YANACONAZGO: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS, DIFFERENCE WITH MITA - HISTORY - 2025

The yanaconazgo is a form of servitude close to slavery that occurred during pre-Hispanic America, especially in the splendor of the Inca civilization. This institution consisted of a selection made by members of the royalty in the villages, where they chose who would be their personal servants or slaves.

This personal servitude was known by the name of the yanaconas or yanas, who once selected by the royalty lost all ties with their village of origin and with their acquaintances. From that moment on, the yanas depended completely on the Inca nobility to survive, and this had to provide them with food and clothing.

The yanaconazgo was a form of servitude similar to slavery. Source: Juan Mauricio Rugendas (1802-1858)

When the Spanish arrived in the American lands they decided to maintain this tradition to benefit their own colonizing interests, so they used the yanaconazgo to obtain labor in an easy way. Consequently, the yanas were no longer used for domestic work but for agricultural, herding and transportation activities.

In fact, the name “yanacona” comes from Quechua yanakuna, which means “slave of the nobility”. Some linguists and historians consider that the Europeans gave a wrong use to the Quechua word, since they translated it as “helper” or “auxiliary”.

Later the word was nourished by a strongly pejorative character, since the "auxiliary" Indians of the Spaniards not only carried out their agricultural work but also participated as complementary in the battles against other indigenous civilizations.

For this reason, the Mapuches and other American ethnic groups used the word "yanacona" in its meaning of "cowardly" and "servile" to refer to those Indians and Incas who participated as soldiers in the Spanish army.

Origin

The Inca civilization is historically and archaeologically known for its radical and hierarchical social division. This is because the lower social strata lived in simple villages and had little participation in the different events and happenings of the pre-Columbian city.

In contrast, members of the nobility (such as priests and princes) enjoyed many comforts and had access to art and other branches of knowledge, such as mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.

The lowest echelon of Inca society was occupied by the yanas, who were so called when they could not prove that they belonged to some important ayllu; this made them third-rate citizens.

For their part, the ayllus or cacamares were the members of a form of family community who shared a common descent that could be real or supposed. The ayllus worked collectively in an assigned territory and had a leader or prince who commanded the activities to be carried out.

characteristics

As a social institution and form of service, it can be said that the yanaconazgo has the following characteristics.

Strictly hierarchical system

The yanaconazgo is an overwhelming proof of the highly hierarchical and stratified social and economic system that developed in the splendor of the Inca civilization, since only the nobility had the power to choose their servants. The lower strata, such as peasants or artisans, could not acquire yanas.

Selective method

Usually the nobles and Indians with high political office selected their own personal servants. Of course, it had to be made up of people without purchasing power and without a designated ayllu.

That is, the yanas were not taken at random, but there were certain parameters that had to be taken into account. For example, the name and prestige of the family was very important in these cases.

Dependency of the high lords

After being selected by the nobility, the Yanaconas completely lost their autonomy and independence, so they depended on the nobles for food and clothing.

Furthermore, the yanas had no right to comment on their situation; once they became personal servitude, they did not leave their post until the day of their death.

Access to knowledge

According to some sources that have not yet been fully verified, the Yanaconas had access to certain types of knowledge.

Consequently, these individuals could be specialists in the mastery of various arts and used to support their masters in some activities depending on the qualities that the serfdom mastered.

As a consequence of this, some yanas were kurakas (knowers) or kipukamakuk (assistant in the statistics of the lords). They also had yachk (wise men) and yachachik (teachers). However, this cannot be fully endorsed as it may be a linguistic confusion within the translation.

Difference with mita

The mita consisted of an occasional tribute that was made for the common good of the community and was used or executed regularly in the Inca Empire.

Each family or community had the obligation to send a group of servants or workers, who were dedicated to carrying out some architectural works or other types of community work.

The families or communities that sent them had to provide them with food and transportation throughout the performance of the work or activity. During the Spanish occupation, the mita was used by the settlers at their convenience to develop mining.

Likewise, in the process of conquest the caciques or family leaders were in charge of organizing this event.

The mitayos had to travel with their families to the mines and in return received a salary; however, this was not enough to live with dignity. This type of situation had a notorious influence on the demographic loss of the indigenous people.

What was the yanaconazgo like in colonial times?

The yanaconazgo, like the mita, was a modified institution used by the Spanish colonists when they settled in the Americas.

Under the western yoke, the yanas were obtained by the Spanish in order for them to carry out agricultural and transportation work, which was notoriously different from the work activities carried out by these indigenous people under the mandate of the Inca nobles.

In addition, the yanaconazgo was used by the conquerors as a form of punishment towards those who did not agree with the conquest and occupation. During this period the Yanaconas belonged to the estates of the colonists and were sometimes sold or exchanged between the feudal lords.

References

1. Claudio, C. (2014) Mita and yanaconazgo: exploitation of the aborigines. Retrieved on June 18, 2019 from History and Biographies: historiaybiografias.com
2. Cuena, F. (2006) Yanaconazgo and Roman law. Retrieved on June 18, 2019 from Scielo: scielo.conicy.cl
3. Garate, H. (2019) El Yanaconazgo. Retrieved on June 18, 2019 from The History Chest: elarcondelahistoria.com
4. A. (2015) Yanaconazgo. Retrieved on June 18, 2019 from Encyclopedia: encyclopedia.us.es
5. A. (sf) Concept of Yanaconazgo. Retrieved on June 18, 2019 from De Conceptos: deconceptos.com
6. A. (sf.) The yanaconazgo. Retrieved on June 18, 2019 from Google Sites: sites.google.com