This dissertation examines the historical traditions and ritual representations of Incan society through the conceptual framework of dual organization. Broadly defined as the division of society into opposed halves, dual organization has been an enduring pattern of social classification in South America. In Pre-Hispanic times, it characterised the social and spatial organization of Cuzco -- the imperial capital of Tawantinsuyu -- which was divided into two asymmetric moieties, Hanan and Urin, composed of several elite factions. Analysis of this system has been hitherto restricted to a branch of ethnohistory informed by structural and cultural anthropology. Very few works have yet investigated the dynamics that linked dualism with the shaping of an historical consciousness proper to the pre-Hispanic ruling elite. The present thesis offers to fill this lacuna in modern scholarship by reassessing Incan narratives in the light of moiety division. In doing so, it identifies the traits proper to two distinctive bodies of Incan traditions, each of which encloses a particular, and mutually conflicting, representation of the past reflecting the moieties' respective perspectives. Such an approach not only harmonizes many discrepancies affecting primary sources on Incan society, but also enables a re-examination of other forms of dualist representation in Incan religion. Three case studies are therefore considered through this methodological approach: the structure of Incan cosmology, the seasonal division of the metropolitan calendar, and the ritual expressions of social antagonisms. The first case study suggests that Incan religion was divided into two sub-cults headed by divinities that were complementary in overseeing water regulation throughout the annual cycle. The second case study shows that the dual division of yearly activities did not coincide sensu stricto with the temporal setting of the Andean meteorological seasons, but rather followed a time framework guided by communal activities and astronomical knowledge. The last case study reveals that the formal model of the conical clan not only clarifies the underlying structure of Incan descent, but also enlightens the triggering mechanisms of Incan succession wars and moiety conflicts. The outcome of this work decolonizes the Andean past by refining our understanding of historical representations in pre-colonial societies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/229918 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Yaya, Isabel, History & Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, UNSW |
| Publisher | Publisher:University of New South Wales. History & Philosophy |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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