Yanaconas

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Yanacona or Yanakuna (in quechua yana, a loan from the Muchik), is a word whose meaning in Spanish is servant. In the Inca Empire it was the name of the slaves of the Incas. They were to care for the herds of the nobles, do fishing, and were dedicated to other work, like the making of pottery, construction, and domestic service to the upper class. The Spaniards, during Conquest of Peru, began to use the name for the indigenous people they had in servitude, or in its encomiendas or in their military forces as "Indian auxiliaries". The word also was used during the conquest of Chile and other areas of South America.

[edit] Sources

• Ann M. Wightman, Indigenous Migration and Social Change: The Forasteros of Cuzco, 1570-1720, Duke University Press, 1990, ISBN:0822310007. Pg. 16-18
• Translation of Spanish Wikipedia Page