Inca Textile Patterns: T’oqapu, Toki, Chakana, and the Symbolism of Cloth

The most distinctive feature of Inca cloth was the use of geometric patterns called t’oqapu — small, square, often highly abstract motifs arranged in a grid on the surface of the textile. The t’oqapu of the late Inca period are known from the surviving fragments of state cumbi tunics, from the colonial-era paintings of the chroniclers, and from the quipus of the early colonial period, which often carry t’oqapu as a form of identifying marker. The meaning of individual t’oqapu is debated: some scholars, following the work of John Murra and Gary Urton, have argued that the t’oqapu functioned as a kind of emblem or coat-of-arms identifying the ayllu or panaca of the weaver; others, following the more recent work of Sabine Hyland, have argued that the t’oqapu carried narrative content related to the myths and histories of the lineage. What is clear is that the t’oqapu was a state-controlled semiotic system: certain t’oqapu were reserved for the Sapa Inca and the royal panacas, and the unauthorized use of a royal t’oqapu was a serious offense. Two of the most frequently encountered t’oqapu motifs in the surviving corpus are the toki (a stylized axe-head) and the chakana (a stepped cross or Andean cross), each of which carried a complex symbolic load in Inca cosmology.

The structure and form of the t’oqapu

The t’oqapu were small, square motifs, typically 1 to 3 centimeters on a side, arranged in a regular grid on the surface of the textile. Each t’oqapu was woven into the cloth using a complex technique of supplementary weft wrapping, in which the additional thread is wrapped around the warp threads of the ground cloth to produce a small figure of a contrasting color. The technique was well within the technical capacity of the Inca backstrap loom, and the chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega recorded that the most skilled weavers of the empire were the acllas of the imperial aclla wasi in Cusco.

The corpus of surviving t’oqapu is substantial. The colonial chronicler Bernabé Cobo recorded some 50 distinct t’oqapu in the tunics of the imperial panacas, and the modern ethnographer Gary Urton, in his 2003 catalogue, has identified more than 200 distinct t’oqapu in the surviving fragments. The t’oqapu were typically arranged in a regular grid of perhaps 20 to 40 motifs per tunic, with the motifs repeated in a pattern that was sometimes symmetrical and sometimes asymmetrical. The arrangement of the motifs was itself significant: the chronicler Cobo recorded that the t’oqapu of the Sapa Inca’s tunic were arranged in a pattern of strict bilateral symmetry, while the t’oqapu of the panaca nobles were arranged in a more varied pattern.

The technical sophistication of the t’oqapu was matched by the sophistication of the dyeing process. The principal red dye was cochineal (chinak’urku, Dactylopius coccus), a parasitic insect that lived on the prickly pear cactus and was cultivated in the warm valleys of the south; the principal yellow dye was q’illu (Baccharis), a plant of the highland; the principal blue dye was ch’illka (Indigofera), a plant of the lower elevations; and the principal green dye was a mixture of ch’illka and q’illu. A range of mineral and plant sources provided other hues, and the combination of dyes with different mordants (typically alum from the deposits at Cotabamba) produced a wide range of color values. Some colors — particularly the deep blue of the makis and the red of the warak’ay — were reserved for the Sapa Inca and the highest nobility, and the unauthorized use of these colors was punishable by death.

The toki: a stylized axe-head

The toki was one of the most frequently depicted t’oqapu motifs in the surviving corpus, and it is the most extensively studied. The toki is a stylized representation of a stone or metal axe-head, typically shown in profile, with a curved blade and a short shaft. The toki was a central symbol of Inca political and military power: the tumi — the ceremonial axe of the Inca — was the principal symbol of state authority, and the tumi was used in the principal sacrifices of the imperial cult. The chronicler Cobo recorded that the tumi was the principal symbol of the Inkap rantin — the deputy of the Sapa Inca — and that the tumi was the principal emblem of the provincial governors.

The toki t’oqapu appears in several distinct forms in the surviving corpus. In its simplest form, it is a small, square motif showing a single axe-head; in more elaborate forms, it is paired with other motifs, including the chakana (stepped cross), the ñawi (eye), and the star (a small star-like motif of eight points). The pairing of the toki with the chakana is particularly common in the t’oqapu of the Capac Ayllu of Pachacuti, and the chronicler Sarmiento de Gamboa recorded that the t’oqapu of the Capac Ayllu was the principal symbol of the imperial lineage. The detailed treatment of the t’oqapu of the Capac Ayllu is given in the article on Inca nobility and the panacas; the broader question of the meaning of the t’oqapu is treated in the work of Gary Urton and Sabine Hyland.

The toki t’oqapu was not merely a political symbol but a cosmological one. The chronicler Cobo recorded that the toki was the symbol of the rain god, Illapa, and that the t’oqapu of the toki was used in the rainmaking ceremonies of the Hatun Cosqui festival in September. The pairing of the toki with the chakana was, in this sense, a representation of the complementary relationship between the earthly and the celestial: the toki as the symbol of the rain and the earth’s fertility, and the chakana as the symbol of the cosmic order and the southern cross. The detailed treatment of Inca religion and mythology is given in the related article; the Inca pantheon is treated in the related article.

