Ayllu

Ayllu is a traditional kin-based social unit of the Andean highlands, especially in the central Andes of present-day Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile. The term comes from Quechua and designates a lineage that shares land and resources and operates as a local community within larger political structures, notably the Inca state.

An ayllu typically includes several households connected by common ancestry. The group owns land collectively; households receive allocated plots, while common pastures, irrigation, and ceremonial spaces are managed communally. A local leader, the curaca (or kuraka), or a council of elders, oversees governance and represents the ayllu to higher authorities. Membership is usually hereditary and defined by kinship and customary law.

Reciprocity and labor are central. Members perform ayni, or mutual service, and participate in larger mobilizations such as minka or mita for communal or state projects. In return, the ayllu helps with redistribution of harvests, protection, and ritual obligations, reinforcing social cohesion.

Under the Inca Empire, ayllus were the basic unit for organizing labor, tribute, and local administration. They were arranged into larger districts and coordinated by curacas who reported to regional authorities. Although the state exercised authority, ayllus generally retained communal land rights and internal governance to meet labor obligations.

Today, ayllus persist in many rural Andean communities as comunidades or ayllu-based groups, maintaining traditional identities while adapting to modern legal frameworks. They remain a key concept in studies of Andean social organization and history.