Chosen Women of the Inca Empire

The Chosen Women, or acllyaconas, formed a special class within Tiwantinsuyu, the Inca Empire; they lived apart from their families and communities, but they fulfilled a key social and economic role.

Inca officials selected the acllyaconas at about ten years of age, based on their physical beauty. A few, those whose beauty most approximated the Inca ideal of perfection, were sacrificed to the gods. The rest were taken from their homes, either to the provincial centers the Incas constructed throughout Tiwantinsuyu, or to the imperial capital of Cuzco. Many would journey far from their homes, never to see their families again.

Education and Marriage of the Inca Chosen Women

The acllyaconas were the only girls in the Inca realm to receive a formal education. In special schools in Cuzco or in provincial centers, the acllyaconas honed domestic skills such as preparing chicha (a favorite Inca beverage of fermented corn or fruit), cooking, and most importantly, spinning wool and weaving textiles. They also learned about Inca religion and cosmology. The teachers, or mamaconas, were themselves Chosen Women.

Once the acllyaconas completed their training, which occurred around the time they reached sixteen years of age, they served the state in different ways. Some, usually the descendants of conquered leaders or Inca nobility, became secondary wives of the Emperor or served as attendants at temples. Others were given as wives to Inca officials, sometimes to strengthen alliances with local leaders in the outlying regions of the empire. Still others became mamaconas, and provided instruction to new generations of Chosen Women.

Women, Clothing and Food in the Inca Empire

However, the majority of Chosen Women seem to have served as weavers and food producers in Inca provincial centers. Here, they prepared the textiles of llama and alpaca cloth that were an essential part of Inca life. The Incas used these textiles as payment for the army or as gifts for nobles and local leaders in conquered areas. Additionally, the Chosen Women prepared food and chicha for those subjects performing obligatory labor for the Inca state. All the male subjects of the empire had an obligation to provide labor periodically to the state, often in remote locations such as mines or frontier outposts. The Chosen Women ensured these large populations of workers received food and, in some cases, clothing. A significant portion of both the clothing and the chicha prepared by the Chosen Women was probably used in rituals, where textiles were often burned as sacrifices.

Social Status of the Chosen Women in Inca Times

The Chosen Women enjoyed some advantages in Inca society; they did not have to perform hard labor in the fields, and they enjoyed a steady supply of food and clothing, with whole estates dedicated to their needs. They often married important members of society or achieved significant social status as priestesses in temples.

However, the Chosen Women were denied the support of their families as well as the opportunity to participate in daily social life. Those who married had no say in selecting their spouse. Those who did not marry lived secluded from the rest of society, in separate compounds, and in a state of perpetual chastity. The Incas posted guards at the most important of these, and did not permit entry to outsiders. If the Inca authorities discovered that a Chosen Woman had established a relationship with a man, they buried both her and her lover alive. Still, this penalty was no less severe than that applied to adulterers in the rest of society.

The Inca state guarded and trained the Chosen Women so carefully because they played an essential part in maintaining the cohesiveness of what was, by the time Columbus sailed, the largest empire in the world.

Source: Malpass, Michael. Daily Life in the Inca Empire. Greenwood Press: Westport, 1996.

Inca woman weaving

Inca textile

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds