Tumebamba, Tomebamba (hispanicized spellings) or Tumipampa (
Kichwa
Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia (''Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers.
The most widely spoken dialects are Chimborazo ...
for "''Knife Field''",
Tumi
Tumi ( ''Quechua'' for 'Knife', ''variants'': 'Tome', 'Tume'), is a generic term encompassing the many kinds of sharp tools utilized in pre- and post-colonial eras of the Central Andes region, Tumis were employed for a diverse set of purposes s ...
: ''Knife'',
Pampa
The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...
: ''Field'') was a former main regional city in 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 admin ...
. Tumebamba was chosen by the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
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 addi ...
(ruled 1493–1525) to be the Inca northern capital. The city was largely destroyed during the civil war between
Huáscar
Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Qui ...
and
Atahualpa
Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Empir ...
shortly before the arrival of the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
s in 1532. The Spanish city of
Cuenca, Ecuador
Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca, commonly referred to as Cuenca (Kichwa language, Kichwa: ''Tumipampa'') is the capital and largest city of the Azuay Province of Ecuador. Cuenca is located in the highland (geography), highlands of Ecuador ...
was built on the site of Tumebamba although a portion of the Inca city is preserved at the archaeological sites of Pumapunku and Todos Santos.
History
![Pumapungo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Pumapungo.jpg)
The Tumebamba area prior to the conquest by the Incas was called Guapondelig. The ethnic
Cañari
The Cañari (in Kichwa: Kañari) are an indigenous ethnic group traditionally inhabiting the territory of the modern provinces of Azuay and Cañar in Ecuador. They are descended from the independent pre-Columbian tribal confederation of the s ...
people had lived in this area for at least 500 years before the arrival of the Incas.
The Inca emperor
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 ...
(ruled 1471–1493) incorporated this area into the empire after long and arduous campaigns against the Cañari. His son and successor, Huayna Capac, was probably born in Tumebamba and was responsible for most of the Inca construction in the city. Huayna Capac envisioned Tumebamba as the northern capital of the Inca Empire and modeled the construction on that of
Cuzco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
, the Inca capital. Huayna Capac had a royal palace here.
[de la Vega, G., "El Inca", 2006, Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., Inc., ]
Spanish stories that Huanya Capac had building stones transported from Cuzco to Inca centers, including Tumebamba, in present-day Ecuador were confirmed in 2004. Archaeologists identified stone building blocks in Ecuador that had an origin in a quarry near Cuzco. The scholars found 450 stones, weighing up to each, that had been transported more than on
Inca roads
The Inca road system (also spelled Inka road system and known as ''Qhapaq Ñan''Qhapaq=rich, powerful, opulent, wealthy, privileged; ñan=road, way, path, route. Source "Diccionario quechua - español - quechua" Gobierno Regional Cusco - Cusco ...
traversing the high and rugged
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
. The Incas lacked draft animals and wheeled vehicles so the transport was by manpower only, possibly by laborers conscripted by the Incas among the peoples who had opposed their rule. The monumental task of transporting the stones also indicates the priority Huayna Capac placed on making Tumebamba an alternative or secondary capital of the empire.
In the words of a scholar, "These stones embodied the transfer of sanctity and power from the imperial capital to the city of Tomebamba in Ecuador, while their movement was a major public demonstration of state control over labor." The Inca also quarried building stones at
Cojitambo
Cojitambo is an Inca and pre-Inca archaeological ruin, a popular rock climbing site, and a small village west of Azogues, capital of Canar province of Ecuador.
The name is said by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism to derive from the Quechua langu ...
, in a straight line distance northeast.
Huayna Capac and many other Incas died in an epidemic (probably of a European-introduced disease) about 1525 and his sons Huascar and Atahualpa contested the succession. Several battles in the civil war which followed were near Tumepampa and the Inca city was largely destroyed. The Cañari inhabitants had taken the side of Huascar and were severely treated by Atahualpa.
Pumapunku and Todos Santos
The Spanish chronicler
Pedro Cieza de León
Pedro Cieza de León ( Llerena, Spain c. 1520 – Seville, Spain July 2, 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler of Peru and Popayán. He is known primarily for his history and description of Peru, ''Crónicas del Perú''. He wrote this ...
visited Tumebamba in 1547 and said, "Everything has crumbled and in ruins but you can still appreciate how grand it was." The city of Cuenca has been built on top of the old Inca city and whatever ruins remain are largely buried. The two surviving remnants of the Inca city are the ruins of Todos Santos and Pumapunku (or Pumapongo). The two ruins are within about of each other and near the Tomebamba River. Neither site has the finely-worked stone characteristic of Cuzco, perhaps meaning that these sites were of secondary importance in the Inca city and that the principal temple and plaza has disappeared beneath later construction. Based on finding spinning tools in the buildings excavated at Pumapunku, the site may have a residence for
aclla, the sequestered women of the Incas. A large artificial water pool, terraces, and canals resemble those at
Quispiguanca
Quispiguanca, also Q'espihuanca and Q'espiwanka, was a royal estate of the Inca emperor Huayna Capac (c. 1464–1525 CE). The ruins of the estate are located in the northern part of the present-day town of Urubamba, Peru at an elevation of .
...
, a royal estate of Huayna Capac in the
Sacred Valley
The Sacred Valley of the Incas ( es, Valle Sagrado de los Incas; qu, Willka Qhichwa), or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In c ...
near Cuzco.
The Manuel Agustín Landivar Museum is adjacent to the Todos Santos ruins and the Pumapongo Museum and Archaeological Park is at the Pumapunku ruins. xco.
[Niles, pp. 257–258]
Both feature exhibits about the
Indigenous people of the Americas
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the Ame ...
, the Cañari, the Inca, and the early Spanish settlers.
See also
*
Cusco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...
*
Vilcabamba
*
Huanuco Pampa
*
Shawsha
*
Pachacamac
Pachacámac ( qu, Pachakamaq) is an archaeological site southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. The site was first settled around A.D. 200 and was named after the "Earth Maker" creator god Pacha Kamaq. The site flourished ...
References
{{coord, 2, 54, 24, S, 78, 59, 48, W, region:EC-A_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
Inca Empire
Cuenca, Ecuador
Archaeological sites in Ecuador
16th-century disestablishments in the Inca civilization