por The word tahuantinsuyo (Tawaintin Suyu in the Quechua script) is the original name of the Inca Empire, which means «four regions». Specifying, “Tahua” or “tawa” means a group of 4 elements and “suyo” or “susyu” means region, area or province.
It was the name given to the largest empire of the pre-Columbian era in the American continent, which had the city of Cusco as its capital in the third decade of 1400.
The territorial area of the empire was enormous, occupying more than 3,000,000 km² and also covering 5,000 km of coastline on the Pacific Ocean, which currently represents twice the Peruvian area.
The name of the city itself indicates the territorial division, which was based on duality, tripartition and the relationships of four partitions, typical of the Inca mentality. The four “suyos” or nations established Cusco as a geographical and political center.
These nations were distributed as follows:
– To the northwest by the Chinchaysuyo, which rises to the Ancashmayo river in Pasto (Colombia).
– To the northeast was the Antisuyo in the subtropical valleys, occupying part of the low jungle of the Amazon.
– To the southwest, the Contisuyo occupied part of the Peruvian coast up to the Maule River (Chile).
– And to the southeast, was the Collasuyo, which today occupies most of the Bolivian territory up to Tucumán (Argentina).
All the lands belonged to the Sun, the Inca and the State, and these were distributed in such a way that each inhabitant received a plot of fertile land to be worked.
When a family was formed, they were given 1 1/2 tupu (1 tupu equaled 2,700 m²). When having a son, they received 1 tupu, and if it was a girl, they received half. They could not sell or inherit them, since the State, and not them, was the sole owner.
Therefore, when a person died, their lands were assigned to a new inhabitant. And when two young men married, their families would have their extra tupus removed.
The society that formed the Tahuantinsuyo
Inca society was characterized by well-defined hierarchies, with absolutist power and the Inca at the top. In this same stratum was his family, made up of his wife (called coya in Quechua) and his heir, or auqui.
The nobility followed, also known as orejones, due to their deformation of the lobe, made up of the relatives of the previous Incas (panacas), and the priests, acllas and high chiefs.
Then, on the social scale of the Empire, there are the hatun runa (peasants who paid tribute), the mitimaes, who were populations transferred to colonize other regions, the yanaconas, who were the servants of the Inca and the Empire, and lastly, who were prisoner of war slaves who were not chosen to be yanaconas.
The Inca Empire dominated a large number of peoples who had their own rites and traditions.
Therefore, they used several mechanisms to reconcile the cultural disparity: Runa simi, or Quechua, was the official language of the Empire, which displaced other languages. They all communicated in Quechua. It was like the lingua franca of this vast area.
In addition, they established an organization based on moral principles of obedience and permanent prosecution of crimes.
Today, those principles are known as the basic laws of Tahuantinsuyo: Ama Sua (don’t be a thief), Ama Llulla (don’t be a liar), and Ama Kella (don’t be lazy).
referralgums
HISTORY OF THE INCA EMPIRE or TAHUANTINSUYO. Recovered from enjoy-machu-picchu.com.
TAHUANTINSUYO. Recovered from cusco-peru.org.