Ccoya

/ˈkoʊjə/ noun

Definition

The principal wife of an Inca emperor, equivalent to an empress.

Etymology

From Quechua 'Coya' (queen), the term used by the Inca Empire for the paramount female ruler, borrowed into Spanish colonial texts.

Kelly Says

Ccoya reminds us that Indigenous American empires had complex succession systems as sophisticated as European monarchies—these women wielded real political power, but their stories were almost erased from history.

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