Quechua ( / ˈ k ɛ tʃ u ə / , Spanish: [ˈketʃwa] ), also called Runa simi ( Quechua: [ˈɾʊna ˈsɪmɪ] , 'people's language') in Southern Quechua , is an indigenous language family that originated in central Peru and thereafter spread to other countries of the Andes . Derived from a common ancestral " Proto-Quechua " language, it is today the most widely spoken pre-Columbian language family of the Americas, with the number of speakers estimated at 8–10 million speakers in 2004, and just under 7 million from the most recent census data available up to 2011. Approximately 13.9% (3.7 million) of Peruvians speak a Quechua language.
95-563: The Inca Empire , officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts ( Quechua : Tawantinsuyu , lit. "land of four parts"), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America . The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco . The Inca civilization rose from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 13th century . The Spanish began
190-571: A blind eye to his son's lack of capability. Following a revolt during which Amaru almost led the Inca forces to defeat, the Sapa Inca decided to replace the co-ruler with another one of his sons, Topa Inca Yupanqui . Túpac Inca Yupanqui began conquests to the north in 1463 and continued them as Inca ruler after Pachacuti's death in 1471. Túpac Inca's most important conquest was the Kingdom of Chimor ,
285-451: A child, Sinchi Roca . The people who were already living in Cusco fought hard to keep their land, but Mama Huaca was a good fighter. When the enemy attacked, she threw her bolas (several stones tied together that spun through the air when thrown) at a soldier (gualla) and killed him instantly. The other people became afraid and ran away. After that, Ayar Manco became known as Manco Capac ,
380-484: A difficult environment, and the organization and management fostered or imposed on its people and their labor. The Inca Empire functioned largely without money and without markets. Instead, exchange of goods and services was based on reciprocity between individuals and among individuals, groups, and Inca rulers. "Taxes" consisted of a labour obligation of a person to the Empire. The Inca rulers (who theoretically owned all
475-1048: A fourth, a northern or Peruvian branch. The latter causes complications in the classification, however, as various dialects (e.g. Cajamarca–Cañaris , Pacaraos , and Yauyos ) have features of both Quechua I and Quechua II, and so are difficult to assign to either. Torero classifies them as the following: Willem Adelaar adheres to the Quechua I / Quechua II (central/peripheral) bifurcation. But, partially following later modifications by Torero, he reassigns part of Quechua II-A to Quechua I: Ancash (Huaylas–Conchucos) Alto Pativilca–Alto Marañón–Alto Huallaga Yaru Wanka (Jauja–Huanca) Yauyos–Chincha (Huangáscar–Topará) Pacaraos Lambayeque (Cañaris) Cajamarca Lincha Laraos Kichwa ("Ecuadorian" or Highlands and Oriente) Chachapoyas (Amazonas) Lamas (San Martín) Ayacucho Cusco Puno (Collao) Northern Bolivian (Apolo) Southern Bolivia Santiago del Estero Landerman (1991) does not believe
570-415: A method of taxation: For as is well known to all, not a single village of the highlands or the plains failed to pay the tribute levied on it by those who were in charge of these matters. There were even provinces where, when the natives alleged that they were unable to pay their tribute, the Inca ordered that each inhabitant should be obliged to turn in every four months a large quill full of live lice, which
665-547: A reference point, the overall degree of diversity across the family is a little less than that of the Romance or Germanic families, and more of the order of Slavic or Arabic . The greatest diversity is within Central Quechua, or Quechua I, which is believed to lie close to the homeland of the ancestral Proto-Quechua language. Alfredo Torero devised the traditional classification, the three divisions above, plus
760-591: A significant influence on other native languages of the Americas, such as Mapuche . It is difficult to measure the number of Quechua speakers. The number of speakers given varies widely according to the sources. The total in Ethnologue 16 is 10 million, primarily based on figures published 1987–2002, but with a few dating from the 1960s. The figure for Imbabura Highland Quechua in Ethnologue , for example,
855-536: A third point Troll pointed out irrigation technology as advantageous to Inca state-building. While Troll theorized concerning environmental influences on the Inca Empire, he opposed environmental determinism , arguing that culture lay at the core of the Inca civilization. The Inca people were a pastoral tribe in the Cusco area around the 12th century. Indigenous Andean oral history tells two main origin stories:
950-599: A true genetic classification is possible and divides Quechua II so that the family has four geographical–typological branches: Northern, North Peruvian, Central, and Southern. He includes Chachapoyas and Lamas in North Peruvian Quechua so Ecuadorian is synonymous with Northern Quechua. Quechua I (Central Quechua, Waywash ) is spoken in Peru's central highlands, from the Ancash Region to Huancayo . It
1045-476: A unified and decentralized government in which Cuzco acted as the articulating axis of the different regions or suyu . They appointed highly trusted governors. At the economic level, they decided how much each province should pay according to its resources. They knew how to win over the curacas to ensure control of the communities. These were the intermediaries through whom they collected taxes. Traditionally, every time an emperor died or resigned, his successor
