THE FIRST INCA

Who was Manco Cápac, the founder of the Kingdom of Cusco?

- Arisa Loomba

The Inca Empire was the largest of the ruling civilisations that existed before Christopher Columbus ushered in a period of Western colonisation in the region. Long before his arrival there was Manco Cápac: founder, son of the Sun and the guiding force of his ancestor-siblings. Fearsome and perhaps cruel, Manco is preserved in myth in worshipful remembrance. Central to Inca beliefs about the dawn of civilisation, historians are fairly convinced of his existence, yet our knowledge of him remains hazy.

Manco Cápac is said to have been the founder and first governor of the Inca people, the Sapa Inca. Born into a nomadic lifestyle in the ancient city of Tamputoco, he was of the Tambu tribe, for which his father, Apu Tambo, was a captain. When his father died

Manco succeeded him, becoming the head of the ayllu (family clan, organised under a system of local government). Made up of multiple nomadic families, the city ayllu travelled on routes similar to those detailed in the origin story of Manco and his siblings, likely arriving at the Cusco Valley, where they warred with the existing tribes. Manco’s tribe was small and inconsequential compared to many of the others in the valley, who saw the Inca as invaders. Time and time again, the early Inca were forced to defend their new city.