Ethnohistory

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Two Khipu, One Narrative: Answering

Urton’s Questions

Lydia Fossa, University of Arizona

In his article ‘‘From Knots to Narratives,’’ published recently in Ethno-

history, Gary Urton (1998) examines the use of the khipu in a judicial con-
text (in 1579 La Plata), as described in the legal documentation of the pro-
ceedings.1 The data registered in the mentioned khipu constitute the proof
presented by the plaintiffs. These khipu contain the quantities of goods de-
livered by the community of Sacaca, as tribute to their encomendero, dur-
ing a five-year period. One of the facts that intrigues that researcher is the
need for two khipukamayuq on the premises, apparently giving the same
report. Also, Urton wonders about the use of stones to count or do arith-
metical operations with the figures extracted from the khipu. At the end of
the article, Urton urges other researchers to offer new insights to the task of
understanding this code and its uses.2 This invitation motivated me to use
licentiate Polo de Ondegardo’s (1990a [1571]) Notables daños de no guardar
a los indios sus fueros as a source of information to answer Urton’s questions
about the need of having two khipu in court and the function of the stones
in the calculations. I suggest that each of the khipukamayuq belongs either
to Hanan or Urin, the two moieties in which spatial division is conceived
of in the Andes. They need to be together to give a full account of the taxes
paid. In my view the stones were used as tokens to add fractions into whole
units. The linguistic and semantic data that support Ondegardo’s contribu-
tions come from period Quechua/Spanish vocabularies. The comparison
of the information contained in both documents, the judicial report involv-
ing the people of Sacaca, and Ondegardo’s example of the Pava community

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454 Lydia Fossa

are pertinent, since both were produced in the 1570s in the Las Charcas re-
gion, a bilingual Aymara/Quechua area. Both documents deal with tribute
distribution and collection.
Ondegardo is widely considered to be a trustworthy source, having
written numerous relaçiones (reports) to the king and to various viceroys,
rendering careful and conscientious accounts of the ‘‘things of the land.’’ 3
Since publication is not the final goal of a writer of relaçiones (that could
bring fame and fortune to the author)—rather, the transmission of infor-
mation about issues pertaining to the Indies is—there is an inclination to
attribute more credibility to this kind of document than to a chronicle. In
addition, Ondegardo was an experienced public servant, having been an
officer of the Crown for more than thirty-two years in Peru when he wrote
his text. He was entrusted with various positions of responsibility under
several colonial authorities, which contributed to his intermediation be-
tween the ‘‘republic of Indians’’ and the ‘‘republic of Spaniards.’’
Notables daños is one of Ondegardo’s late works, dealing mainly with
indigenous tribute in the first decades of colonial rule, which he invari-
ably compares with that of the Inka.4 Ondegardo prepares that report as
a witness of the Pava provincia tribute distribution, which took place in
Las Charcas between 1565 and 1571. Ondegardo’s presence during this pro-
cess makes him an ideal informant, since he is personally and profession-
ally interested in becoming more familiar with native administration. This
attitude leads him to confirm the details of the agreements reached, since
he wants to verify the compliance with the required taxation. He intends
to demonstrate that if the native system is maintained, everyone will win.
Ondegardo strongly recommends keeping the native taxation system, for
it has been working successfully for the past four hundred years, accord-
ing to his calculations. He believes that Spaniards should continue using
this tax distribution and collection system for the benefit of the Spanish
Crown. This idea is not shared by other Spaniards, however, who believe
that native principales grow rich by stealing from the tax paid by the natives
under their responsibility, to the detriment of the Crown’s share.5 Onde-
gardo considers that his own descriptions of the way in which the natives
agree to distribute the amount of tax among tributaries of an encomienda
warrant that no one can steal under that system, and that there is nothing
more foreign to the natives’ wishes than to accumulate riches.
Since the khipu always show up when tax activities are described,
Ondegardo—though not deliberately—offers us a large number of refer-
ences that contribute to the understanding of that code and its functions.
One of the main uses of the khipu is closely related to the distribution and
the rendering of the tax gross amount. Ondegardo explains that in Inka
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Two Khipu, One Narrative 455

