Succession among the incas

One of the most controversial subjects with regard to the Andean pre Hispanic Organization is the one referring to succession of command. The Incas are not an exception on this matter, and since the sixteenth century the query has been raised and more than one theory has been devised. The subject has not been alien to chroniclers of the Indias nor to modern historians. Basically, two postures have arisen. On the one hand, there is one that interprets the information of the Andean chronicles literally and presents a vision of Inca's succession that incorporates to the Andes, the parameters of the European dynastic succession of the epoch. In this posture intervenes, among others, the concept of bastardy, legitimacy and primogeniture. On the other hand, another posture has been developed, aiming to be more critic with the sources and to offer an alternative structure. From the Ethnohistoric point of view, the thesis on the "ability" to govern has become stronger as a principal parameters on the subject of Inca's succession. This article reviews the postures proposed on the subject of succession and based on the colonial sources on the Andes. I present an alternative interpretation in which the power from the King to his brothers seems to be previous to the stage of passing power to the next generation.