GLYPHS: THE SCRIBE: LANGUAGE

THE LANGUAGE

aclla

Girls between the ages of eight and nine selected by judges who traveled the empire for this purpose; attend special classes, acllahuasis, for learning womanly skills.

acllahuasis

Advanced school for the young women of noblemen.

Ama suwa, Ama quella, Ama llulla

Empire golden rules: do not steal, do not be idle, and do not lie.

amawtakuna

Philosopher-scholars.

apu

A great lord or other authority figure; governors of the four suyus (administrative regions) of the Wari Empire; god of a mountain.

awaska

Fabric made from llama wool as blankets and other household items.

ayllu

Clan or family.

balasas

Boats made from totora reeds—a subspecies of the giant bulrush sedge found in South America, notably on Lake Titiqaqa.

canca

Maize pudding prepared by the mamakuna at festivals.

capacocha

Human sacrifice; mainly children.

ceque

Borders or imaginary lines diving Wari Empire into sections, creating distinct districts that determined a person’s social, economic, and religious duties.

chaska

Bright star or planet corresponding to an animal on earth.

chasqui

Relay runners carrying news from village to village.

chucam

Herbs eaten during fasting.

coya

Queen or empress.

cumbi

Cloth, which sometimes took thousands of hours to produce, was burned daily as a sacrificial offering to the gods.

curaca

Clan chief.

cuyllors

Dim stars or planet corresponding to an animal on earth.

duhos

A magnificent stool on which mummified remains of sapas, noblemen, or coyas are seated.

huaca

Sometimes an inanimate object, such as pottery, believed to be vessels carrying deities; both natural and human-made places (such as springs, piles of rocks, or fountains) considered sacred; bodies of the dead.

huatia

An earthen oven.

Inti Raymi

Festival of the sun.

intiwatana

Stone with four carved faces aligned with the four directions casting particular shadows during the solstices and equinoxes.

jailli

pronounced whay-lyi

A hymn or poem that was usually set to music.

llawt’u

A series of cords wrapped around the head; each ayllu, or extended family, had its own headdress.

mallqui

Mummified remains.

mitmakuna

Entire communities of people moved—sometimes hundreds of miles to a new region—to form a new, secure settlement.

Muyucmarca, Paucarmarca, and Sallaqmarca.

Three towers that originally stood at the top of the walls of Sacsayhuamán, forming a triangle of equal distance on each side. The main tower, in the center, was cylindrical-shaped and was flanked by two others of rectangular shapes.

Quechua

The language and many dialects spoken within the Wari Empire.

quinine

Tree bark used to cure cramps, chills, and many other ailments.

khipu

Rope and colored threads used as mnemonic device in the recall of stories; especially good for tracking numbers and dates, accounting.

khipu camayoc

Accountants of the sapas.

mit’a

Mandatory public service in the society of the Wari Empire.

Pacarina

Heaven.

qollqa

Store rooms for harvested crops.

qunpi

Fine cloth made from alpaca wool.

Qurikancha

Most important temple in the Wari Empire; one of the most revered temples of the capital city of Qusqu.

rutichikoy

Ritual in which a baby receives his or her name, a haircut, and nails trimmed. It is also the day of weaning.

sapa

Ruler; emperor.

saqmanakuy

Casket; wooden box.

suyus

Administrative regions of the Wari Empire.

tambo

Hotel.

tumi

Golden ceremonial knife for sacrificing llama at the Festival of the Sun.

villac umu

Chief priest.

vicugna

Wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes; relative of the llama; believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas; produces small amount of extremely fine wool.

wara

Issued in a ceremony and worn under the loincloth as proof of maturity and virility by men.

yachaywasi

Houses of knowledge for sons of noblemen over the age of 13.

Yuncas

Native people from western coast.