times, principales would distribute the gross tax amount among parciali-
dades, and would designate who would contribute with the necessary labor
to produce them. All this information was recorded in the khipu.
Ondegardo also uses information registered in the khipu when he
draws a pre-Hispanic historical framework or conveys the social and politi-
cal organization created by the Inkas.6 In these cases Ondegardo prefers to
use the word memorias (memories), especially when he declares having ob-
tained native historical information. Although the historical khipu is not
examined in this article, it is important to underline the existence of at least
two kinds: historical and accounting. The word memories is not used when
he is dealing with situations that are clearly referred to taxation; in this case
his word of choice is registros (records).
Authors of early documents had to resort to various communication
strategies, depending on their personal linguistic abilities. Ondegardo, hav-
ing gone through advanced studies at the University of Valladolid to ob-
tain his licentiate in law, had an above average command of Castilian. His
style also speaks of his formation as a lawyer. His knowledge of Quechua
General, or of an aymarized Quechua, was probably intermediate, the mini-
mum necessary to transmit basic ideas or to carry a simple conversation.
Quechua words were probably interspersed in his daily vocabulary, as is
usual in a situation of language contact. These characteristics of his linguis-
tic abilities are evident in his text, where he resorts to several strategies to
convey his points of view. Among other strategies equivalence was one of
the most productive ways the first Spaniards in the Indies had to make their
European readers understand the local issues described.7 Ondegardo is not
an exception. The ease with which different languages are included in his
discourse may be due to custom. In Ondegardo’s Valladolid, Arabic and
Romance peninsular languages were heard simultaneously. At the univer-
sity translations between Latin and Castilian were daily chores (Alatorre
1996). It is not surprising, then, that people used to living in multilinguistic
environments solved communication problems the way Ondegardo did.
The khipu used for tax purposes, according to Ondegardo, has the
basic function of recording the partial amounts of the gross tax burden dis-
tributed among the taxpayers and also of registering the amounts of col-
lected and delivered goods. All of the information provided by the natives
about those transfers comes out of the khipu: it is the data source for the
distribution of labor required by the Inka government, and later the source
of information regarding the delivery of goods to the encomendero. In this
context then, khipu have two main functions: the registration of data and
the rendering of accounts. As a stable means, it is used to report what goods
were delivered, what was each tributary’s part in the distribution of the tax
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456 Lydia Fossa

and the rotation of turns to produce the required goods. Also recorded are
who produced the goods, who delivered them, to whom, where, and when.
All of the references to khipu are in the plural in Notables daños, and in
the Sacaca document. Ondegardo always refers to khipu (quipos, quipus,
memorias, registros) in the plural because whenever he sees them, there
are several in consultation. This fact also implies the presence of at least
two khipukamayuq. This is one of the intriguing questions that surface
in Urton’s article: Why is it that there are two khipucamayuq in court,
each interpreting his khipu, to provide only one account? 8 According to
Ondegardo (1990a [1571]: 43), everything 9 was set up according to par-
cialidades:10 ‘‘Lo primero que hicieron [los incas señores] fue reducir los
indios a pueblos y mandarles que viviesen en comunidad . . . y que se con-
tasen y dividiesen por parcialidades.’’ [The first thing [Inkas did] was to
reduce Indians to live in pueblos and to order them to live in communities
. . . and that they be counted and divided by parcialidades] (45). He also
tells us ‘‘que fueron dos parcialidades, que la una se llama Anancuzco y la
otra Urincuzco’’ [there were two parcialidades, one of them is called Anan-
cuzco and the other Urincuzco] (ibid.: 40). Elaborating on this, and within
a taxation context, Ondegardo states that ‘‘los indios han debido [sic: divi-
dido] la distribución por ayllus y parcialidades’’ 11 [the Indians have divided
the distribution in ayllus and parcialidades] (ibid.: 74). Tax and its account-
ing are strictly governed by parcialidades.
According to Ondegardo (ibid.: 122), the provincias are associated
with territory occupied by specific ethnic groups: the province of the chan-
cas, that of the canchis, colla, and so on. The Hanan and Urin division or
complementariness exists within each ethnic group. It is worthwhile to
quote him extensively on this issue:
Y por la misma orden se hacía la distribución en cada Uno [sic:
Hunu],12 que si le cabía en la distribución general mil fanegas de maíz
luego se dividía por las provincias de aquel Uno [Hunu] y entendía
cada uno [sic: una] sacar de sus depósitos; luego juntas las dos par-
cialidades de aquellas provincias que en todas partes son Anansaya y
Hurnisaya [sic] y Anancuzco y Urnicuzco [sic], conforme a la lengua
y uso de cada una tierra los nombres, luego saben lo que les cabe y
cuánto se ha de distribuir.

Following the same order, distribution was made in each Hunu, in a

way that if in the general distribution it should account for one thou-
sand fanegas of corn, that amount was divided by the provinces of
that Hunu, and each one had to take [its part] out of the deposits.
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Then, the two parcialidades of those provinces together, which every-