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#17327654984641140-471: A union of provinces. The Spanish normally transliterated the name as Tahuatinsuyo . While the term Inka nowadays is translated as "ruler" or "lord" in Quechua, this term does not simply refer to the "king" of the Tawantinsuyu or Sapa Inca but also to the Inca nobles, and some theorize its meaning could be broader. In that sense, the Inca nobles were a small percentage of the total population of
1235-484: A written form of language; however, they visually recorded narratives through paintings on vases and cups ( qirus ). These paintings are usually accompanied by geometric patterns known as toqapu, which are also found in textiles. Researchers have speculated that toqapu patterns could have served as a form of written communication (e.g. heraldry, or glyphs), however this remains unclear. The Incas also kept records by using quipus . The high infant mortality rates that plagued
1330-459: Is 300,000, an estimate from 1977. The missionary organization FEDEPI, on the other hand, estimated one million Imbabura dialect speakers (published 2006). Census figures are also problematic, due to under-reporting. The 2001 Ecuador census reports only 500,000 Quechua speakers, compared to the estimate in most linguistic sources of more than 2 million. The censuses of Peru (2007) and Bolivia (2001) are thought to be more reliable. Additionally, there
1425-601: Is a secondary division in Quechua II between the grammatically simplified northern varieties of Ecuador, Quechua II-B, known there as Kichwa , and the generally more conservative varieties of the southern highlands, Quechua II-C, which include the old Inca capital of Cusco . The closeness is at least in part because of the influence of Cusco Quechua on the Ecuadorean varieties in the Inca Empire. Because Northern nobles were required to educate their children in Cusco, this
1520-607: Is actually a family of languages rather than one single language, parallel to the Romance or Slavic languages in Europe. Most communities within the empire, even those resistant to Inca rule, learned to speak a variety of Quechua (forming new regional varieties with distinct phonetics) in order to communicate with the Inca lords and mitma colonists, as well as the wider integrating society, but largely retained their native languages as well. The Incas also had their own ethnic language, which
1615-455: Is an unknown number of speakers in emigrant communities. There are significant differences among the varieties of Quechua spoken in the central Peruvian highlands and the peripheral varieties of Ecuador, as well as those of southern Peru and Bolivia. They can be labeled Quechua I (or Quechua B, central) and Quechua II (or Quechua A, peripheral). Within the two groups, there are few sharp boundaries, making them dialect continua . However, there
1710-401: Is apt to succeed his father. The Sapa Inca was the absolute ruler of the empire and accumulated in his power the political, social, military, and economic direction of the state. He ordered and directed the construction of great engineering works, such as Sacsayhuamán , a fortress that took 50 years to complete; or the urban plan of the cities. However, among their most notable works, was
1805-462: Is four and - ntin is a suffix naming a group, so that a tawantin is a quartet, a group of four things taken together, in this case the four suyu ("regions" or "provinces") whose corners met at the capital. The four suyu were: Chinchaysuyu (north), Antisuyu (east; the Amazon jungle), Qullasuyu (south) and Kuntisuyu (west). The name Tawantinsuyu was, therefore, a descriptive term indicating
1900-517: Is one of at least five civilizations in the world deemed by scholars to be "pristine." The concept of a "pristine" civilization refers to a civilization that has developed independently of external influences and is not a derivative of other civilizations. The Inca Empire was preceded by two large-scale empires in the Andes: the Tiwanaku ( c. 300 –1100 AD), based around Lake Titicaca , and
1995-473: Is the most diverse branch of Quechua, to the extent that its divisions are commonly considered different languages. Quechua II (Peripheral Quechua, Wamp'una "Traveler") This is a sampling of words in several Quechuan languages: Sapa Inca The Sapa Inca (from Quechua sapa inka ; lit. ' the only emperor ' ) was the monarch of the Inca Empire ( Tawantinsuyu "the region of
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#17327654984642090-453: Is thought to have been closely related to or a dialect of Puquina . There are several common misconceptions about the history of Quechua, as it is frequently identified as the "Inca language". Quechua did not originate with the Incas, had been a lingua franca in multiple areas before the Inca expansions, was diverse before the rise of the Incas, and it was not the native or original language of
2185-709: The Chavín and Wari civilizations. Quechua had already expanded across wide ranges of the central Andes long before the expansion of the Inca Empire . The Inca were one among many peoples in present-day Peru who already spoke a form of Quechua, which in the Cuzco region particularly has been heavily influenced by Aymara , hence some of the characteristics that still distinguish the Cuzco form of Quechua today. Diverse Quechua regional dialects and languages had already developed in different areas, influenced by local languages, before
