AYMARA KINGDOMS: HISTORY AND MAIN CHARACTERISTICS - HISTORY - 2024

The Aymara kingdoms were a group of peoples that emerged in Peru between the 10th and 15th centuries, just after the disintegration of the Tiahuanaco culture. They developed in the highlands located on the Collao plateau.

For this reason they were surrounded by the Andes Mountains and had Lake Titicaca as their development point. They spread along the coasts of Peru, through northern Argentina and in some places in Bolivia and Chile.

The Aymara kingdoms or lake kingdoms were made up of lordships. These were united by their language, the technology used and the style of their villages.

The most important kingdoms include the Pacaje kingdom, the Colla kingdom and the Lupaca kingdom, located in the western area of ​​Lake Titicaca.

These were conquered by the Incas and disappeared. However, today there are still descendants of these kingdoms in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

History

The Aymara kingdoms are part of the period of late regional development. These kingdoms arise along the Titicaca lake basin after the disintegration of the Tiahuanaco culture.

They were called Aymara kingdoms because they all had in common the use of the Aymara Amerindian language, which is part of Quechumara.

The Aymara kingdoms had a kind of government made up of the Colla, Lupacaca and Pacaje kingdoms. These were in charge of governing the smaller or weaker kingdoms and manors, among which are: Canas, Uros, Ubinas, Collaguas, Canchis, among others.

However, they were in constant disputes over the territories. That is why it is said that they did not achieve a consistent geopolitical unity.

Some Aymara kingdoms supported the Incas in the conquests of other civilizations. Paradoxically, the Inca Empire would later conquer them, dominating the Colla and making the rest accept their rule.

The Inca Empire was able to conquer them by taking advantage of the rivalries that existed between them, especially between the Lupacas and the Collas.

It is important to note that it was the Spanish who called these kingdoms Aymara, since before their arrival each one was only known by name.

The main Aymara kingdoms and lordships

The collas

It is one of the most important Aymara kingdoms that was part of what the Spanish called the Aymara tri-state. Power rested with three kingdoms that were in charge of ruling the smaller kingdoms.

They developed in the western region of Lake Titicaca and north of the city of Puno.

The lupacas

This kingdom was located southeast of Lake Titicaca. It was made up of seven subdivisions: Ilave, Yunguyo, Juli, Zepita, Ácora, Pomata and Chucuito.

The packages

The kingdom of the pacajes was one of the three Aymara kingdoms that made up the tri-state. It was located southeast of Lake Titicaca.

The gray hair and the canchis

There were two Aymara who were collaborators of the Inca Empire. They settled on the Collao plateau.

The ponds or charkas

The kingdom of the ponds was located in what is now known as the city of Sucre in the Republic of Bolivia, specifically in the upper basin of the Cachimayu River.

The carangas

The Carangas were kingdoms that developed their culture near the Lauca River.

The soras

They were manors located between the Corangas and the Quillacas.

The Aymara language

The Aymara language is a language that belongs to Quechumara. It has two aspects: the Tupino Aymara language and the Collavino Aymara language.

The Aymara language has been transmitted from generation to generation through speech, since it does not have a writing system.

Precisely because it lacks a writing system, the Aymara language has been lost. However, it is still dominated by some inhabitants of Peru and Bolivia, descendants of the Aymara.

A curious fact about the Aymara language is the way in which words are constructed through the use of suffixes. The Aymara language recognizes only three vowels: a, i, u.

The Aymara language has undergone certain changes due to the imposition of the Spanish. An example of that was the incorporation of a decimal numbering system. Originally its system was pentadecimal; that is, based on five.

Currently the numbers in Aymara are counted as follows: maya (1), paya (2), kimsa (3), pusi (4), phisqa (5), suxta (6), paqalqu (7), kimsaqalqu (8), llatunga (9) and tunga (10).

However, the numbers counted from the ancestral form of Aymara are counted as follows: maya, paya, kimsa, pusi, qalqu, maqalqu, paqalqu, kimsaqalqu, pusiqalqu, qalquqalqu.

Economic organization

The Aymara kingdoms had an economy based on livestock and agriculture.

Cattle raising

The Aymara raised llamas and alpacas. For the breeding of these animals the natural pastures of the region were used.

Llamas and alpacas provide the Aymara with wool, meat, and compost. They were also used as a means of transportation.

farming

The Aymara stood out in agriculture for the introduction of new planting techniques and for the use of compost.

- Agriculture techniques

The new techniques applied for the development of agriculture were the lakes and camellones.

The lakes are depressions that allow the accumulation of water. They have a double function: they prevent ponding and irrigate the furrows or ridges.

The ridges are furrows higher and wider than the cochas, and in these the planting of what is desired to be cultivated is carried out. Then, a furrow or ridge is created and a pond is created right next to it.

Through the application of these techniques, the Aymara managed to cultivate quinoa, potatoes, goose, and olluco, among others.

References

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8. Who are the Aymara people. Retrieved on November 3, 2017, from worldatlas.com