The Tahuantinsuyo Organization

Antonio Martín

Brainstorming

• If you were an emperor, how would you organize your empire?• What would you do to guarantee its

expansion and defense?• How would you charge taxes to

citizens?

The Inca Society• The Tahuantinsuyo social organization was

rely on a community system production which existed before.

• Communities were not changed but rather inserted into the structure of the empire.

• The production and the social organization were in the community, led by a chief, who became part of the bureaucracy.

• They kept the collective ownership of land and relations of reciprocity.

• They worked together as hold hands (minga) for the community tasks.

• Each ayllu or community, with the work of all people, was supposed to produce for their own consumption and provide the imperial authorities with products or labor contributions. The community protected its members, especially orphans.

• Authorities occupied a high place in the social scale, in whose dome was the Sapa Inca emperor, descendant of the sun god.

• His huge family and military leaders were part of the imperial court and the high priests, who had great wealth and influence.

• The yanaconas were to the service of them, and were usually taken as slaves in wars.

Empire Organization • The Emperor ruled the Tahuantisuyo in a

centralized and autocratic way. His will was fulfilled above everything. He had great wealth, like their relatives.

• The empire was divided into four parts, each one was governed by a great prince. The provinces had a governor and the ayllus.

• The Inca Empire used the communities work to enrich governers (rulers). But, with that good organization, the Empire also used this work to improve farming systems, and to build irrigation systems and roads.

• Thanks to this, production and commercial trade were increased.

• The Tahuantinsuyo was settled in agricultural communities and lordships. It promoted the progress of local cultures and formed a State (a political structure that ran the society).

• That State was run in an authoritarian way by groups of warriors and priests, who practiced strong and violent repression.

• The Incas used the mitmaj, a forced relocation system of whole communities from one place to another one, to teach agricultural techniques and fabrics to local people, to maintain border security, or to punish rebellious peoples.

The Inca Culture• The Incas respected religious traditions from

conquered peoples, but they also demanded to worship the sun god, which represented the power of the empire.

• They built great temples and monasteries for women, the "virgins of the sun", which were dedicated to worship the gods.

• Religious members had great wealth, lands and yanaconas at their service.

The Inca Culture

• The Incas imposed their language, Quechua (or Kichwa, as it is called among us) as the language for official relations.

• They developed a vast network of paths throughout the empire, very fast service couriers or chasquis who carried communications, and a system of knots in string colors (quipu) in order to do calculations and remember past events. For some historians, it was a kind of writing.

Social Organization

• How the Incas managed to build such a huge and complex empire? The answer is not easy, but there is no doubt that, in large part, the development of the social and political organization was a decisive factor.

• Their experiences teach us that societies, past and now, need an organization to advance and remain. Therefore, we should not read the Aboriginal History just out of curiosity but also to draw lessons for our lives today.

• Although not all features of the original indigenous life can be repeated and there are aspects, such as authoritarianism, which should not be imitated, we think that there is much we can learn from the Inca and Aboriginal peoples. For example, the proper use of the environment, the promotion of community work, the habit of doing things in common, that is, in Minga, the concern to build roads. In addition, we must understand a life philosophy, which is the GOOD LIVING or SUMAK KAUSAY.

Group Activity

• Form working groups.• Answer:

What kind of power do you think the "Inca" or emperor of Tahuantinsuyo exercised if he was seen as a God?

What could happen when a person has too much power?