2280-542: The Incas , that previous expansion also meant that it was the primary language family within the Inca Empire. The Spanish also tolerated its use until the Peruvian struggle for independence in the 1780s. As a result, various Quechua languages are still widely spoken today, being co-official in many regions and the most spoken language lineage in Peru , after Spanish. The Quechua linguistic homeland may have been Central Peru. It has been speculated that it may have been used in
2375-724: The Mapuche , who later would strategically defeat the Spanish as they expanded further south . The first engagement between the Inca and the Spanish was the Battle of Puná , near present-day Guayaquil , Ecuador, on the Pacific Coast; Pizarro then founded the city of Piura in July 1532. Hernando de Soto was sent inland to explore the interior and returned with an invitation to meet the Inca, Atahualpa, who had defeated his brother in
2470-570: The Sapa Inca , to be the "son of the Sun". The Inca economy, especially in the past, was often the subject of scholarly debate. Darrell E. La Lone, in his work The Inca as a Nonmarket Economy , noted that scholars have previously described it as "feudal, slave, [or] socialist," as well as "a system based on reciprocity and redistribution; a system with markets and commerce; or an Asiatic mode of production ." The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu , "the suyu of four [parts]". In Quechua , tawa
2565-595: The University of San Marcos , completed and defended the first thesis in the language group in 2019; it concerned the works of poet Andrés Alencastre Gutiérrez and it was also the first non-Spanish native language thesis done at that university. Currently, there are different initiatives that promote Quechua in the Andes and across the world: many universities offer Quechua classes, a community-based organization such as Elva Ambía 's Quechua Collective of New York promote
2660-637: The Wari or Huari ( c. 600 –1100 AD), centered near the city of Ayacucho . The Wari occupied the Cuzco area for about 400 years. Thus, many of the characteristics of the Inca Empire derived from earlier multi-ethnic and expansive Andean cultures. To those earlier civilizations may be owed some of the accomplishments cited for the Inca Empire: "thousands of kilometres/miles of roads and dozens of large administrative centers with elaborate stone construction...terraced mountainsides and filled in valleys", and
2755-458: The " Requerimiento " that demanded that he and his empire accept the rule of King Charles I of Spain and convert to Christianity. Atahualpa dismissed the message and asked them to leave. After this, the Spanish began their attack against the mostly unarmed Inca, captured Atahualpa as hostage, and forced the Inca to collaborate. Atahualpa offered the Spaniards enough gold to fill the room he
2850-521: The Acamama Valley; therefore, the couple decided to remain there and informed the inhabitants of the area that they were sent by the Sun God . They then proceeded to teach them agriculture and weaving. Thus, the Inca civilization began. Under the leadership of Manco Capac, the Inca formed the small city-state Kingdom of Cuzco (Quechua Qusqu ). In 1438, they began a far-reaching expansion under
2945-589: The Americas. As a result of Inca expansion into Central Chile , there were bilingual Quechua- Mapudungu Mapuche in Central Chile at the time of the Spanish arrival . It has been argued that Mapuche, Quechua, and Spanish coexisted in Central Chile , with significant bilingualism, during the 17th century. Alongside Mapudungun, Quechua is the indigenous language that has influenced Chilean Spanish
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3040-672: The Hurin moiety and their rule did not extend beyond the Kingdom of Cusco . Their origins are tied to the mythical establishment of Cusco and are shrouded in the later foundation myth . The dynasty was supposedly founded by Manco Cápac , who is considered the son of the Sun god Inti in Inca mythology . As a rough guide to the later reputation of the early Sapa Incas, in later years capac meant warlord and sinchi meant leader. The second dynasty
3135-434: The Inca ). It narrates the adventure of a couple, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo , who were sent by the Sun God and emerged from the depths of Lake Titicaca ( pacarina ~ paqarina "sacred place of origin") and marched north. They carried a golden staff, given by the Sun God ; the message was clear: in the place where the golden staff sank, they would establish a city and settle there. The staff sank at Mount Guanacaure in
3230-418: The Inca Empire caused all newborn infants to be given the term wawa when they were born. Most families did not invest very much into their child until they reached the age of two or three years old. Once the child reached the age of three, a "coming of age" ceremony occurred, called the rutuchikuy . For the Incas, this ceremony indicated that the child had entered the stage of "ignorance". During this ceremony,
3325-503: The Inca Empire expanded and further promoted Quechua as the official language of the Empire. After the Spanish conquest of Peru in the 16th century, Quechua continued to be used widely by the indigenous peoples as the "common language." It was officially recognized by the Spanish administration, and many Spaniards learned it in order to communicate with local peoples. The clergy of the Catholic Church adopted Quechua to use as
