Breaking Patterns: Female Leadership and Gender Parallelism in the War Rituals of the Pre-Hispanic Andes

Abstract

The Inca history distinguishes two transcendent episodes that defined its power and preeminence in the pre-Hispanic Andes: the foundation of the Tahuantinsuyo and the military campaign against the Chancas. In both events, gender complementarity manifests as a determining factor for their success. In the first instance, the joint efforts of Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo helped them overcome all kinds of obstacles and find the ideal place to settle. In the second, Pachacuti, the ninth Inca, achieved victory thanks to the assistance of a female leader named Chañan Cori Coca. This exercise of political and military authority is rooted in Andean cosmology, where the universe is conceived in terms of duality and complementarity. Taking into account these Andean principles, this article approaches gender parallelism in Inca war rituals, as recorded in chronicles from the sixteenth century. The objective is to highlight the active and significant participation of Andean women, symbolized by Mama Huaco and Chañan Cori Coca, as well as to demonstrate the crucial role played by women in the historical development of the Tahuantinsuyo.