where are Anansaya and Urinsaya and Anancuzco and Urincuzco, the
names [varying] according to the language and the custom of each
land, they promptly know what their share is and how much it will be
distributed.
It follows that the presence of two khipucamayuq with their respective
khipu is necessary in the Audiencia de Las Charcas in the town of La
Plata, because each one represents his parcialidad within Sacaca. Onde-
gardo (ibid.: 122) insists on the notion of unity between the set of khipu
belonging to each party: ‘‘sus hilos con sus nudos que era registro común de
las partes’’ [their threads with their knots which was the parties’ common
register]. Since two parcialidades, Hanan and Urin, form a unity which, ac-
cording to Ondegardo, is a provincia or repartimiento, the relationship be-
tween both parcialidades is that of complementariness. We can then imply
that the information contained in each party’s khipu is part of the total,
since each khipu registers only what was assigned to its respective parciali-
dad. That is why, to report the totality of the repartimiento’s account, it is
necessary to bring together at least two principales, as Ondegardo (ibid.:
164) explains: ‘‘para todo esto [pedir la cuenta] no es menester tratar con
más de con dos o tres principales en un repartimiento’’ [for all this (go over
the account), one only needs to deal with two or three principales in one
repartimiento]. In this stance, Ondegardo is speaking of a repartimiento,
where there are at least two principales, each representing his parcialidad,
who have to be dealt with at the same time, since only Hanan and Urin
together could render the gross total. The third party may be a principal
representing the repartimiento before native leaders in Inka times and en-
comenderos afterward.13
The two parcialidades need to meet to deliberate over tax distribu-
tion: ‘‘Hecha pues esta división general a que se hallan presentes a lo menos
todos los principales de cada parcialidad y los unos y los otros [de Hanan
y de Urin] llevan en sus quipos y registros lo que les cupo’’ [This general
division being made, where at least all the principales of each parcialidad
are present, these ones and the others (Hanan and Urin) record in their
quipos and registers what their share was] (ibid.: 154). Each parcialidad has
a record of what is due in the distribution of the tax burden. Now, on their
own, they redistribute that burden among that parcialidad’s taxpayers: ‘‘se
tornan a juntar cada cacique principal con sus sujetos y tratan de lo que le
cabe a cada principalejo’’ [they get together again, each main cacique and
his subjects, and deal about each principalejo’s share] (ibid.). Ondegardo
describes two hierarchical levels of distribution: first that of the principales
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458 Lydia Fossa

(parcialidades) and then that pertaining to each principalejo. To give the

total account of what was rendered, the inverse procedure must have been
followed. Once the principalejos have rendered their accounts to their re-
spective principales, the two representatives of the parcialidades meet to
count and validate their shares, rendering the grand total. Consequently,
we can assert that Urton’s khipukamayuq are one from Hanan Sacaca and
the other from Urin Sacaca.
In the manuscript Urton studied, the two sets of khipu ‘‘eran del
mismo tenor’’ (refer to the same subject). This previously unknown coinci-
dence raised some questions for Urton. He suggests some of the answers:
‘‘we do not know . . . if each khipukamayuq recorded only a part of the
complete tribute account’’ (Urton 1998: 414). Considering that khipu are
the ‘‘registro común de las partes’’ (shared registry of the parties), we are
now in a position to state that they are of the same tenor because they re-
ferred to the same account rendered based on complementary data. If this
needed clarification in the document, it may be as a courtesy to Spanish
officers who may have also wondered about the need for two khipukama-
yuq to be in court.
There was redundancy among the khipu belonging to different hier-
archical levels: ‘‘y aunque en el registro de los incas muy por extenso hal-
lamos memoria también cada provincia tiene sus registros . . . si impor-
tara algo pudiéramos muy bien colegir’’ (even though in the registers of
the Inka we find extensive memories, each province also has its own regis-
ters. . . . if it mattered at all we could very well compare them) (Ondegardo
1990a [1571]: 42). Information belonging to lower levels was also gathered
at higher ones, reporting larger than local sets of data. This is another way
of monitoring specific information from one locality and of having up-
dated quantitative data from all territories concerned. Khipu were native
administration’s basic accounting instruments, with corresponding hori-
zontal controls when consigning complementary information, and vertical
when the information registered was part of a multileveled, hierarchical set
of khipu.
In mentioning the two parcialidades, Ondegardo always names Hanan
first and then Urin. It is plausible that khipukamayuq of the same parciali-
dad would be named likewise. Ondegardo does not mention names in his
example of the Pava community, but Urton’s (1998: 414) document does:
Fernando Achacata and Luis Comba. As suggested, Achacata would be-
long to Hanan Sacaca and Comba to Urin Sacaca. Confirming it, Onde-
gardo (1990a [1571]: 153) speaks of the predominance Hanan had over Urin
in the following terms: ‘‘Sólo hay que la parcialidad de Anansaya de ordi-
nario que se le reconoce un poco de preeminencia para hacer las cuentas
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Two Khipu, One Narrative 459

en su casa y juntarse cuando él lo manda’’ [There only is that Anansaya

parcialidad, ordinarily, is recognized to have some preeminence to do the
accounting in its house and summon the other by his command]. This ‘‘pre-
eminence’’ extends to being called first, as an expression of respect.
The last question arising from Urton’s (1998: 433) article refers to the
combined use of khipu and stones, or as it is described in the legal docu-
ment: ‘‘E tomando sus quipos en las manos dixeron aver le dado lo sigui-
ente y puestas unas piedras en el suelo por las quales fueron haciendo su
quenta juntamente con los quipos dixeron lo siguiente’’ [And holding their
quipos in their hands, they said to have given the following items, and
placing some stones on the floor with which they were doing their calcu-
lations together with the quipos, they said the following]. Two steps are
indicated in this description: products can be enumerated, extracting the
information from the khipu; and total numbers depend on the calculations
made with the stones. Ondegardo (1990a [1571]: 151, folio 64) has a very
similar description in one of his examples:
Los cuales para dividir estos once mil pesos se juntan de todos como
treinta indios principales y quipocamayos que son sus contadores o
marcamayos [sic: markakamayuq] y puesto caso que dan sus voces con
sus piedras y machices [sic: mahices, maices] lafrisoles [sic: e frisoles] 14
puestos en el suelo con que hacen sus cuentas por la orden acostum-
brada. Finalmente, en menos de tres horas supo delante de mi cada
parcialidad lo que la cabía

