Minca
Encyclopedia
Minka or Mink'a hispanicized
Minca or Minga is a type of traditional communal work in the Andes
in favor of the whole community (ayllu
).
Minka can be practiced for several purposes, such as the construction of communal facilities or harvest on communal lands. Participants are traditionally paid in kind. Minca is still practiced in indigenous
communities in Peru
, Ecuador
, Bolivia
, and Chile
, especially among Quechuas
and Aymaras.
In Ecuador, the word is pronounced minga in Ecuadorian Kichwa
and local Spanish.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
Minca or Minga is a type of traditional communal work in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in favor of the whole community (ayllu
Ayllu
Ayllu is the traditional form of a community in the Andes, especially among Quechuas and Aymaras.Ayllus were the basic political and social units of pre-Inca and Inca life. These were essentially extended family groups but they could adopt non-related members, giving individual families more...
).
Minka can be practiced for several purposes, such as the construction of communal facilities or harvest on communal lands. Participants are traditionally paid in kind. Minca is still practiced in indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
communities in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, especially among Quechuas
Quechuas
Quechuas is the collective term for several indigenous ethnic groups in South America who speak a Quechua language , belonging to several ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.The Quechuas of Ecuador call themselves as well as their...
and Aymaras.
In Ecuador, the word is pronounced minga in Ecuadorian Kichwa
Kichwa
Kichwa is a Quechuan language, and includes all Quechua varieties spoken in Ecuador and Colombia by approximately 2,500,000 people...
and local Spanish.