The Huancas or Wankas are a historic Quechua people

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...

 living in what is presently the Junín region

Junín Region

Junín is a region in the central highlands and westernmost Amazonia of Peru. Its capital is Huancayo.-Geography:The region has a very heterogeneous topography. The western cordillera located near the border with the Lima Region, has snowy and ice covered peaks. On the east, there are high glacier...

 of 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....

, in and around the Mantaro Valley

Mantaro Valley

The Mantaro Valley, with its main city of Huancayo, lies east of the capital of Peru, Lima. It is a fertile valley containing fields of corn, artichokes, carrots and potatoes, alongside which flows the Mantaro River. The Mantaro Valley is also renowned as an area containing many sites of...

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History

After fierce fighting, they were conquered by Pachacuti and incorporated into the Inca Empire

Inca Empire

The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...

. The wankas helped the Spaniards during the conquest of Peru. They provided supplies and men to the Spanish army.

Language

The language of the Wankas, Wanka Quechua

Wanka Quechua

Wanka Quechua is a variety of the Quechua language, spoken in the southern part of Peruvian region of Junín. It was the language of the Huancas, who spoke it long before the Incas ina Cusco.Wanka Quechua belongs to Quechua I, like Ancash Quechua...

, differs significantly from the Incas' Quechua of Cusco

Cusco Quechua

Cusco Quechua is a dialect of the Southern Quechua language, more specifically Qusqu-Qullaw Quechua, spoken in city and the department of Cusco....

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They gave their name to the Peruvian football team Deportivo Wanka

Deportivo Wanka

Deportivo Wanka is a Peruvian football club, based in the city of Huancayo in the Peruvian Andes. It was founded in 1996 and is named after the Wankas people who formerly inhabited the area and after whom the city of Huancayo is named. The current Deportivo Wanka is merged with Deportivo Pesquero...

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