Acllas were an extremely important tool of statecraft for Cuzco. They figured heavily in the system of reciprocity that kept the empire running without a formal monetary economy. Redistributing women was an extremely successful way of gaining the loyalty of those who had just been conquered by the Inca because it conferred status to the families of selected women and helped to build trust between officials and locals. Their service was also essential for establishing the Inca culture across the empire. The labor that they provided in the form of textiles was used in gift giving to help form alliances and they themselves were also used as a kind of gift that helped to confer status on the recipient. Those who received an accla as a wife also received all of the skills she could provide which allowed that person significant power.Silverblatt, Irene. "Andean Women in the Inca Empire." Feminist Studies 4, no. 3 (1978): 36-61. Acllas given in service for religious purposes conferred importance in a similar way because of their skills in creating the necessary means for rituals, namely the brewing of chicha that was integral to religious ceremonies.Silverblatt, Irene. "Andean Women in the Inca Empire." Feminist Studies 4, no. 3 (1978): 36-61. Their presence is noted at the ritual site of Huanaco Pampa, where the structures that have been excavated suggest a large presence of aclla who had access to the extensive storehouses of corn and grain to make chicha. It was important that they were present at the site because chicha could not be stored for long periods of time; it had to be made more or less on the spot.Bullock, Tori. "The Influence of Inca Statecraft on the Site of Huánuco Pampa." California State University Dominguez Hills Electronic Student Journal of Anthropology 6, no. 1 (2011): 109-119 While less common, there is some evidence that acllas were used in human sacrifice. This was tied to their role as gifts and the system of reciprocity throughout the entire empire due to their economic significance.Gose, Peter. "The State as a Chosen Woman: Brideservice and the Feeding of Tributaries in the Inka Empire." American Anthropologist 102, no.1 (2000): 84-97 In a ritual context, they were an extremely valuable sacrifice because they represented the capacity for so much potential wealth through the use of their skills in weaving, the brewing of chicha, and hospitality. They also represented a connection between Cuzco and the peripheral regions that they had conquered. This tying of the centre to the periphery was one of the most important aspects of the sacrifice of acllas. The story of Tanta Carhua is one such account of the process of binding the centre and the periphery together. Colonial documents contain  record of Tanta Carhua, who was sacrificed as a capacocha in her home ayllu of Urcon. After visiting Cuzco and being honoured by the emperor, Tanta Carhua was credited with saying  “You can finish with me now because I could not be more honoured than by the feasts which they celebrated for me in Cuzco." Upon her return home, Tanta’s father became the curaca of his ayllu. Tanta was deified and her “sacrifice... ritually asserted her father’s, and father’s descendants’, new role as a nexus between Urcon and Cuzco while dramatizing the community’s subordination to Cuzco.”
Acllas were an extremely important tool of statecraft for Cuzco. They figured heavily in the system of reciprocity that kept the empire running without a formal monetary economy. Redistributing women was an extremely successful way of gaining the loyalty of those who had just been conquered by the Inca because it conferred status to the families of selected women and helped to build trust between officials and locals. Their service was also essential for establishing the Inca culture across the empire. The labor that they provided in the form of textiles was used in gift giving to help form alliances and they themselves were also used as a kind of gift that helped to confer status on the recipient. Those who received an aclla as a wife also received all of the skills she could provide which allowed that person significant power.Silverblatt, Irene. "Andean Women in the Inca Empire." Feminist Studies 4, no. 3 (1978): 36-61. Acllas given in service for religious purposes conferred importance in a similar way because of their skills in creating the necessary means for rituals, namely the brewing of chicha that was integral to religious ceremonies.Silverblatt, Irene. "Andean Women in the Inca Empire." Feminist Studies 4, no. 3 (1978): 36-61. Their presence is noted at the ritual site of Huanaco Pampa, where the structures that have been excavated suggest a large presence of acllas who had access to the extensive storehouses of corn and grain to make chicha. It was important that they were present at the site because chicha could not be stored for long periods of time; it had to be made more or less on the spot.Bullock, Tori. "The Influence of Inca Statecraft on the Site of Huánuco Pampa." California State University Dominguez Hills Electronic Student Journal of Anthropology 6, no. 1 (2011): 109-119 While less common, there is some evidence that acllas were used in human sacrifice. This was tied to their role as gifts and the system of reciprocity throughout the entire empire due to their economic significance.Gose, Peter. "The State as a Chosen Woman: Brideservice and the Feeding of Tributaries in the Inka Empire." American Anthropologist 102, no.1 (2000): 84-97 In a ritual context, they were an extremely valuable sacrifice because they represented the capacity for so much potential wealth through the use of their skills in weaving, the brewing of chicha, and hospitality. They also represented a connection between Cuzco and the peripheral regions that it had conquered. This tying of the centre to the periphery was one of the most important aspects of the sacrifice of acllas. The story of Tanta Carhua is one such account of the process of binding the centre and the periphery together. Colonial documents contain a record of Tanta Carhua, who was sacrificed as a capacocha in her home ayllu of Urcon. After visiting Cuzco and being honoured by the emperor, Tanta Carhua was credited with saying : “You can finish with me now because I could not be more honoured than by the feasts which they celebrated for me in Cuzco." Upon her return home, Tanta’s father became the curaca of his ayllu. Tanta was deified and her “sacrifice... ritually asserted her father’s, and father’s descendants’, new role as a nexus between Urcon and Cuzco while dramatizing the community’s subordination to Cuzco.”
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