Las panacas y el poder en el Tahuantinsuyo

This analysis of the word and category «panaca» is examined based on the bibliography on the Incas and the available colonial sources. The traditional division of the Cuzqueño nobility in 10 or 12 panacas is disputed and it is proposed that the elite of the Cuzco of was divided into two groups of nobles: a main nobility called Cápac Aillu, and a secondary one called Hatun Aillu. Cápac Aillu was made up of the descendants of the Incas by noble women (pana), and Hatun Aillu included the descendants of the incas by other women belonging to the local elites. It is concluded that the so-called panacas were, in fact, the aillus made up of the descendants of the noble women identified as «pana».