3420-480: The Inca state and chuño has been questioned, as other crops such as maize can also be dried with only sunlight. Troll also argued that llamas , the Incas' pack animal, can be found in their largest numbers in this very same region. The maximum extent of the Inca Empire roughly coincided with the distribution of llamas and alpacas , the only large domesticated animals in Pre-Hispanic America . As
3515-453: The Inca to indoctrinate them into the Inca nobility and, with luck, marry their daughters into families at various corners of the empire. Pachacuti had named his favorite son, Amaru Yupanqui, as his co-ruler and successor. However, as co-ruler Amaru showed little interest in military affairs. Due to this lack of military talent, he faced much opposition from the Inca nobility, who began to plot against him. Despite this, Pachacuti decided to take
3610-408: The Inca used weapons made out of wood, stone, copper and bronze, while using an Alpaca fiber based armor, putting them at significant technological disadvantage—none of their weapons could pierce the Spanish steel armor. In addition, due to the absence of horses in Peru, the Inca did not develop tactics to fight cavalry. However, the Inca were still effective warriors, being able to successfully fight
3705-423: The Inca's only serious rival for the coast. Túpac Inca's empire then stretched north into what are today Ecuador and Colombia . Topa Inca's son Huayna Capac added a small portion of land to the north in what is today Ecuador. At its height, the Inca Empire included modern-day Peru, what are today western and south central Bolivia , southwest Ecuador and Colombia and a large portion of modern-day Chile , at
3800-407: The Incas. However, the Incas left a linguistic legacy, in that they introduced Quechua to many areas where it is still widely spoken today, including Ecuador, southern Bolivia, southern Colombia, and parts of the Amazon basin. The Spanish conquerors continued the official usage of Quechua during the early colonial period, and transformed it into a literary language. The Incas were not known to develop
3895-474: The Latin American nations achieved independence in the 19th century, the prestige of Quechua had decreased sharply. Gradually its use declined so that it was spoken mostly by indigenous people in the more isolated and conservative rural areas. Nevertheless, in the 21st century, Quechua language speakers number roughly 7 million people across South America, more than any other indigenous language family in
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3990-577: The Maule was a stalemate, but argues the Incas lacked incentives for conquest they had had when fighting more complex societies such as the Chimú Empire . Silva also disputes the date given by traditional historiography for the battle: the late 15th century during the reign of Topa Inca Yupanqui (1471–93). Instead, he places it in 1532 during the Inca Civil War . Nevertheless, Silva agrees on
4085-435: The Spanish colonists and re-create the Inca Empire until the late 18th century. See Juan Santos Atahualpa and Túpac Amaru II . The number of people inhabiting Tawantinsuyu at its peak is uncertain, with estimates ranging from 4–37 million. Most population estimates are in the range of 6 to 14 million. In spite of the fact that the Inca kept excellent census records using their quipus , knowledge of how to read them
4180-404: The Spanish conquest under the political authority of the Inca state. After the fall of the Inca Empire many aspects of Inca culture were systematically destroyed, including their sophisticated farming system, known as the vertical archipelago model of agriculture. Spanish colonial officials used the Inca mita corvée labor system for colonial aims, sometimes brutally. One member of each family
4275-425: The Spanish invaders first arrived in the empire. The spread was probably aided by the efficient Inca road system. Smallpox was only the first epidemic. Other diseases, including a probable typhus outbreak in 1546, influenza and smallpox together in 1558, smallpox again in 1589, diphtheria in 1614, and measles in 1618, all ravaged the Inca people. There would be periodic attempts by indigenous leaders to expel
4370-408: The Spanish retook the city afterwards. Manco Inca then retreated to the mountains of Vilcabamba and established the small Neo-Inca State , where he and his successors ruled for another 36 years, sometimes raiding the Spanish or inciting revolts against them. In 1572 the last Inca stronghold was conquered and the last ruler, Topa Amaru , Manco's son, was captured and executed. This ended resistance to
4465-440: The Sun", the position eventually became hereditary , with son succeeding father . The principal wife of the Inca was known as the coya or quya . The Sapa Inca was at the top of the social hierarchy, and played a dominant role in the political and spiritual realm. Manco Capac , the first Inca monarch, adopted the title capac or qhapaq (roughly translated as " king "). Inca Roca , the sixth Inca monarch,
4560-509: The benefits of joining his empire, offering them presents of luxury goods such as high quality textiles and promising that they would be materially richer as his subjects. Most accepted the rule of the Inca as a fait accompli and acquiesced peacefully. Refusal to accept Inca rule resulted in military conquest. Following conquest the local rulers were executed. The ruler's children were brought to Cuzco to learn about Inca administration systems, then return to rule their native lands. This allowed
