In this section, Poma is describing the Inca census, and the categories
into which the population was divided (the "calles" or "streets").
There are two drawings for each
age group, one depicting a male and the other a female. The age group
is labelled in both Spanish and in Quechua.
For example, the lower left
drawing is labelled "QVNTA CALLE" ("Fifth Street") in Spanish, and "CIPAS CONA" in Quechua.
The figure of a young woman is spinning yarn with a drop spindle, a typical
task for her age. Below the figure, Poma gives the approximate age in handwriting,
in this case 23 (mislabelled 33 by Dilke).
(Note that almost every human figure in Poma's
drawings has something in his or her hands. In these drawings,
the boy on the upper left has a bird and a bola. The boy in the upper right
has a drop spindle. The old man in the lower right carries a staff.)
The table below lists the age groups, the approximate ages, and a short
description of the category excerpted from Poma.
(Description is from Dilke's translation, p.54-9.)
The series starts with the age group that is most
important to society (ages 25 to 50) then
continues upward with the "retired but active", then the "aged and inactive".
The next category has no age associated with it, but contains the
sick and handicapped. The rest of the series goes chronologically
downward from young adults to newborns.
Could this order represent the importance to society that each
age group represents? Or perhaps the esteem accorded each
category? I don't know; but I do feel certain that the
order is significant.
The second thing to notice is that the categories represent
functions rather than exact age ranges. The difference between
the Second and Third Calles, for examples, is that the Second
can be assigned more active tasks than the Third.
This tendency is most clearly
shown in the Fourth Calle (the sick and handicapped) which
has no ages associated with it, but is entirely functional.
In contrast, Western European census categories are often purely
quantitative: 0-5 years, 5-10 years, etc.
I wonder if these census categories indicate
an Andean tendency to see things in terms of their function in
society, rather than in strict quantitative terms. For example,
in locating villages, it might be more important to know the
number of days it takes an army to march from one village to the other,
rather than their distance apart in miles or kilometers.
The last thing to notice is the puzzling use of the word "calles".
I would guess that there is a significance to this choice of a
word. A "calle": a road you walk down. Could this indicate
a view of life in which individuals traverse definite paths,
changing from one mode of life to another at various intervals?
The answers to these questions I do not know. But I do know
they are worth pursuing, as are so many of the questions raised by
Poma.
The Ten Categories (Table)
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"Calle" Description
Age
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1st Calle "most important category included all the brave men
25 to 50 yrs capable of service in war."
"Likewise girls of the same age were primarily
regarded as suitable wives for fighting men."
2nd Calle "Those beyond their prime but still
fairly active..."
3rd Calle "the dull and sleepy old people, usually deaf as
over 80 yrs well, over the age of 80." (Pictured above, lower right)
4th Calle "The sick and the handicapped"
5th Calle Boys "were given the name of sayapayac, which
18-20 to 25 yrs means 'ready to obey commands'...Their
female counterparts were the girls who were
ready for marriage." (Pictured above, lower left)
6th Calle "The boys' main duty was to watch the flocks of
12 to 18 yrs mountain sheep [llamas]....The young girls...
performed various useful jobs..." (Pictured above, upper right)
7th Calle "Boys got their education in the fields."
9 to 12 yrs "Girls gathered flowers and herbs." (Pictured above, upper left)
8th Calle "began to be disciplined by their parents"
5 to 9 yrs easy chores
9th Calle "feeding at their mothers' breasts and learning
2 months to 5 yrs to walk"
10th Calle "still being rocked in the cradle"
0 to 1 or 2 months
Observations and Hypotheses
There are several things to notice about these categories. First,
the categories are not in strictly chronological order, as we might
expect. There is an order here, but of a different type.