Lot of people think ( Like I did before) that Inca means the powerful people of Incan civilization, but truth is that only the king of Inca society was called Inca or more precisely Sapa Inca. His wife was called Coya, who was the queen of that society. Only the family members could be future Inca. It is really difficult to imagine how powerful was the Inca King. As the people of that society believed that King was the son of the Sun, they followed their king with deep respect.

At those old days they divided their areas into four zones, which were Chinchaysuyu at NW, Antisuyu at NE, Qontisuyu at SW and Qollasuyu at SE. The governors of those four provinces met ... guess where! at Cusco. Yes, that was the capital. That is why we see so many remnants of Inca culture in Cusco.

Yes, they established civil services. Since the royals are not in a big quantity they established this system. Boys and girls of 13 years of old were tested by IQ test. Then those who passed, were taken to Scholl. Graduates of this school became nobleman. This persons served as civil services members.

Boys of all class had an initiation ceremony at about the age of fourteen. Unlike the girls' ceremonies, which were individual, the ceremony for boys was a collective one. In the villages a ceremony was held once a year. The mothers of the boys to be initiated wove breechcloth for them. At the initiation ceremony each boy received a man's name, put on the breechcloth his mother had made and joined the men of the village at the simple feast.

 

• Families of Inca

Family unit 

Inca society was formed on the basis of ayllu. In an ayllu all the people belong to a common ancestor. In an ayllu all members lived together. They had combined land and they cultivated together. Their ancestors body was kept in a place and they ( all descendants ) preyed for him. On any big occasion they get together and worship their common ancestor. Even at present days ayllu is a very important family and social unit. 

Women

As you see in the modern world, women were very important in Inca family. They took care of the children and also of household jobs. Inca mother loved their child the way we do. Mother took care of the baby from the moment it was born. The baby was placed on a cradleboard only when it was four years of old.

Growing up..

At seven or eight children were expected to help their parents. Boys began to herd llamas and alpacas, while little girls ran errands for their mothers.

Between the ages of ten and thirteen a boy began to work with his father in the fields. Children of farmers and craftsman began to work with their father when they became 10 years of old. At about the age of fourteen he was taxed as an adult. At fifteen he had to contribute his share of labor to the village mita. By helping and imitating their parents, the children of farmers and craftsmen learned all the skills they needed for life as adults.

When a girl reached maturity, there was a ceremony to introduce her into womanhood. During the ceremony the girl remained shut up in her home. She feasted for three days. First two days she ate nothing and on third day she could chew some kernels of corn. On the fourth day her mother bathed her and then she put on a new dress. A feast was held for her. She waited on the relatives in the feast and her most important uncle gave her a permanent name.