Which in order to divide this eleven thousand pesos, all of them get
together, around thirty principal Indians and quipocamayos, who are
their accountants or marcamayos and given the case they say out loud
with their stones and maize and beans placed on the floor with which
they make their calculations following their custom. Finally, in less
that three hours each parcialidad knew, before my eyes, what was due
to it.
In Ondegardo’s description maize and beans show up besides stones as fur-
ther calculation instruments.15 Notice that in the first document, the Sacaca
one, the report is about a tax collection already done; in the second case,
Pava’s example, the description refers to the first step of the assigned tax
distribution. According to these examples, calculations are made when dis-
tribution is needed and also when the tax is delivered by each parcialidad.
This implies making different kinds of arithmetic operations: division and
subtraction in the first instance and multiplication and addition in the sec-
ond.16 Ondegardo (1990a [1571]: 121–22) confirms these two phases of the
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460 Lydia Fossa

tax administration: ‘‘entendida esta cuenta que ellos tienen en sus distribu-
ciones y en pagar sus tasas’’ (having understood this accounting they have
in their distributions and in paying their taxes).
Tax distribution between the parcialidades and within each of them
was made by quotas that varied from product to product: ‘‘[el tributo]
estaba repartido conforme a la calidad de la tierra . . . por cotas . . . ya
sabía cada uno qué parte le cabía, si era quinta o séptima o décima en la
distribución o veintena de aquello con que se mandaba acudir’’ [(tax) was
distributed according to the quality of the soil . . . in quotas . . . each one
already knew what was due, if it was fifth or seventh, or tenth in the distri-
bution, or twentieth, of that which was ordered to contribute] (Ondegardo
1990a [1571]: 121–122). Ondegardo indicates that each group contributed
with fractions of each product’s total. These fractions were different for
each product, since ‘‘en la distribución guardaron la orden de antes, con-
siderando la posibilidad de la gente y hacienda de la misma provincia’’ [in
the distribution they kept the old order, considering the possibility of each
people and the resources of the same province] (ibid.: 123). This fractional
system operated especially when there were several producers of the same
good in the area; for instance, corn crops at midaltitude plots or small coca
plantations scattered along hilly slopes. This fractional notion of produc-
tion aligns well with that of productive enclaves located at different alti-
tudes, pertaining to the same provincia or even parcialidad. Ondegardo
(ibid.: 123–24) provides us with further details: ‘‘las provincias del reino
estaba divido [sic] por cotas partes, de manera que si a alguna provincia le
cabían diez luego sabía cada parcialidad si era séptima o quinta o décima
parte con lo que había de acudir y la misma orden guardan hoy en la divi-
sión del tributo de un repartimiento’’ [the provinces of the kingdom were
divided by quota parts, in such a way that if any province was due ten im-
mediately each parcialidad knew if it was with the seventh or fifth or tenth
part it had to contribute and the same order is kept now in the division
of one repartimiento’s tax]. Contribution variability by parcialidad was as
wide as products they had to contribute with. We know that each prod-
uct had a different unit of measure and was packed accordingly, so its ac-
counting, storage, and transportation would be easier.17 To compute each
tax distribution, the combination of two variables was needed: the number
of tributaries and the product availability within each parcialidad.
When Ondegardo clarifies that khipu are used to record data that will
later be used to render accounts, he is talking about two different activi-
ties:18 to register and to count 19 or calculate, which require different in-
struments operated by the same persons.20 Urton (1998) infers this in his
study, but he doesn’t have enough data for confirmation. If what has been
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Two Khipu, One Narrative 461

