War and a Semblance of Peace in the Inca Heartland

There is a great deal more to know about how the practice of war was
embedded in Andean societies. We end knowing less than we might want to
know. There was more to the story then, but considering the time that has
elapsed since the information was gathered, we end knowing quite a lot.
Abstract
From interview transcripts and other written sources drawn from native
testimony about warfare, an image can be developed of the conduct of war in
the Inca heartland just before and during the Inca expansion. Captains, or
cinchecona, were chosen when needed for defense. These individuals were
successful as leaders in armed conflict. Their descendants were expected to
possess the same qualities, but these had none the less to be demonstrated.
What marked the Inca expansion was a contest among groups who claimed to
be capaccuna. This status was hereditary: not just the captain but those
connected through a genealogical tie shared. Capac status also had to be
demonstrated through success in armed conflict, so the Incas needed a showy
victory each time they campaigned. Their interests were better served, however,
if most of the peoples they encountered on their campaigns submitted without
engaging them in battle. Peace was a by-product of submission, under these
circumstances.
Our sources are biased in favor of the period of Inca expansion, but a
general trend toward the development of ritual practices and institutions
related to warfare is evident. Inca accounts of their successes stress the
movement of their armies, the handling of captives and booty, the celebration
afterward of a successful campaign -both on the road and in Cuzco, and the
treatment of Inca and enemy dead, all suggest that the institutionalization of
success in a single group led to a formalization of the practices related to
warfare.
Resumen
Partiendo de transcripciones de entrevistas y de otras fuentes escritas,
derivadas del testimonio indígena acerca de la guerra, uno puede formarse una
idea de cómo se llevaban las campañas bélicas en el epicentro del territorio
inca, justo antes y durante la expansión inca. Los capitanes de guerra, o
cinchecona, eran elegidos cuando se los necesitaban para la defensa del grupo;
se trataba, en todo caso, de líderes que tenían que probar su condición en
conflictos armados. Se esperaba que sus descendientes exhibieran las mismas
cualidades, pero éstas tenían que ser demostradas.
Lo que marcó la expansión inca fue la contienda entre grupos que
reivindicaban el estatus de capaccuna; era hereditario, no sólo en el caso de los
capitanes de guerra, sino también en el caso de aquéllos que estaban
conectados por vínculos genealógicos compartidos. El estatus de capac también
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