4655-442: The civil war and was resting at Cajamarca with his army of 80,000 troops, that were at the moment armed only with hunting tools (knives and lassos for hunting llamas). Pizarro and some of his men, most notably a friar named Vincente de Valverde , met with the Inca, who had brought only a small retinue. The Inca offered them ceremonial chicha in a golden cup, which the Spanish rejected. The Spanish interpreter, Friar Vincente, read
4750-729: The claim that the bulk of the Inca conquests were made during the late 15th century. At the time of the Inca Civil War an Inca army was, according to Diego de Rosales , subduing a revolt among the Diaguitas of Copiapó and Coquimbo . The empire's push into the Amazon Basin near the Chinchipe River was stopped by the Shuar in 1527. The empire extended into corners of what are today the north of Argentina and part of
4845-569: The command of Sapa Inca ("paramount leader") Pachacuti Cusi Yupanqui (Pachakutiy Kusi Yupanki), whose epithet Pachacuti means "the turn of the world". The name of Pachacuti was given to him after he conquered the tribe of the Chancas during the Chanka–Inca War (in modern-day Apurímac ). During his reign, he and his son Topa Yupanqui (Tupa Yupanki) brought much of the modern-day territory of Peru under Inca control. Pachacuti reorganized
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#17327654984644940-493: The conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 and by 1572, the last Inca state was fully conquered. From 1438 to 1533, the Incas incorporated a large portion of western South America , centered on the Andean Mountains, using conquest and peaceful assimilation, among other methods. At its largest, the empire joined modern-day Peru , what are now western Ecuador , western and south central Bolivia , northwest Argentina ,
5035-561: The country. The major obstacle to the usage and teaching of Quechua languages is the lack of written materials, such as books, newspapers, software, and magazines. The Bible has been translated into Quechua and is distributed by certain missionary groups. Quechua, along with Aymara and minor indigenous languages, remains essentially a spoken language . In recent years, Quechua has been introduced in intercultural bilingual education (IBE) in Peru , Bolivia , and Ecuador . Even in these areas,
5130-427: The culture and control, while simultaneously ensuring the preservation of that network. At the religious level, they were symbolic of the sun and promoted the worship of Inti, who was regarded as their ancestral father, and organized the calendar. At the political level, they sent inspectors to oversee the loyalty and efficiency of civil servants and collect tribute from the subjugated peoples. The emperors promoted
5225-460: The dialects is the basic criterion that defines Quechua not as a single language, but as a language family. The complex and progressive nature of how speech varies across the dialect continua makes it nearly impossible to differentiate discrete varieties; Ethnologue lists 45 varieties which are then divided into two groups; Central and Peripheral. Due to the non-intelligibility between the two groups, they are all classified as separate languages. As
5320-438: The diverse ethnic groups ruled by the Inca "welcomed the Spanish invaders as liberators and willingly settled down with them to share rule of Andean farmers and miners". Many regional leaders, known as kurakas , continued to serve the Spanish overlords, called encomenderos , as they had served the Inca overlords. Other than efforts to spread the religion of Christianity , the Spanish benefited from and made little effort to change
5415-480: The empire, probably numbering only 15,000 to 40,000, but ruling a population of around 10 million people. When the Spanish arrived in the Empire of the Incas, they gave the name Peru to what the natives knew as Tawantinsuyu. The name "Inca Empire" originated from the Chronicles of the 16th century. The Inca Empire was the last chapter of thousands of years of Andean civilizations . The Andean civilization
5510-504: The empire. Perhaps more importantly, smallpox , influenza , typhus and measles had spread from Central America. The first epidemic of European disease in the Inca Empire was probably in the 1520s, killing Huayna Capac, his designated heir, and an unknown, probably large, number of other Inca subjects. The forces led by Pizarro consisted of 168 men, along with one cannon and 27 horses . The conquistadors were armed with lances , arquebuses , steel armor and long swords . In contrast,
5605-431: The family would invite all relatives to their house for food and dance, and then each member of the family would receive a lock of hair from the child. After each family member had received a lock, the father would shave the child's head. This stage of life was categorized by a stage of "ignorance, inexperience, and lack of reason, a condition that the child would overcome with time". For Inca society, in order to advance from
5700-473: The form of labor ( mitʼa ) and taxes. The Sapa Inca also played a major role in caring for the poor and hungry, hence his other title huacchacoya or waqcha khuyaq "lover and benefactor of the poor". The Sapa was responsible for organizing food redistribution in times of environmental disaster, allocated work via state-sponsored projects, and most notably promoted major state-sponsored religious feasts that followed each successful harvest season. The Inca