registered in each parcialidad’s khipu was first counted, subtracted or di-

vided, when the need arises to render account, khipukamayuq have to re-
sort again to some auxiliary elements to make inverse calculations, like
adding or multiplying. There is also a division of functions between the
registration activity proper to the khipu, and the computations of that data
using other means.
The data a tribute khipu could hold consist of the product, the quan-
tity assigned and delivered by each parcialidad, and the date of delivery.
‘‘Ellos lo tienen en su cuenta y por registros . . . los años y tiempos y la can-
tidad que se habia dado en muchos años.’’ [They have it in their accounts
and registered . . . the years and times and the quantity given in many years]
(Ondegardo 1990a [1571]: 85). To make calculations with the amounts re-
corded and kept in khipu, natives resort to ‘‘tokens’’: stones, maize kernels,
or beans.21 These objects could be carved, painted, or marked in some way
to represent different quantities or multiples. They probably had different
sizes and colors, and perhaps size and color would be combined to express
different fractions of the same product.
In the case of Sacaca mentioned by Urton (1998), when a third party
needs a rendering of the accounts, the two parcialidades have to come
together to give the complete report, going over the original distribution:
the products contributed by each parcialidad as were registered in khipu
and the total quantities indicated by the stones. It is now clear why both
parcialidades had to count together: in part to check the amounts of items
delivered and in part to confirm that what was delivered was the total for
each province as a whole, adding the shares corresponding to each par-
cialidad.
The Quechua verb huñuy is better understood in this context, since it
means ‘‘to join,’’ ‘‘to put together into one,’’ or ‘‘to consolidate.’’ 22 When
khipu or ñisccay are the direct objects of this verb, as in khipukta and
ñisccayta, the verb acquires the sense of adding what was counted and of
summing up what was said. This meaning of khipu in Qquipucta huñuni,
in the context of Ondegardo’s description, is related to the total sum of
units that qualify as tax for a province; that is, the addition of what it
was ordered that each parcialidad should deliver. It also refers to forming
whole units or whole numbers that may have been fractioned before. The
words Diego González Holguín (1986 [1952, 1608]) recorded indicate what
the khipukamayuq are doing in court: consolidating each khipu’s account
into one.
For Domingo de Santo Tomás (1951 [1560]) the verb huñuy has a more
abstract connotation, stressing the ideas of ‘‘agreement’’ and ‘‘conciliation’’
between two individuals.23 This is exactly what the two Sacaca khipukama-
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462 Lydia Fossa

yuq are doing in Urton’s (1998) example: consolidating the amounts each
one has registered as given to the encomendero. There is further semantic
information regarding addition: Ttiuni (the first-person singular of the verb
t’iyuy) is presented by González Holguín (1986 [1952, 1608]) as having a
very similar meaning to huñuy, insisting on the idea of bringing subtotals
or parts together to form a grand total or a summary.24 Qquipucta is ttiuni’s
direct object, literally meaning ‘‘knotting together,’’ since the verb khipuy
(the infinitive of the same root as khipukta) means ‘‘to knot’’ or ‘‘to make a
knot.’’ According to González Holguín (ibid.: 371) yupay means ‘‘Yupani.
Contar y hazer quentas [to count and make calculations]. Yupay. Quentas
[accounts].’’ 25 In Yupani ttiuspa two verbs are joined, yupani (which forms
the main proposition) and ‘‘ttiuspa’’ (the subordinate clause introduced by
the suffix -spa). This form literally means ‘‘I count adding.’’ It is interest-
ing to note that González Holguín has established a semantic identity be-
tween khipuy (to knot) and yupay (to add) when he gives us ‘‘to add’’ in
his translation of the two verbal constructions where ttiuni appears. This is
probably due to a projection of the Spanish understanding of the situation
in which khipu were mainly seen being used, for the two activities were
usually done together: the counting and its recording or the calculations
with the amounts previously recorded. The mere existence of several verbs
that describe this activity in such detail is indicative of the liveliness it had,
and of the consequent need to identify each aspect of the calculations and
the way they were done. Their wide use made early lexicographers aware
of their existence, considering them useful additions to their vocabularios.
In the Sacaca and Pava cases the person appointed for counting or add-
ing does that aloud. The judicial document specifies that after placing the
stones on the ground ‘‘dixeron lo siguiente’’ [they said the following]. Re-
garding Pava, Ondegardo (1990a [1571]: 151, t64v) says, ‘‘puesto caso que
dan sus voces con sus piedras y [maíces y frijoles] puestos en el suelo.’’
[They call out loud with their stones [and corn and beans] placed on the
floor]. Accounting, then, is done before the principales’ view, on the floor,
and out loud so everyone can hear. It is a communitary, official act that
takes place before local authorities. Lexical confirmation of this activity
can be found in González Holguín 1986 (1952, 1608): 459: ‘‘Contar lla-
mando por ñudos. Qquipucama o manta huatucuni [To count calling out
by knots]. Contados assi llamando. Huatucuscca [Counted like this, calling
out].’’ Further study of the verb huatukuy is needed to identify its seman-
tic traces and its association with khipu. For the purpose of this article, it
suffices to say that the incorporation of these words in period vocabularies
indicates the recurrence of the activities described by those terms.
Summarizing, Ondegardo’s texts confirms that khipu were used for
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Two Khipu, One Narrative 463

