Dualism in the Andean world
Channel: Carlos Molina-Vital
Date: 18/09/2020

This video presents an overview of the notion of dualism: the complementarity of opposite elements that are, in some way, essentially related. After a brief introduction showing that this notion existed well before the Inca empire, we examine how a system based on two "sides" shaped the organization of the ayllu or Andean community. We continue by taking a look at the presence of dualism in the cosmology offered in Santa Cruz Pachacuti's sketch of the main altar in the Coricancha (the main Inca temple). Finally, we follow Gelles (1993) conclusions in his study of dualism in the organization of production systems in the Cabanaconde region to underline the possibility that dual organization ("above" vs. "below") could have been reinforced as an Inca state policy aiming to take advantage of the division in communities to exploit their resources in a more efficient manner, while creating a "trademark" organizational system that helped the prestige of their empire.