5795-441: The founder of the Inca. It is said that he and his sisters built the first Inca homes in the valley with their own hands. When the time came, Manco Capac turned to stone like his brothers before him. His son, Sinchi Roca, became the second emperor of the Inca. Legend collected by the mestizo chronicler Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in his work Los Comentarios Reales de los Incas ( transl. The Royal Commentaries of
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#17327654984645890-443: The four [provinces]"), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cuzco and the later Neo-Inca State . While the origins of the position are mythical and originate from the legendary foundation of the city of Cuzco , it seems to have come into being historically around 1100 AD. Although the Inca believed the sapa Inca to be the son of Inti (the Sun god) and often referred to him as Inti churi "solar son" or Intip churin "son of
5985-434: The frontier regions. The exact linguistic topography of the pre-Columbian and early colonial Andes remains incompletely understood, owing to the extinction of several languages and the loss of historical records. In order to manage this diversity, the Inca lords promoted the usage of Quechua , especially the variety of what is now Lima , as the official language or lingua franca . Defined by mutual intelligibility, Quechua
6080-869: The governments are reaching only a part of the Quechua-speaking populations. Some indigenous people in each of the countries are having their children study in Spanish for social advancement. Radio Nacional del Perú broadcasts news and agrarian programs in Quechua for periods in the mornings. Quechua and Spanish are now heavily intermixed in much of the Andean region, with many hundreds of Spanish loanwords in Quechua. Similarly, Quechua phrases and words are commonly used by Spanish speakers. In southern rural Bolivia, for instance, many Quechua words such as wawa (infant), misi (cat), waska (strap or thrashing), are as commonly used as their Spanish counterparts, even in entirely Spanish-speaking areas. Quechua has also had
6175-636: The kingdom of Cusco into the Tahuantinsuyu, which consisted of a central government with the Inca at its head and four provincial governments with strong leaders: Chinchaysuyu (NW), Antisuyu (NE), Kuntisuyu (SW) and Qullasuyu (SE). Pachacuti is thought to have built Machu Picchu , either as a family home or summer retreat, although it may have been an agricultural station. Pachacuti sent spies to regions he wanted in his empire and they brought to him reports on political organization, military strength and wealth. He then sent messages to their leaders extolling
6270-648: The language of evangelization . The oldest written records of the language are by missionary Domingo de Santo Tomás , who arrived in Peru in 1538 and learned the language from 1540. He published his Grammatica o arte de la lengua general de los indios de los reynos del Perú (Grammar or Art of the General Language of the Indians of the Kingdoms of Peru) in 1560. Given its use by the Catholic missionaries,
6365-439: The language, and governments are training interpreters in Quechua to serve in healthcare, justice, and bureaucratic facilities. In 1975, Peru became the first country to recognize Quechua as one of its official languages. Ecuador conferred official status on the language in its 2006 constitution, and in 2009, Bolivia adopted a new constitution that recognized Quechua and several other indigenous languages as official languages of
6460-596: The legends of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, and that of the Ayar brothers. The center cave at Tambo Tocco (Tampu T’uqu) was named Capac Tocco (Qhapaq T’uqu, "principal niche"). The other caves were Maras Tocco (Maras T’uqu) and Sutic Tocco (Sutiq T’uqu). Four brothers and four sisters stepped out of the middle cave. They were: Ayar Manco (Ayar Manqu), Ayar Cachi (Ayar Kachi), Ayar Auca (Ayar Awka) and Ayar Uchu (Ayar Uchi); and Mama Ocllo (Mama Uqllu), Mama Raua (Mama Rawa), Mama Huaco (Mama Waqu) and Mama Coea (Mama Qura). Out of
6555-457: The means of production) reciprocated by granting access to land and goods and providing food and drink in celebratory feasts for their subjects. Many local forms of worship persisted in the empire, most of them concerning local sacred huacas or wak’a , but the Inca leadership encouraged the sun worship of Inti —their sun god—and imposed its sovereignty above other religious groups, such as that of Pachamama . The Incas considered their king,
6650-503: The most. Quechua-Aymara and mixed Quechua-Aymara- Mapudungu toponymy can be found as far south as Osorno Province in Chile (latitude 41° S). In 2017 the first thesis defense done in Quechua in Europe was done by Peruvian Carmen Escalante Gutiérrez at Pablo de Olavide University ( Sevilla ). The same year Pablo Landeo wrote the first novel in Quechua without a Spanish translation. A Peruvian student, Roxana Quispe Collantes of
6745-556: The napa, covered with a red blanket and adorned with gold earrings. With textiles representing a form of status and wealth, it has been speculated that the Sapa Inca never wore the same clothes twice. The community even revered the Sapa after his death, mummifying him and frequently visiting his tomb to "consult" him on pressing affairs. Little is known of the rulers of the first dynasty of Sapa Incas. Evidently, they were affiliated with