The chakana: a stepped cross

The chakana (also called the Andean cross or Southern cross) is a stepped cross of three steps, typically depicted as a symmetrical figure with three horizontal bars intersected by a vertical bar. The chakana is one of the most ancient symbols of the Andean world, with antecedents in the Chavín and Paracas periods, and it remained a central symbol of Andean cosmology into the Inca period and beyond. The chronicler Cobo recorded that the chakana represented the three worlds of the Andean cosmos — the Hanan Pacha (the upper world of the celestial bodies and the gods of the sky), the Kay Pacha (the middle world of the living), and the Uku Pacha (the lower world of the dead and the ancestors) — and that the three steps of the cross corresponded to the three levels of the cosmos.

The chakana t’oqapu appears in a number of distinct forms in the surviving corpus. In its simplest form, it is a small, square motif showing a single stepped cross; in more elaborate forms, it is paired with other motifs, including the toki, the ñawi, and the star. The pairing of the chakana with the ñawi (eye) is particularly common in the t’oqapu of the southern panacas, and the chronicler Murúa recorded that the ñawi was the symbol of the ancestor’s presence in the household. The pairing of the chakana with the star (a small star-like motif of eight points) is particularly common in the t’oqapu of the panacas associated with the cult of Inti.

The chakana was, in addition to its cosmological meaning, a representation of the city of Cusco itself. The chronicler Cobo recorded that the city of Cusco was laid out in the form of a chakana, with the central plaza as the central axis and the principal ceques radiating outward as the three steps of the cross. The Qhapaq Raymi ceque, which ran from the Coricancha to the fortress of Sacsayhuamán above the city, was the principal ceque of the imperial cult, and the chronicler recorded that the chakana t’oqapu was the principal symbol of the imperial cult. The detailed treatment of the ceque system of Cusco is given in the article on sacred sites and huacas.

The symbolism of color in Inca cloth

The colors of Inca cloth were strictly regulated, and the color of a tunic was a reliable indicator of the wearer’s rank and origin. The principal colors of the Inca textile tradition were red, yellow, blue, green, black, and white, each of which carried a particular symbolic load. Red was the color of the Sapa Inca and of the imperial cult, and it was the principal color of the aclla and of the cumbi tunic of the Sapa Inca; the principal source of red dye was cochineal, cultivated in the warm valleys of the south. Yellow was the color of the sun and of Inti, and it was the principal color of the mascaipacha and of the tunic of the Sapa Inca’s principal wife; the principal source of yellow dye was q’illu, a plant of the highland.

Blue was the color of the rain and of Illapa, the thunder god, and it was reserved for the panaca of Topa Inca and for the provincial governors of the Collasuyu. Green was the color of the Pachamama (earth mother) and of fertility, and it was the principal color of the tunics worn at the harvest festival of Huarucicu. Black was the color of the dead and of the mallkis (mummified ancestors), and it was the principal color of the tunics worn at the funeral ceremonies of the Sapa Inca. White was the color of the moon and of Mama Killa, and it was reserved for the acllas of the Temple of the Sun and for the pallas (princesses) of the panacas.

The colonial chroniclers record that the unauthorized use of a color reserved for a higher rank was a serious offense, punishable by death in the most extreme cases. The chronicler Cobo recorded that the Sapa Inca’s mascaipacha was dyed with cochineal in a process closely guarded by the imperial aclla wasi, and that the tassels of the mascaipacha were made of the finest alpaca wool dyed with the deep red of cochineal. The colonial Relaciones geográficas of 1570–1585 record that the unauthorized use of a color reserved for the Sapa Inca was punished by the provincial governor with a fine of 100 llamas and a period of forced labor. The detailed treatment of the textile hierarchy of the Inca state is given in the article on the hatun runa and commoner life.

The t’oqapu as historical document

The t’oqapu of the surviving corpus has been used as a historical document by modern scholars, and the work of Gary Urton and Sabine Hyland in particular has shown that the t’oqapu carried a substantial amount of information about the lineage, the status, and the history of the wearer. Urton’s 2003 catalogue of more than 200 t’oqapu motifs has shown that the t’oqapu were organized in a hierarchical system, with the t’oqapu of the Sapa Inca at the apex, the t’oqapu of the panaca nobles in the middle, and the t’oqapu of the hatun runa at the base. Hyland’s 2017 study of the t’oqapu of the Khipu Database Project has shown that the t’oqapu carried narrative content related to the myths and histories of the lineage, and that the t’oqapu were used in the quipus of the imperial administration as a form of identifying marker.

The t’oqapu was, in this sense, a form of writing. The system of t’oqapu was not alphabetic, but it carried a substantial amount of information that was interpretable by the trained specialists of the imperial administration. The detailed treatment of the quipu and record-keeping is given in the related article; the Inca textile tradition is treated in the related article.