Yanaconas
Sign in to saveYanakuna were originally individuals in the Inca Empire who left the ayllu system and worked full-time at a variety of tasks for the Inca, the quya (Inca queen), or the religious establishment. A few members of this serving class enjoyed high social status and were appointed officials by the Sapa Inca. They could own property and sometimes had their own farms, before and after the conquest. The Spanish continued the yanakuna tradition developing it further as yanakuna entered Spanish service as Indian auxiliaries or encomienda Indians.
~10 min read
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Etymology and spelling
- Inca Empire
- Spanish Empire
- First decades of colonization
- ''Yanakuna'' in mining and the ''mita''
- ''Yanakuna'' in other economic sectors and labor arrangements
- Modern use
- See also
- References
- Sources
Yanakuna were originally individuals in the Inca Empire who left the ayllu system and worked full-time at a variety of tasks for the Inca, the quya (Inca queen), or the religious establishment. A few members of this serving class enjoyed high social status and were appointed officials by the Sapa Inca. They could own property and sometimes had their own farms, before and after the conquest. The Spanish continued the yanakuna tradition developing it further as yanakuna entered Spanish service as Indian auxiliaries or encomienda Indians.
==Etymology and spelling== The word yana in Quechua, the main Inca language, means black, servant, and is possibly derived from the verb yanapa to help, Qosqo Quechua, yana, black, servant, partner, spouse, and paramour. The -kuna suffix in yanakuna indicates the plural, thus if yana is translated as "servant" yanakuna is "servants" or "slaves". Hispanicized spellings of yanakuna are yanacona and yanaconas.