a record of Tanta Carhua, who was sacrificed as a
515:. Philadelphia: Department of Archaeology of the University of Pennsylvania.
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673:
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for the purpose of strengthening “the generosity of the administration.”
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had been blessed by the
Emperor and became the guardian of the local
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Archeological Papers of the
American Anthropological Association,
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109:
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Each year the Inca government sent out representatives, called
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Tawantinsuyu: The Inca State and It's Political Organization.
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or they became secondary wives of the Inca. Lower status
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for religious rites. Others lived out their lives in a
459:
Silverblatt, Irene. "Andean Women in the Inca Empire."
278:. This signaled the entrance of the empire into local
438:
298:
that have been excavated suggest a large presence of
540:
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522:
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488:
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860:
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306:While less common, there is some evidence that
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195:, who ordered the creation and expansion of
343:Gendered significance and misunderstandings
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571:
478:Comparative Studies in Society and History
435:, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, p. 189
255:within the empire. The family of a chosen
405:
352:was through their role in reproduction.
79:
484:(1). Cambridge University Press: 83–102.
18:
544:
861:
263:themselves would honour the main Inca
259:would be raised in social status. The
226:
206:with specific titles. These included
171:was divided by status. Higher status
142:have been identified, specifically at
138:. Several archaeological contexts for
566:
510:
214:who were dedicated to the principal
13:
14:
905:
56:, were sequestered women in the
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16:Inca women who performed rituals
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504:
425:
392:
1:
431:D'Altroy, Terence N. (2003),
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210:who served the sun and moon,
220:aclla chaupi catiquin sumacs
23:Acllas in the manuscript of
7:
373:
10:
910:
547:"The Sacrificial Ceremony"
422:Helsinki, Tiedekirja, 1992
155:
833:
750:
672:
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501:6, no. 1 (2011): 109-119
532:102, no.1 (2000): 84-97
530:American Anthropologist
463:4, no. 3 (1978): 36-61.
251:and the maintenance of
80:Selection and training
28:
879:Religious occupations
402:vol. 8, No. 1, p. 134
22:
884:Gendered occupations
121:for their training.
418:Pärssinen, Martti.
227:Social significance
212:Uayror aclla sumacs
511:Uhle, Max (1903).
50:Virgins of the Sun
29:
856:
855:
635:Invasion of Chile
54:Wives of the Inca
901:
835:Inca mathematics
732:Inca agriculture
667:
645:Spanish conquest
625:History of Cusco
615:Kingdom of Cusco
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70:human sacrifices
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44:), also called
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760:Inca mythology
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742:Inca aqueducts
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682:Inca education
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282:and religion.
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208:Guayrur acllas
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4:
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60:. They were
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37:
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26:
21:
889:Inca society
820:Willka Raymi
737:Inca cuisine
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674:Inca society
550:. Retrieved
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46:Chosen Women
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31:
30:
894:Priestesses
805:Urcuchillay
795:Pacha Kamaq
780:Manco Cápac
650:Ransom Room
620:Inca Empire
594:Inca Empire
243:The use of
58:Inca Empire
25:Guamán Poma
863:Categories
825:Inti Raymi
775:Mama Killa
770:Coricancha
722:Warachikuy
552:2011-02-13
386:References
177:Coricancha
96:, and the
815:Viracocha
800:Pariacaca
727:Inca army
610:Sapa Inca
433:The Incas
320:capacocha
280:tradition
197:acllawasi
193:Pachacuti
135:capacocha
115:acllawasi
105:apupanaca
374:See also
359:yanakuna
350:yanakuna
253:hegemony
149:yanakuna
126:mamakuna
93:yanakuna
74:monastic
27:of 1615.
810:Vichama
717:Panakas
702:Chasqui
602:History
335:of his
249:kinship
156:Service
62:virgins
36:Quechua
848:Yupana
692:Amauta
354:Acllas
332:curaca
313:acllas
308:acllas
300:acllas
295:Acllas
286:Acllas
275:huacas
261:acllas
245:acllas
233:acllas
231:While
218:, and
216:huacas
204:acllas
188:acllas
181:acllas
173:acllas
169:acllas
165:acllas
161:Acllas
110:kuraka
90:, the
66:chicha
52:, and
843:Quipu
790:Supay
712:Ă‘usta
707:Mitma
697:Ayllu
687:Aclla
367:aclla
337:ayllu
325:ayllu
291:aclla
270:aclla
257:aclla
238:aclla
140:aclla
130:Cuzco
119:Cuzco
98:aclla
87:mit'a
41:aklla
32:Aclla
869:Inca
785:Inti
357:the
265:gods
765:Apu
865::
537:^
521:^
490:^
482:30
480:.
468:^
440:^
407:^
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152:.
100:.
48:,
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