record keeping in contexts of tax distribution and collection. He also indi-

cates the presence of at least two khipukamayuq, one for each of the two
parcialidades in which every tributary province was divided. Representa-
tives of each parcialidad (khipukamayuq or markakamayuq) had to meet
to render a complete report of what was registered as assigned or deliv-
ered. As Hanan representatives had some hierarchy over the Urin ones, the
meetings would take place in Hanan’s venue. We also believe that Hanan
khipukamayuq are mentioned first in texts reporting their activities.
The Khipu was the main instrument to carry out the accounting, since
it registered the gross amount for each parcialidad and the fractions due by
each of the tributaries; inversely, it also contained the partial information
that would be added up when rendering a final account. Khipukamayuq
used a second accounting instrument to carry out their computations: they
had a series of tokens with which to perform the arithmetic operations of
division or subtraction and multiplication or addition required to obtain
the subtotals and the grand totals. It is still unknown by what mechanisms
they obtained their results. These accounts were devised as division or sub-
traction to arrive at the quantity each parcialidad (and each of its tribu-
taries inside it) had to contribute with. Multiplication and addition must
have been used to arrive at the grand total of tribute for that province. The
lexical and semantic evidence around the acts of ‘‘counting together’’ and
‘‘reconciling’’ accounts confirms that these activities had to be done simul-
taneously by the representatives of both parcialidades.
As Urton’s (1998) article stimulated me to make linguistic and func-
tional associations regarding the description of the use of the khipu, this
article will surely generate further connections with other instances of its
use. This essay is part of a larger work on translation (cultural and linguis-
tic) in the early colonial period in the Andes. Avenues of research to be
incorporated are the text written by Juan de Matienzo (1967 [1567]), the
Gobierno del Perú, and the earlier one by Agustín de Zárate (1557), Histo-
ria del descubrimiento y conquista del Perú, as native cultures’ lexical and
conceptual sources. These texts will surely add to the research on how the
Andes were described for Spain and translated into the Spanish language.

Notes

A shorter version of this article, in Spanish, was presented at the First Interna-
tional Conference of Peruvianists, Harvard University, 31 April–2 May 1999. This
extended version is my translation, and so are all English additions in parentheses.
1 Archivo General de Indias (agi), Justicia 653, no. 2 (1579): ‘‘El cacique principal
e Yndios del pueblo de Sacaca con los herederos de Dn Alonso de Montemayor,
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464 Lydia Fossa

sobre demasia de tributos del tiempo que tubo dhos Yndios en encomienda’’ (4
piezas).
2 In Greimas and Courtès 1979: 39: ‘‘On entend alors par code non seulement un
ensemble limité de signes ou d’unités (relevant d’une morphologie) mais aussi
les procédures de leur agencement (leur organisation syntaxique): l’articulation
de ces deux composantes permettant la production de messages.’’ [Code is
understood not only as a limited group of signs or unities (relevant to mor-
phology) but also as the procedures for their organization (their syntactic or-
der): the articulation of these two components allows for the production of
messages.]
3 Several quotes can be given regarding Ondegardo’s intelligence and good judg-
ment. As an example, Juan de Matienzo (1967 [1567?]: 119) wrote: ‘‘El Licen-
ciado Polo de Ondegardo, vecino y encomendero de esta ciudad, hombre de
muy buen entendimiento, y que ha servido muy bien en este reino a Su Ma-
jestad.’’ [Licentiate Polo de Ondegardo, this city’s neighbor and encomendero, a
man of very good understanding who has served His Majesty very well in this
kingdom.]
4 In Manuscript 2821, the source for Ondegardo 1990b [1571], after the table of
contents it reads: ‘‘Las rrazones que movieron sacar esta relaçion y notable daño
que rresulta de no guardar a estos yndios sus fueros.’’ [The reasons that moved
me to write this relaçion and the notorious damage that results in not keeping
the Indians’ code of laws.]
5 ‘‘Ni han condenado tanto a otros mayores robadores, que son los caciques, ni
han dado orden como cesen sus grandes tiranias y salgan los pobres indios, sus
sugetos, de la servidumbre y opresion en que estan’’ (Matienzo 1967 [1567]: 3).
[They have not condemned so many other major robbers, the caciques, nor have
they given orders through which to stop their tyrannies, so the poor Indians,
their subjects, can be released from the serfdom and oppression in which they
are now.]
6 ‘‘Se acuerdan por sus quipos de diez a doce señores’’ [they remember ten or
twelve lords through their khipu] (Ondegardo 1990a [1571]: 41); ‘‘Y según yo
averigüé por las memorias fueron estos daños antiquísimos’’ [according to what
I learned through their memories, these damages were very old] (ibid.: 105).
7 ‘‘Son pocos los casos en [Pedro] Pizarro de aplicación absoluta de primiti-
vos españoles a especímenes distintos: cuando se trata de la piña, la pera, y
el pepino, los nombres españoles se emplean relacionalmente, en contraste con
los correspondientes nombres quechuas, achupalla, palta y cachun, respectiva-
mente, subrayándose la sinonimia bilingüe que caracteriza la nominación de
estas especies’’ [In Pizarro there are few cases of absolute applicability of Span-
ish primitives to different specimens: when they refer to piña (pineapple), pera
(pear), and pepino (sweet cucumber), the Spanish terms are used relationally, in
contrast with the corresponding Quechua words achupalla, palta, and cachun,
respectively, further evidence of the bilingual synonymity that characterizes the
nomination of the two species] (Rivarola 1990: 64–65).
8 ‘‘The exact relationship between the khipus kept by the two khipukamayuqs
is unclear in the document. That is, we do not know if they recorded the same
information—one therefore serving as a check on the other—or if each khipu-
kamayuq recorded only a part of the complete tribute acount. The one clue we
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Two Khipu, One Narrative 465

