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Ñusta
Inca or Andean upper-class woman / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ñusta, which roughly translates to "princess" in the Quechua language, is a term for a highly noble or upper-class woman of Inca or Andean birth. Inca noblewomen were essentially part of the Inca Empire also called "Tawantinsuyu" where they spoke the traditional Inca spoken language "Quechua."[1] Ñustas were not full descendants of Inca royalty. Therefore, the Quechua term was used to denote the regional origin of the ñusta's non-royal parent. A ñusta could range from being the daughter or half-sister of the Sapa Inca himself, one of his lesser wives, or a wife or daughter of another high-ranking male noble, such as the heads of the local municipalities, Kurakas. The Spaniards recognized ñustas as noblewomen and added the Spanish term “Doña” to their Christian and Andean names.[2]
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As Ñustas were part of the Inca culture, there would be a large focus and heavily connection when it comes to familial relations. One of the most important foundations and ideologies was family unification and adapting to a bounded organization. They also engaged with the process of creating food surpluses, maintain economic prosperity and having multiple opportunities to establishing a stabilized society being part of the Inca civilization. [3]