Upon publishing the first Collasuyo system on the blog earlier, we received questions about what Huacas and Ceques are.

So, we decided to create a specific blog to explain these two important terms and systems in ancestral knowledge.

Even so, we realize that the information provided is not exhaustive, as there is extensive research available for those who wish to delve deeper into this topic and satisfy their curiosity.

We hope this blog plants the seed of curiosity, serving as the beginning of new knowledge.

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Meaning

The Quechua Language Academy’s dictionary defines huacas (or wakas) as sacred Inca shrines or objects.

Inca huacas were sacred sites or objects of worship, including shrines, idols, temples, tombs, mummies, hills, rocks, lakes, or necropolises.

In Inca Cusco, people used the principles of connecting huacas and water sources to the center through lines, and they also divided the lands of different ayllus using these lines.

Since all these lines extend from the central point outward, they resemble the spokes of a wheel, leading to Albó’s (1972) designation of “radial organization.”

This is also where we draw the similarity to a bicycle wheel.

Families, or “ayllus,” often claimed descent from these sacred huacas.

The most significant Inca huaca was the Coricancha temple in Cusco, with other important huacas being the Huanacaure hill, Lake Titicaca, and the Inca rulers themselves.

Each huaca had its priest, called a tarpuntay, and was assigned to specific ayllus, royal families, or panakas.

In traditional Andean culture, it was inconceivable for an ayllu to be responsible for the care and worship of a huaca—specifically a water source—unless it belonged to them.

This belief stems from the idea that the ancestors who founded the ayllu emerged from the earth through natural openings, such as springs, lakes, and rivers (Sherbondy 1982).

This foundational act granted the ayllu comprehensive rights over the waters and lands they irrigate. Therefore, Andean tradition links the right to venerate a water source directly to the right to use its water.

In Cusco, there were 350 huacas organized hierarchically as Qollana (Principal), Payan (Secondary), and Kayao (Origin), akin to a large quipu.

The Four Royal Roads

In his book “History of the New World,” Bernabé Cobo describes how these lines extended from the Temple of the Sun and divided Cusco into four parts, corresponding to the four royal roads.

The shrines were distributed as follows:

• Chinchaysuyo had 9 ceques with 85 huacas.

• Antisuyo had 9 ceques with 78 huacas.

• Collasuyo had 9 ceques with 85 huacas.

• Contisuyo had 14 ceques with 80 huacas.

Totaling 41 ceques with 323 huacas.

Additionally, there were 4 huacas not precisely located within the ceques but belonging to Chinchaysuyo. In total, there were more than 350 huacas in Cusco.

Chronicles by Polo de Ondegardo, Cristóbal Molina, Bernabé Cobo, Pedro Cieza de León, and others indicate that these huacas varied in nature and function, including stones, springs, palaces, and more.

The Significance of Huacas

Water and Canal Systems:

• The Inca Empire’s irrigation infrastructure was essential for the agricultural productivity of the Cusco Valley.
• People regarded water sources for the canals as huacas, or sacred places, highlighting their religious significance.

Political and Civil Functions:

• Selecting them for inclusion in the ceque system was a political act that determined which ayllus (lineages or clans) received the privilege to reside in the capital city, Cusco.

Organizational Hierarchy:

• The assignment of canals and water sources to panakas reflected a deliberate and organized structure, rather than an unplanned evolution.
• The system revealed a planned and hierarchical organization of the Cusco Valley, demonstrating the centralized control of the Inca state.