6840-447: The network of roads that crossed the entire empire and allowed a rapid journey for the administrators, messengers, and armies provided with hanging bridges and tambos . They made sure to always be supplied and well cared for, as is reflected in the construction of storehouses scattered throughout the empire and vast food and resource redistribution systems. The commander and chief of the standing army founded military colonies to expand
6935-526: The north of the Maule River . Traditional historiography claims the advance south halted after the Battle of the Maule where they met determined resistance from the Mapuche . This view is challenged by historian Osvaldo Silva who argues instead that it was the social and political framework of the Mapuche that posed the main difficulty in imposing imperial rule. Silva does accept that the battle of
7030-422: The onset of menstruation, upon which the girl would go into the forest alone and return only once the bleeding had ended. In the forest she would fast, and, once returned, the girl would be given a new name, adult clothing, and advice. This "folly" stage of life was the time young adults were allowed to have sex without being a parent. Quechua language Although Quechua began expanding many centuries before
7125-513: The physical and moral aptitudes of the pretender were tested. These trials were accompanied by a complex spiritual ritual through which the Sun god, Inti nominated the one who should assume the Inca position. Eventually, with the passage of time, Incas named their favorite son as co-governor with the intention of securing his succession, for example, Huiracocha Inca associated Inca Urco to the throne. The coya, or sapa Inca's primary wife, had significant influence upon making this decision of which son
7220-399: The production of "vast quantities of goods". Carl Troll has argued that the development of the Inca state in the central Andes was aided by conditions that allow for the elaboration of the staple food chuño . Chuño, which can be stored for long periods, is made of potato dried at the freezing temperatures that are common at nighttime in the southern Andean highlands. Such a link between
7315-492: The range of Quechua continued to expand in some areas. In the late 18th century, colonial officials ended the administrative and religious use of Quechua. They banned it from public use in Peru after the Túpac Amaru II rebellion of indigenous peoples. The Crown banned "loyal" pro-Catholic texts in Quechua, such as Garcilaso de la Vega's Comentarios Reales . Despite a brief revival of the language immediately after
7410-555: The region and be its viceroy . This approval was received as detailed in the following quote: "In July 1529 the Queen of Spain signed a charter allowing Pizarro to conquer the Incas. Pizarro was named governor and captain of all conquests in Peru, or New Castile, as the Spanish now called the land". When the conquistadors returned to Peru in 1532, a war of succession between the sons of Sapa Inca Huayna Capac, Huáscar and Atahualpa , and unrest among newly conquered territories weakened
7505-461: The side caves came the people who were to be the ancestors of all the Inca clans. Ayar Manco carried a magic staff made of the finest gold. Where this staff landed, the people would live. They traveled for a long time. On the way, Ayar Cachi boasted about his strength and power. His siblings tricked him into returning to the cave to get a sacred llama . When he went into the cave, they trapped him inside to get rid of him. Ayar Uchu decided to stay on
7600-474: The society and culture of the former Inca Empire until the rule of Francisco de Toledo as viceroy from 1569 to 1581. The Spanish installed Atahualpa's brother Manco Inca Yupanqui in power; for some time Manco cooperated with the Spanish while they fought to put down resistance in the north. Meanwhile, an associate of Pizarro, Diego de Almagro , attempted to claim Cusco. Manco tried to use this intra-Spanish feud to his advantage, recapturing Cusco in 1536, but
7695-522: The southern Colombia . However, most of the southern portion of the Inca empire, the portion denominated as Qullasuyu, was located in the Altiplano . The Inca Empire was an amalgamation of languages, cultures and peoples. The components of the empire were not all uniformly loyal, nor were the local cultures all fully integrated. The Inca empire as a whole had an economy based on exchange and taxation of luxury goods and labour. The following quote describes
7790-494: The southwesternmost tip of Colombia and a large portion of modern-day Chile into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia . Its official language was Quechua . The Inca Empire was unique in that it lacked many of the features associated with civilization in the Old World . Anthropologist Gordon McEwan wrote that the Incas were able to construct "one of the greatest imperial states in human history" without
7885-571: The stage of ignorance to development the child must learn the roles associated with their gender. The next important ritual was to celebrate the maturity of a child. Unlike the coming of age ceremony, the celebration of maturity signified the child's sexual potency. This celebration of puberty was called warachikuy for boys and qikuchikuy for girls. The warachikuy ceremony included dancing, fasting, tasks to display strength, and family ceremonies. The boy would also be given new clothes and taught how to act as an unmarried man. The qikuchikuy signified
