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A kuraka (Quechua for the principal governor of a province or a communal authority in the Tawantinsuyu[1][2]), or curaca (Hispanicized spelling[3]), was an official of the andean civilizations, unified by the Inca Empire in 1438, who held the role of magistrate, on several hierarchical levels, from the Sapa Inca at the head of the Empire to local family units.[4]
The kurakas were the heads of the ayllus (clan-like family units) and of federations of ayllus, called chiefdoms or curacazgos.[5] During the Inca Empire, the Sapa Inca governed with the help of the existing local hierarchies.[5] They served as tax collector, and held religious authority, in that they mediated between the supernatural sphere and the mortal realm. They were responsible for making sure the spirit world blessed the mortal one with prosperity, and were held accountable should disaster strike, such as a drought.[6]Kurakas enjoyed privileges such as being exempt from taxation, the right to polygamy and to ride in a litter.[4]
The kuraka was an aristocrat who frequently, but not always, descended from the previous generation.[7]Kuraka means 'superior' or 'principal', and his authority was granted by the Inca.[8] Each ayllu and chiefdom had four kurakas: two of them ruled the upper and lower (hanan and hurin) parts, and each of these had an assistant. However, of the four, one kuraka was superior to the rest.[9]
With the conquest of Peru by the Spanish, the Spanish system of rule utilized indigenous leaders as mediators to mobilize labor and tribute from their communities for delivery to Spaniards awarded those benefits in encomienda. The system was implemented first in the Caribbean islands, where such leaders were called caciques, then Mexico, where the Arawak term cacique was extended, and then in the Andean region, where the term kuraka persisted. Indigenous elites maintained their positions so long as they played their assigned role. In the late eighteenth century, the increased taxation of indigenous put pressure on kurakas' allegiances to their own communities and their desire to maintain their status in the colonial order. The 1781 Tupac Amaru rebellion, led by a kuraka, José Gabriel Condorcanqui, known as Tupac Amaru II, was the most serious challenge to the Spanish colonial order in the Andes since the Spanish conquest.
^Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)
^Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)
^Puerto Rico. Office of Historian (1949). Tesauro de datos historicos: indice compendioso de la literatura histórica de Puerto Rico, incluyendo algunos datos inéditos, periodísticos y cartográficos (in Spanish). Impr. del Gobierno de Puerto Rico. p. 306. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
^ abIncas: lords of gold and glory. New York: Time-Life Books. 1992. pp. 61. ISBN 0-8094-9870-7.
^ abItier, César (2008). Les incas (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. pp. 69–71.
^Ramírez, Susan E. (2005). To feed and be fed: the cosmological bases of authority and identity in the Andes. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. p. 135. ISBN 0-8047-4922-1.
^Timothy K. Earle and Allen W. Johnson, The evolution of human societies: from foraging group to agrarian state Stanford: Stanford University Press 1987, p.263
^Jean-Jacques Decoster; Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa; Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; Vania Smith; Bauer, Brian S. (2007). The history of the Incas. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 146, 147. ISBN 978-0-292-71485-4.
^McEwan, Gordon Francis (26 August 2008). The Incas: New Perspectives. W. W. Norton. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-393-33301-5.
A kuraka (Quechua for the principal governor of a province or a communal authority in the Tawantinsuyu), or curaca (Hispanicized spelling), was an official...
a pachaka kuraka (see below) could be appointed to their position by a waranqa kuraka. Furthermore, it has been suggested that one kuraka in each decimal...
waranqa kuraka. Furthermore, one kuraka in each decimal level could serve as the head of one of the nine groups at a lower level, so that a pachaka kuraka might...
term kuraka was preferred to cacique. After conquering the Inca Empire the Spaniards administering the new Peruvian viceroyalty had allowed the kurakas or...
region. It is pretty likely that the title held by each ruler was that of a Kuraka or sinchi, until the reign of Inca Roca, who imposed the term Sapa Inca...
Several noble leaders from conquered nations were also present, mostly local kuraka-kuna from the towns nearby, however, there were also notable Tawantinsuyu's...
Hispanic American Historical Review 50.4 (1970): 645–664. Spalding, Karen. "Kurakas and commerce: a chapter in the evolution of Andean society." Hispanic American...
frequently coming from the families of non-Inca provincial leaders of the kuraka class. They were chosen based on their beauty, skills, and intelligence...
this way in honor of the epiphany, on territories that had been of the kuraka Taulichusco. The explanation of this name is due to the fact that "around...
and baronets French-Canadian nobility Brazilian nobility Cuban nobility Kuraka (Peru) Mexican nobility Pipiltin United States – While its constitution...
Ruiz Martín 1996, p. 465. Gibson 1964. Spalding, Karen (November 1973). "Kurakas and Commerce: A Chapter in the Evolution of Andean Society". Hispanic American...
each of the societies. There were intense rivalries between the Aymara kurakas of Chucuito, from the Lupaca Kingdom, and Hatunqulla, from the Colla Kingdom...
group, the whole group being directed by a kuraka (warlord) of the same ethnicity. In the event that a kuraka fell in battle, a replacement was appointed...
kings of Quito, the last of whom, Cacha Duchicela, would have been the Kuraka (Inca cacique) defeated and killed by the Inca Huayna Cápac. Paccha, the...
administrative districts called repartimientos. Each repartimiento was headed by a kuraka. The second issue was imposing a regularized system of taxation which was...
separated into a male and a female line. The ruler of an ayllu was the kuraka, or chief, called kamachikuq. Each ayllu owned a marka, or village. The...
Spanish colonization of the Americas Spanish Empire Viceroyalty of New Spain Kuraka Criollo people The coat of arms of Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty...
Taulichusco, also called the Elder (Spanish: El Viejo), was an Incan kuraka who administered part of the Rímac Valley in the mid-16th century. The Stone...
Panaka A panaca or panaqa, or panaka was a family clan of the Sapa Inca, the kuraka or emperor of the Inca Empire. The panacas were formed by the descendants...
Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022. Kuraka, Ryu (September 25, 2022). 女性W主人公の時代到来? 『リコリス・リコイル』と『シャドーハウス』の共通点. Real...
of lower rank could only have one wife; people of higher ranks than the kuraka were allowed more. If a man had more than one wife, one served as the principal...
glorious epic stories and hymns in tribute to his achievements. Numerous kurakas do not hesitate to recognise his skills and identify him as the "Son of...