The Coya Mama Ocllo Coya or only Mama Ocllo (Mama Uqllu ''iskay ñiqin'', fl 1493), was a princess and queen consort, ''Coya'', of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

by marriage to her younger brother, the

Sapa Inca The Sapa Inca (from Quechua ''Sapa Inka'' "the only Inca") was the monarch of the Inca Empire (''Tawantinsuyu''), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State. While the origins of the position are mythical and ...

Topa Inca Yupanqui Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui ( qu, 'Tupaq Inka Yupanki'), translated as "noble Inca accountant," (c. 1441–c. 1493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–93) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pachacuti, and h ...

(r. 1471–1493).

Life

Mama Ocllo was the daughter of the Inca

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui ( qu, Pachakutiq Inka Yupanki) was the ninth Sapa Inca (1418–1471/1472) of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the Inca Empire ( qu, Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca site ...

, and the sister of Topa Inca Yupanqui. She married her younger brother in accordance with custom and became his legitimate spouse and queen. She was the mother of

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (with many alternative transliterations; 1464/1468–1524) was the third Sapan Inka of the Inca Empire, born in Tumipampa sixth of the Hanan dynasty, and eleventh of the Inca civilization. Subjects commonly approached Sapa Inkas add ...

and

Coya Cusirimay The Coya Coya Cusirimay ( floruit 1493), was a princess and queen consort, ''Coya'', of the Inca Empire by marriage to her brother, the Sapa Inca Huayna Capac (r 1493-1527). She was said to be responsible for the relief and well being of her peo ...

Queen

Queen Mama Ocllo is described as a dominant figure, "desirous for wealth" and remembered for her stratagems by which she was to have wielded great influence upon the affairs of state. According to

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

, the queen assisted her spouse in the conquest of a city in

Chimor Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture. The culture arose about 900 AD, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, fifty ...

ruled by a female ''Capallana'' - the city was possibly Tumbez. When the ''Capallana'' refused the Inca's request to submit, Mama Ocllo asked her spouse to allow her to intercede and promised to give him the city without the loss of a single warrior. She had a message sent to the female ruler, that her courage had saved her city and that the Inca army would let it be. She only asked that the Inca ambassador bringing this news would be celebrated with a fest in honor of the gods of the sea, which naturally would take place on boats. When the whole city was occupied afloat at sea to celebrate, the Inca army stormed in and took the city. The ''Capallana'' herself became the personal captive of the queen in recognition of the role she had played in the conquest.

Later life

At the death of her spouse, Topa Inca Yupanqui, in 1493, her son and heir, Huayna Capac, was still a minor. The favorite concubine of her late spouse, Ciqui Ollco, attempted to place her minor son Capac Huari on the throne by spreading planting the rumor, with assistance of a female relative, that the late Inca had willed the throne to Capac Huari. It was queen dowager Mama Ocllo who prevented this attempted coup by planting the rumor that Ciqui Ollco was a witch, had her and her female relative arrested (and probably executed), exiling Capac Huari to Chincheru, and had her own son installed as the next Inca. Huayna Capac, reportedly, never forgot that he owed his throne to his mother, and dedicated that her villa at Picchu be made a holy ''

huaca In the Quechuan languages of South America, a huaca or wak'a is an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind. The term ''huaca'' can refer to natural locations, such as immense rocks. Some huacas have been ass ...

'' in remembrance. Mama Ocllo reportedly died shortly after having secured the throne for her son. The regency during her son's minority was handled by the cousin of her late spouse.

References

* Burr Cartwright Brundage: Empire of the Inca * Susan A. Niles: The Shape of Inca History: Narrative and Architecture in an Andean Empire * Reiner Tom Zuidema: The Ceque System of Cuzco: The Social Organization of the Capital of the Inca * Helen Pugh: Intrepid Dudettes of the Inca Empire (2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Coya, Mama Ocllo Inca royal consorts 15th-century births 15th-century indigenous people of the Americas 15th-century women Year of death unknown