7980-505: The title. Other terms for sapa Inca include apu ("lord"), qhapaq Inka ("mighty Inca") or simply sapa ("the only one"). Chronicles identify the Inca as the highest ruler equivalent to European kings of the Middle Ages. However, the original access to that position was not linked to the inheritance of the eldest son, as is for a monarchy, but to the perceived selection of the gods by means of rigorous challenges, to which
8075-401: The top of the cave to look over the Inca people. The minute he proclaimed that, he turned to stone. They built a shrine around the stone and it became a sacred object. Ayar Auca grew tired of all this and decided to travel alone. Only Ayar Manco and his four sisters remained. Finally, they reached Cusco. The staff sank into the ground. Before they arrived, Mama Ocllo had already borne Ayar Manco
8170-425: The use of the wheel, draft animals, knowledge of iron or steel, or even a system of writing. Notable features of the Inca Empire included its monumental architecture , especially stonework, extensive road network ( Qhapaq Ñan ) reaching all corners of the empire, finely-woven textiles , use of knotted strings ( quipu or khipu ) for record keeping and communication, agricultural innovations and production in
8265-551: Was affiliated with the Hanan moiety and was founded under Inca Roca , the son of the last Hurin Sapa Inca, Cápac Yupanqui . After Cápac Yupanqui's death, another of his sons, Inca Roca's half-brother Quispe Yupanqui , was intended to succeed him. However, the Hanan revolted and installed Inca Roca instead. Ninan Cuyochi , who was Inca for only a few days in 1527, is sometimes left off the list of Sapa Incas because news of his death from smallpox arrived in Cusco very shortly after he
8360-447: Was disinherited from his father's inheritance and formed his own lineage royal clan or panaka , his father's lands, houses and servants were passed to his other children remaining on the previous panaka. The new Sapa Inca had to obtain land and spoils to bequeath to his own descendants. Each time they subdued a people, they demanded that the defeated leader surrender part of their land to continue in command, and whose people pay tribute in
8455-409: Was divinized both in their actions and their emblems. In public he carried the topayauri ("scepter"), ushno (golden throne), suntur páucar (feathered pike), and the mascapaicha (royal insignia) commonly carried in a llauto (headband), otherwise, the mascapaicha could also be carried on an amachana chuku (military helmet). In religious ceremonies he was accompanied by the sacred white flame,
8550-407: Was evidently the first to bear the title sapa Inca ("emperor") officially. There were two known dynasties , led by the Hurin and Hanan moieties respectively. The latter was in power at the time of Spanish conquest . The last effective Sapa Inca of Inca Empire was Atahualpa , who was executed by Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors in 1533, but several successors later claimed
8645-514: Was forced to work in the gold and silver mines, the foremost of which was the titanic silver mine at Potosí . When a family member died, which would usually happen within a year or two, the family was required to send a replacement. Although smallpox is usually presumed to have spread through the Empire before the arrival of the Spaniards, the devastation is also consistent with other theories. Beginning in Colombia , smallpox spread rapidly before
8740-516: Was imprisoned in and twice that amount of silver. The Inca fulfilled this ransom, but Pizarro deceived them, refusing to release the Inca afterwards. During Atahualpa's imprisonment, Huascar was assassinated elsewhere. The Spaniards maintained that this was at Atahualpa's orders; this was used as one of the charges against Atahualpa when the Spaniards finally executed him, in August 1533. Although "defeat" often implies an unwanted loss in battle, many of
8835-756: Was lost as almost all fell into disuse and disintegrated over time or were destroyed by the Spaniards. The empire was linguistically diverse. Some of the most important languages were Quechua , Aymara , Puquina and Mochica , respectively mainly spoken in the Central Andes, the Altiplano ( Qullasuyu ), the south coast ( Kuntisuyu ), and the area of the north coast ( Chinchaysuyu ) around Chan Chan , today Trujillo . Other languages included Quignam , Jaqaru , Leco , Uru-Chipaya languages , Kunza , Humahuaca , Cacán , Mapudungun , Culle , Chachapoya , Catacao languages , Manta , Barbacoan languages , and Cañari–Puruhá as well as numerous Amazonian languages on
8930-585: Was maintained as the prestige dialect in the north. Speakers from different points within any of the three regions can generally understand one another reasonably well. There are nonetheless significant local-level differences across each. ( Wanka Quechua , in particular, has several very distinctive characteristics that make the variety more challenging to understand, even for other Central Quechua speakers.) Speakers from different major regions, particularly Central or Southern Quechua, are not able to communicate effectively. The lack of mutual intelligibility among
9025-400: Was the Inca's way of teaching and accustoming them to pay tribute. Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro and his brothers explored south from what is today Panama , reaching Inca territory by 1526. It was clear that they had reached a wealthy land with prospects of great treasure, and after another expedition in 1529 Pizarro traveled to Spain and received royal approval to conquer
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