have is the scribe’s remarkable and rather surprising assessment that the quipos
appeared to be of one tenor (‘kind, sort’)’’ (Urton 1998: 414).
9 Ondegardo (1990a [1571]: 50) mentions an exception: ‘‘y en este beneficio [be-
ber y comer a costa del Inca y del sol] no se hacía por parcialidades ni se contaba
la gente.’’
10 ‘‘Parcialidad (de parcial).
‘‘S XVII al XX. Unión de algunos que se confederan para algún fin, separándose
del común y formando cuerpo aparte. S XVI al XX. Conjunto de muchos que
componen una familia o facción separada del común’’ [Partiality {from partial}
17th–20th cent. Association of people who confederate for an objective, sepa-
rating themselves from the rest and forming a separate body. 16th–20th cent.
Group of many people that forms a family or faction separate from the rest]
(Alonso Pedraz 1958: 3148).
‘‘Parcial.
‘‘S XIII al XX. Relativo a una parte del todo’’ [Partial. 13th–20th cent. Relative
to a part of the whole] (ibid.: 3147).
‘‘Parcial. Parcialidad, parcionero, vide infra parte’’ [Partial. Partiality, one who
holds a part] (Covarrubias 1943 [1611]: 853).
‘‘Parte. Es una porción del todo . . . Llámense partes en las que se divide el todo’’
[Part. It is a portion of the whole. . . . Parts are those into which the whole is
divided] (ibid.: 854).
11 ‘‘La palabra parcialidad corresponde a una mitad sociopolítica de un curacazgo
o señorío, que a su vez comprendía a varios ayllus’’ (Rostworowski 1993: 234).
I agree with Rostworowski’s definition, except for the word mitad (half). One
parcialidad was only one ‘‘part’’ of a whole, which was divided in two, but each
part was not necessarily one half.
12 ‘‘Hunu: Diez mil, nombre numeral’’ [ten thousand, numeral noun] (Bertonio
1879 [1612]: 165). ‘‘Hunu. Un millon [one million]. Hunuy hunu. Millon de
millones’’ [one million million {trillion}] (González Holguín 1986 [1952, 1726]:
203. ‘‘Huno o chunga guaranga. Diez mil en número’’ [ten thousand in number]
(Santo Tomás 1951 [1560]: 295).
13 ‘‘Y así con las encomiendas dejaron la división general que en todo el reino se
hacía de lo que les pedían; cada provincia distribuía por sí lo que su encomen-
dero mandaba que diesen’’ (Ondegardo 1990a [1571]: 123).
14 I make these corrections despite having consulted the manuscript on which the
1990 edition was based. I consider that manuscript to be a copy of the one
written or dictated by Ondegardo. This copy was carelessly done, without dedi-
cating much time or effort to the reading and transcription of the original, by
someone who was not familiar with native languages.
15 Garcilaso de la Vega (1995 [1609]: 128) has something to say about this point:
‘‘De la Geometría supieron mucho, porque les fue necesaria para medir sus tie-
rras, para ajustarlas y partirlas entre ellos. Mas esto fue materialmente, no por
altura de grados ni por otra cuenta especulativa sino por sus cordeles y piedre-
citas, por las cuales hacen sus cuentas y particiones.’’
16 ‘‘De la aritmética supieron mucho y por admirable manera. Que por nudos
dados en unos hilos de diversos colores daban cuenta de todo lo que en el
reino Inca había de tributos y contribuciones, por cargo y descargo. Sumaban,
restaban y multiplicaban por aquellos nudos’’ [They had a great and admi-
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466 Lydia Fossa

