Aclla

{{Short description|Inca women who performed rituals}} [[File:Acllacuna.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Acllas in the manuscript of Guamán Poma of 1615.]] '''Aclla''' ({{langx|que|aklla}}), also called '''Chosen Women''', '''Virgins of the Sun''', and '''Wives of the Inca''', were sequestered women in the Inca Empire. They were virgins, 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 chicha (beer) drunk at religious festivals; and some, the most "perfect", were selected as human sacrifices for religious rites. Others lived out their lives in a monastic environment.<ref>Costin, Cathy Lynne (1998), "Housewives, Chosen Women, Skilled Men: Cloth Production and Social Identity in the Late Prehistoric Andes," ''Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association,'' vol. 8, No. 1, p. 134</ref>

==Selection and training== 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 ''mit'a'', the ''yanakuna'', and the ''aclla''.

Each year the Inca government sent out representatives, called ''apupanaca'', 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 ''kuraka'' class.<ref name="ReferenceA">Pärssinen, Martti. ''Tawantinsuyu: The Inca State and It's Political Organization.'' Helsinki, Tiedekirja, 1992</ref> 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 ''acllawasi'' (house of the chosen women) which might have up to 200 women in residence.<ref>D'Altroy, Terence N. (2003), ''The Incas'', Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, p. 189</ref> Only the highest status individuals were sent to Cuzco for their training.<ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978">Silverblatt, Irene. "Andean Women in the Inca Empire." ''Feminist Studies'' 4, no. 3 (1978): 36-61.</ref>

The girls were trained for about four years in religion, spinning and weaving, preparation of food, and brewing chicha. They then became ''mamakuna'' (priestesses) and were married to prominent men or assigned to religious duties. The most skilled and physically perfect were sent to Cuzco, 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 ''capacocha''.<ref name="INCA IMPERIAL DILEMMAS, KINSHIP, AND HISTORY">{{cite journal |author=Irene Silverblatt |title=Inca Imperial Dilemmas, Kinship, and History |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=30 |issue=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=January 1988 |pages=83–102|doi=10.1017/S001041750001505X }}</ref> Several archaeological contexts for ''aclla'' have been identified, specifically at Huánuco Pampa.<ref name="Bullock, Tori 2011">Bullock, Tori. "The Influence of Inca Statecraft on the Site of Huánuco Pampa." ''California State University Dominguez Hills Electronic Student Journal of Anthropology'' 6, no. 1 (2011): 109-119</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Uhle|first=Max|title=Pachacamac : report of the William Pepper, M.D., LL.D, Peruvian expedition of 1896|publisher=Department of Archaeology of the University of Pennsylvania|year=1903|location=Philadelphia}}</ref> Their status and function in society is sometimes compared to a similar role that men occupied called the ''yanakuna''.

==Service== ''Acllas'' were a diverse group in terms of their functionality in Inca society. The general understanding of ''acllas''' 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.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Within these roles, the assignment of ''acllas'' was divided by status. Higher status ''acllas'' (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 Coricancha or they became secondary wives of the Inca. Lower status ''acllas'' 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.<ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978"/>

Despite the differences in where they ended up, the services they provided tended to be very similar; ''acllas'' 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 Pachacuti, who ordered the creation and expansion of ''acllawasi'' for the purpose of strengthening "the generosity of the administration".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

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 ''acllas'' with specific titles. These included ''Guayrur acllas'' who served the sun and moon, ''Uayror aclla sumacs'' who were dedicated to the principal ''huacas'', and ''aclla chaupi catiquin sumacs'' who wove clothes and worked on chacras.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> 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.<ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978"/>

==Social significance== While ''acllas'' 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 ''aclla'' as those who were married to provincial leaders were given their own land and command over the laborers who worked the land.<ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978"/>

The use of ''acllas'' was tied to kinship and the maintenance of hegemony within the empire. The family of a chosen ''aclla'' would be raised in social status. The ''acllas'' themselves would honour the main Inca gods 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 ''aclla'' had been blessed by the Emperor and became the guardian of the local ''huacas''. This signaled the entrance of the empire into local tradition and religion.

''Acllas'' 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 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 ''aclla'' as a wife also received all of the skills she could provide which allowed that person significant power.<ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978"/> ''Acllas'' 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.<ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978"/> Their presence is noted at the ritual site of Huanaco Pampa, where the structures that have been excavated suggest a large presence of ''acllas'' 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.<ref name="Bullock, Tori 2011"/>

While less common, there is some evidence that ''acllas'' 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.<ref name="Gose, Peter 2000">Gose, Peter. "The State as a Chosen Woman: Brideservice and the Feeding of Tributaries in the Inka Empire." ''American Anthropologist'' 102, no.1 (2000): 84-97</ref> In a ritual context, they were an extremely valuable sacrifice because they represented the capacity for so much potential wealth through 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 ''acllas''. The story of Tanta Carhua is one such account of the process of binding the centre and the periphery together.<ref name="Nova - Ice Mummies">{{cite web |author=Liesl Clark |title=The Sacrificial Ceremony |website=PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/peru/worlds/sacrifice1.html |access-date=2011-02-13}}</ref>

Colonial documents contain a record of Tanta Carhua, who was sacrificed as a ''capacocha'' in her home ''ayllu'' 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."<ref name="Nova - Ice Mummies" /> Upon her return home, Tanta’s father became the ''curaca'' of his ''ayllu''. 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."<ref name="INCA IMPERIAL DILEMMAS, KINSHIP, AND HISTORY" />

==Gendered significance and misunderstandings== 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 ''yanakuna'' was through their role in reproduction. ''Acllas'' 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.<ref name="Gose, Peter 2000"/><ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978"/> This same requirement was not placed on the ''yanakuna''.

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 ''aclla'' 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.<ref name="Silverblatt, Irene 1978"/> This does not accurately represent their position in their unique cultural context.

==See also== * Vestal Virgin == References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Inca Category:Forced labour Category:Religious occupations Category:Gendered occupations Category:Inca society Category:Priestesses Category:Virginity Category:Arranged marriage