languages??? how did I get here?

After my post about trees, I don’t think Jon is going to like this one either.

On page 7 of The First New Chronicle and Good Government, Quechua and Inca are listed as separate languages. I was under the impression that Quechua was the language spoken by the Incas. Was Quechua not the official language of the Inca empire? Is Inca perhaps referring to an more professional/elite/secretive form of Quechua used for administrative purposes? Also, there are so many variations (?) of Quechua, what would have been considered just “Quechua” back then?

On the same page, several other Indigenous languages are listed: Aymara, Puquina Colla, Canche, Cana, Charca, Chinchaysuyu, Andesuyu, Collasuyu, and Condesuyu. This sent me down a tangent.

• Aymara is an official language in both Peru and Bolivia.
• Puquina Colla appears to have gone extinct in the early 19th century, but has influenced the existing (but endangered) Kallawaya language spoken by the Kallawaya people in modern-day Bolivia.
• I can’t seem to find anything about the Canche language, though perhaps there is an alternative spelling that I’m unaware of.
• When I tried spelling Cana as “Kana”, I could only find a language in Nigeria and a dialect in the Philippines.
• Charca seems to be a dialect? subgroup? subcategory? of Aymara. I’m not in linguistics so I’m not sure what I would refer to it as.
• Chinchaysuyu referred to the northwestern region of the Inca Empire and was likely named after the Chincha people. Today, Chincha is a province in southwestern Peru where many dialects of Quechua are spoken, collectively referred to as Chincha-Quechua. However, the Chincha people themselves disappeared a few decades after the start of the Spanish conquest. I’m confused as to whether Chinchaysuyu refers to the language spoken in the northwestern region, to the language of the Chinca people, or to the variation of Quechua spoken in the southwestern province. Perhaps all three are actually the same language? Hence, I also can’t figure out if Chinchaysuyu is still spoken today.
• I am also experiencing a dilemma with Andesuyu. Andesuyu refers to Antisuyu, the eastern part of the Inca Empire. Numerous distinct Indigenous peoples call that region home, such as the Asháninka and Tsimané, and are now collectively known as Antis. These peoples also speak their own distinct languages. However, during the Inca reign, it seems only the Asháninka were referred to as Anti, so perhaps Andesuyu refers specifically to their language, which is still spoken today despite countless threats over the past five centuries.
  • Fun fact: “Andes” likely came from “Anti”. Although Anti was only used by the Incas to refer to the eastern portion of the modern-day Andes mountain chain, the Spanish may have generalized the term and used it to refer to the entire mountain chain.
• “Suyu” means “quadrant” in Quechua. The Inca Empire was divided into quadrants: Chinchaysuyu and Antisuyu as previously mentioned, as well as Qullasuyu (Collasuyu) (southeastern) and Kuntisuyu (Condesuyu) (southwestern). The latter two are also the last two languages listed that I have yet to discuss. Note that these quadrants are not of equal size, with Chinchaysuyu and Qullasuyu significantly larger than the other two, and that the corners of the quadrants met at Cuzco. Qullasuyu likely got its name from the Qulla people, who speak a form of Quechua called Northwest Jujuy Quechua (or simply Qulla). “Collasuyu” is likely referring to this language, which is still spoken to this day.
• Last but not least, Kuntisuyu, the smallest suyu of them all. There doesn’t seem to be much information about this suyu. As my understanding of the geography and peoples of Peru is not yet that deep, I’m unsure who inhabits this region and what language(s) they speak. Maybe another Quechuan language?

The Indigenous peoples of modern-day Peru include much more than the Inca, and there are many more languages than Quechua (or a form of Quechua?). This was a very shallow deep-dive that stemmed from my childhood habit of reading Wikipedia pages for fun. My word should in no way be taken as absolute because 1) I am an outsider with internet access but no real connection to these communities and 2) I have not even come close to encapsulating the depth and vitality of these cultures.

P.S. I read a cool fact about chinchillas that I need to fact check. I may also read up on ayllus because I briefly skimmed the Wikipedia page and realized I don’t understand local Indigenous self-governance (?) in the Andes at all.