Contarhuacho, a biography

Curaca

Pachakutik's grandson, Huayna Capac, became emperor in c.1493. Around 1513, he visited Huaylas and to reinforce his power in the region, he married the teenaged Contarhuacho and also Añas Collque, daughter of the curaca of Hurin Huaylas.

Huayna gave his new wives Contarhuacho and Añas Collque the positions of curaca of Hanan Huaylas to the north and curaca of Hurin Huaylas to the south, respectively. Each part of the empire had this division of 'hanan' and 'hurin', the former comprising a larger area than the latter. Thus, Contarhuacho ruled a slightly larger area than her counterpart, had greater prestige and Añas Collque was subordinate to her. A curaca's role was to approve any marriages in his area, as well as to make sure that people paid taxes and healthy people worked. Above the curacas in the Inca hierarchy were the provincial governors and below them the camayoc, lower-level leaders.

After the marriage, Huayna Capac gave Contarhuacho a large number of indigenous servants, including 300 women, and placed 6000 households under her jurisdiction. The local indigenous people admired the curaca not only because she was one of the emperor's secondary wives, but also because she functioned as an ambassador for her area when she went to live in Cusco. This was another way in which she exercised a certain degree of political and economic power.

As for her domestic life, Contarhuacho had two children with her husband. The first was a boy who died in infancy, and the second was a girl born around 1516 whom they named Quispe Sisa. Born in Cusco, Quispe Sisa was later baptised as Inés Huaylas Yupanqui, allowing her to marry Spaniards, which she did twice, both times to conquistadors, and gave birth to five children in total. Meanwhile, Añas Collque had a son with Huayna Capac named Paullu Inca in c.1520, born in Tiwanaku in present-day Bolivia, who later became the third Inca puppet emperor. About a year later, she gave birth to a daughter who was later named Beatriz Huaylas (and her Inca name was possibly Quispi Quipe).

In about 1528, Contarhuacho's husband, the Inca emperor Huayna Capac, caught smallpox and died. The disease had been introduced to the land by the Spaniards who were becoming acquainted with the area in order to plan their subsequent conquest in 1532. As a result of her spouse's death, the curaca Contarhuacho decided to leave Cusco and return to her homeland with her daughter, Quispe Sisa.