Inca Traditions Today

Much of the Inca traditions still survive among many parts of South America, especially Peru. Quechua is still spoken today by about 13 million people in isolated villages in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Northern Chile, Argentina, and South Colombia. Today a majority of Peruvians would fall in the Mestizo category. The Mestizo race was created during the year the Incas have been conquered by the Spanish. Mestizo is a person of part- American Indian and part- European heritage. About 45 percent of the people in Peru are Native American, 37 percent are Mestizo, and 15 percent are European descendants. The social organization in the Andeans region is still based on the ayllu where work, marriage, and land-ownership are centered in a complex extended family organization. Curing ceremonies that were used by the Incas to cure the sick are used today in Peru. The clothing styles that are currently worn by the Andean were worn by their Incan ancestors. Much of the jewelry in Peru is made with gold, silver, and spandylus shell. Ancient figures are commonly used to make jewelry designs, for example the tumi. The tumi is a ceremonial knife that was used in Inca sacrifices and also today one of the most popular designs in Peruvian jewelry.

"Inca History & Culture and its Effect on Peruvians Today." Colored-stone.com. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. .

"Inca (Quechua)." MNSU. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. .

Conquest

The first time the Incas encounter a white man was the year 1525 when the Incas where attacked by the the Chiriguano, a Native American Tribe from Paraguay. Aleixo Garcia, a Portuguese explorer, fought with the Chiriguano and was later murdered by his Indian allies. In 1832, Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro and 180 of his men arrived in Peru. At first, the Incas believed that Pizzaro was their creator god Viracocha. Pizarro launched a surprise attack on the Incas. Since the Inca Empire was already weakened before the Spanish explorers arrived by a series of civil wars, it was easy for the Spanish to conquer the Incas. Pizzaro later gain control of the Inca capitol, Cuzco, and took advantage of the wealth in the land to expand his Spanish rule even further. The leader of the Incas, Monco Capac II, escaped Cuzco to create a new Inca state and rebel against the Spanish rule. Small Inca kingdom that built in the difficult terrains at Vilcacabamba survived another 36 years. The Spanish were so determined to destroy the Inca Kingdom. In 1572, the Spanish finally captured the last Emperor of the Incas and beheaded him which ended the Inca dynasty.


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"Francisco Pizarro." Historic World Leaders. Gale Research, 1994. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/
"Aleixo García." Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. 5 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/