GLYPHS: THE SCRIBE: LANGUAGE

THE LANGUAGE
aclla		Girls between the ages of eight and nine selected by judges who traveled the empire for this purpose; attend special classes, acllahuasis, for learning womanly skills.
acllahuasis		Advanced school for the young women of noblemen.
Ama suwa, Ama quella, Ama llulla		Empire golden rules: do not steal, do not be idle, and do not lie.
amawtakuna		Philosopher-scholars.
apu		A great lord or other authority figure; governors of the four suyus (administrative regions) of the Wari Empire; god of a mountain.
awaska		Fabric made from llama wool as blankets and other household items.
ayllu		Clan or family.
balasas		Boats made from totora reeds—a subspecies of the giant bulrush sedge found in South America, notably on Lake Titiqaqa.
canca		Maize pudding prepared by the mamakuna at festivals.
capacocha		Human sacrifice; mainly children.
ceque		Borders or imaginary lines diving Wari Empire into sections, creating distinct districts that determined a person’s social, economic, and religious duties.
chaska		Bright star or planet corresponding to an animal on earth.
chasqui		Relay runners carrying news from village to village.
chucam		Herbs eaten during fasting.
coya		Queen or empress.
cumbi		Cloth, which sometimes took thousands of hours to produce, was burned daily as a sacrificial offering to the gods.
curaca		Clan chief.
cuyllors		Dim stars or planet corresponding to an animal on earth.
duhos		A magnificent stool on which mummified remains of sapas, noblemen, or coyas are seated.
huaca		Sometimes an inanimate object, such as pottery, believed to be vessels carrying deities; both natural and human-made places (such as springs, piles of rocks, or fountains) considered sacred; bodies of the dead.
huatia		An earthen oven.
Inti Raymi		Festival of the sun.
intiwatana		Stone with four carved faces aligned with the four directions casting particular shadows during the solstices and equinoxes.
jailli	pronounced whay-lyi	A hymn or poem that was usually set to music.
llawt’u		A series of cords wrapped around the head; each ayllu, or extended family, had its own headdress.
mallqui		Mummified remains.
mitmakuna		Entire communities of people moved—sometimes hundreds of miles to a new region—to form a new, secure settlement.
Muyucmarca, Paucarmarca, and Sallaqmarca.		Three towers that originally stood at the top of the walls of Sacsayhuamán, forming a triangle of equal distance on each side. The main tower, in the center, was cylindrical-shaped and was flanked by two others of rectangular shapes.
Quechua		The language and many dialects spoken within the Wari Empire.
quinine		Tree bark used to cure cramps, chills, and many other ailments.
khipu		Rope and colored threads used as mnemonic device in the recall of stories; especially good for tracking numbers and dates, accounting.
khipu camayoc		Accountants of the sapas.
mit’a		Mandatory public service in the society of the Wari Empire.
Pacarina		Heaven.
qollqa		Store rooms for harvested crops.
qunpi		Fine cloth made from alpaca wool.
Qurikancha		Most important temple in the Wari Empire; one of the most revered temples of the capital city of Qusqu.
rutichikoy		Ritual in which a baby receives his or her name, a haircut, and nails trimmed. It is also the day of weaning.
sapa		Ruler; emperor.
saqmanakuy		Casket; wooden box.
suyus		Administrative regions of the Wari Empire.
tambo		Hotel.
tumi		Golden ceremonial knife for sacrificing llama at the Festival of the Sun.
villac umu		Chief priest.
vicugna		Wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes; relative of the llama; believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas; produces small amount of extremely fine wool.
wara		Issued in a ceremony and worn under the loincloth as proof of maturity and virility by men.
yachaywasi		Houses of knowledge for sons of noblemen over the age of 13.
Yuncas		Native people from western coast.