rable knowledge of arithmetic. By knots tied in threads of different colors they

accounted for all taxes and contributions, by debit and credit, in the Inca king-
dom. They added, subtracted, multiplied with these knots] (Garcilaso de la
Vega 1995 [1609]: 128).
17 ‘‘En los depósitos se contabilizaban los ingresos en medidas especiales para faci-
litar su recuento, así por ejemplo, se usó de tinajas para granos, de fardos para
ropa, de cestos para las hojas de coca y para el ají, de puti o cajas de eneas para
guardar pequeños objetos como las frutas secas o el charqui de perdices’’ [Each
product in the storehouses was counted according to uniform packaging con-
tents to make their accounting easier. For example, tubs were used for grains,
baskets for cocoa leaves and chili, puti or straw boxes to keep small items such
as dried fruit or partridge jerky] (Rostworowski 1993: 363).
18 ‘‘Sería dificultoso creerlo ni darlo a entender como ellos lo tienen [el bastimento
entregado] en su cuenta y por registros . . . los años y tiempos y la cantidad que
se habia dado en muchos años’’ [It would be difficult to believe or to explain it
as they have it [delivered products] in their account and by their registers . . . the
years and times and the quantity given during many years] (Ondegardo 1990a
[1571]: 85).
19 Martín Alonso Pedraz (1958: 1296) offers the following semantic information
about cuenta (account): ‘‘Cuenta: S XVII al XX: Cálculo u operación aritmé-
tica. S XVI al XX: Cálculo, investigación, conjetura. Libro de cuentas ajus-
tadas, prontuario de contabilidad elemental. S XIII: Cantidad, número, cuenta.
S XIV al XX: Cómputo, cuenta o cálculo. S XVII: Cuenta’’ [Cuenta. 17th–20th
cent. Calculation or arithmetical operation. 16th–20th cent. Calculation, inves-
tigation, conjecture. Accounting book, register of elementary accounting. 13th
cent. Quality, number, account. 14th–20th cent. Computation, account, or cal-
culation. 17th cent. Account].
According to Joan Corominas and José A. Pascual (1980: 3: 180), ‘‘Contar:
Del lat. Computare, ‘calcular’ ’’ [Contar: From Lat. Computare, ‘to calculate’].
The Diccionario de Autoridades (Real Academia 1969 [1726]: 680) includes
the following entries: ‘‘Cuenta: Cómputo, cálculo o razón de alguna cosa, que
se hace con operaciones arithméticas de sumar, restar, multiplicar o partir. Y
por antonomasia se llama assi la razón que se da por escrito, con cargo y data, de
los caudales y otras cosas que se han manejado. Viene del verbo contar’’ [Com-
putation, calculation or result of something, done with arithmetic operations
like adding, subtracting, multiplicating or partitioning. And thus it is called the
result given in writing, with accreditation and date, of the money or other things
that have been handled]. ‘‘Cuento: En lo antiguo valía lo mismo que cuenta’’ [in
old times, it had the same meaning as account] (682). ‘‘Contar. Numerar alguna
cosa. Es formar cuentas, usando de los números y reglas que da la Arithmé-
tica para ello. Poner o meter en cuenta’’ [To number something. It is to form
accounts, using numbers and arithmetical rules. To include in an account] (546).
20 Also see Garcilaso de la Vega’s (1995 [1609]: 270, 253) plate number 358 and
especially plate number 335 under the title ‘‘Depocito del Inga. Collca.’’
21 ‘‘Y para saber lo que cabía a cada pueblo hacían las particiones con granos de
maíz y piedrezuelas, de manera que les salía cierta su cuenta’’ [And to know
what was each town’s share they made the divisions with their corn kernels and
small stones, to arrive to the right amount] (Garcilaso de la Vega 1995 [1609]:
128).
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Two Khipu, One Narrative 467

22 ‘‘Huñuni huñuycuni tantani huc huay cuni. Juntar en uno cosas o animales o
personas’’ [join into one things, or animals, or people]. ‘‘Huñun, o huñuntin.
Dize (todo) en cosas que se juntan’’ [refers (to all) things that are joined]. ‘‘Hu-
ñucun. Reduzirse a una resumirse’’ [to be reduced into one, to sum up]. ‘‘Hu-
ñuni ñisccayta. Epilogar lo dicho a breve suma, y en las quentas sumar’’ [to sum-
marize, and in accounting, to add]. Qquipucta huñuni. ‘‘Huñuntin. La manda
entera, o toda la suma junta o todos los juntados en uno enteros sin partirse’’
[the whole set, or the sum together, or all joined into one without partitions]
(González Holguín 1986 [1952, 1608]: 203).
23 Domingo de Santo Tomás (1951 [1560]: 295) has more information about the
verb huñuy: ‘‘Huñinacuni, gui. Concertarse con otro o concordarse’’ [to agree
with someone else, or to tally]. ‘‘Huñinacuni, gui. Avenir o avenirse con otro’’
[to reconcile, to conciliate with another]. ‘‘Huñinacusca. Convencion o con-
cierto’’ [an agreement or a settlement].
24 ‘‘Qquipucta ttiuni. Sumar juntas todas las quentas’’ [to add all the accounts
together]. ‘‘Yupani ttiuspa. Sumar la quenta, o resumir en breve’’ [to add up the
account, to summarize] (González Holguín 1986 [1952, 1608]: 309, 372).
25 Quechua nouns may be formed by adding the suffix -na to a verbal root, yupa,
thus having yupana, an object for counting. There is an association between yu-
pana and khipu drawn in Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala’s (1993 [1615]: 272)
book, especially figure 360, Contador maior y tesorero. This figure shows the two
different instruments brought together by the function of ‘‘reporting’’ what was
in storage in a given qullqa. We see the khipu serving as a register, a physical
medium for keeping information, and the yupana being the instrument needed
for counting (adding and subtracting) to keep track of stored goods. If the yu-
pana was not available (maybe because it was not as portable as the khipu), the
arithmetic was done on the floor. To add or subtract, with the yupana or on the
floor, tokens represented by stones, corn, or beans are required.

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