ayllu

American  

[ahy-loo] / ˈaɪ lu /

noun

plural

ayllus

1. among the Incas, a kin-based group forming the basic social unit.

2. among present-day Indigenous Andean peoples, a community of families sharing land and organized under shared leadership, in some cases recognized as a political or administrative unit.

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Example Sentences

“This is the first time that we hear Dora speaking Quechua, and we went through great lengths to make sure that the pronunciation was right,” says Belli, who also consulted with Incan culture experts on the Andean kinship principle of “ayllu,” along with the use of “quipu,” a recordkeeping device of knotted cords — both elements which are included in the storyline.

From Los Angeles Times

The popular religion was the worship of the founder of each ayllu, or clan, and all joined in adoration of the sun as ancestor of the sovereign Incas.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a patriarchal system, land belonging to the ayllu, which was a group of families.

From Project Gutenberg

The Incas systematised this institution, the ayllu was made to comprise 100 families under a village officer who annually allotted land to the heads of families.

From Project Gutenberg

Ayllu, Peruvian word for tribe or lineage, 141.

From Project Gutenberg