Uncu (Unku) was a men's garment 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 admin ...

. It was an upper-body garment of knee-length; Royals wore it with a mantle cloth called '' yacolla.'' Women wore a long dress known as an anaku.

Structure

Uncu was similar to a long

tunic A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...

, ranging between 84 and 100 cms, with a 72-79 cms width range. However, the length of the highland and coastal garments was different; Uncu in the highland were sleeveless and longer than the coastal tunic. Kings, nobles, and ordinary people all wore Uncu. The design and motifs for these dresses were rank-, cultural-, and event-specific. For example, capac uncu was a rich, powerful shirt worn by Inca Roca (the king). Inca royals clothing consisted of ''

tocapu Tocapu (Tocapo or Tokapu) was a decorative artwork with discrete geometrical motifs. It was associated with Andean textiles, especially for the use of the Royals' clothing. Tocapu was also painted on wooden boards. Motifs Tocapu was an integra ...

'' an art of geometric figures enclosed by rectangles or squares. Each garment was woven individually.

Material

Ordinary Uncu was made from cotton blending with various

camelidae Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, ...

fibres such as

llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

, guanaco, and

vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which live ...

, but for royal use, a whole finest cloth (

cumbi Cumbi (Qunpi, Qompi, Kumpi) was a fine luxurious fabric of the Inca Empire. Elites used to offer cumbi to the rulers, and it was a reserved cloth for Royalty. Common people were not allowed to use Cumbi. Cumbi was a phenomenal textile art of And ...

) was used.

Gallery

File:Uncu inca wari.jpg, Uncu File:Chakana inca detalle textil uncu 001.JPG, Uncu File:Tupa-inca-tunic.png, Inca tunic File:Peru, Inca, 15th-16th century - Tunic - 1957.136 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Inca Tunic, 15th-16th Century File:All-tocapu-sin-BV.png,

Tocapu Tocapu (Tocapo or Tokapu) was a decorative artwork with discrete geometrical motifs. It was associated with Andean textiles, especially for the use of the Royals' clothing. Tocapu was also painted on wooden boards. Motifs Tocapu was an integra ...

. Textiles worn by the Inca elite consisting of geometric figures enclosed by rectangles or squares.

References

Clothing Inca culture Indigenous textile art of the Americas {{clothing-stub