Panakas

A panaka, panaqa or panaca was a family formed by all the descendants of a monarch, a Sapan Inka, excluding from it the son who would succeed in his reign. The basic social institution of the Incas is the ayllu. An ayllu is a group of families that descended from a common ancestor, united by culture and religion, in addition to the agricultural work, livestock and fishing of the same territory. Ayllu concept transcended into nobility, so that the royal kinship could establish a lineage, called panaka or royal house.[1]

Panaka leads here. For Captain Panaka, a fictional character in Star Wars, see List of Star Wars characters#Captain Quarsh Panaka

The family of each Inca formed a royal ayllu that received the name of panaka, a royal lineage.[2] The only son of the Sapan Inka who was not part of the panaka was the Auqui (crown prince)[3] because the latter, when he became emperor, would form his own panaka.[4]

Among other functions occupied by the panaka were those of maintaining the memory of the deceased Inca and his mallki (mummy), of performing ceremonies in his name and of taking care of his goods and alliances made in life. Each panaka owned several holdings across the realm, including a palaces in the sacred city of Qusqu, the city core was composed principally of palatial enclosures known as kancha owned by the Panakas. Panakas had great influence on the decision of the appointment of successors to the Sapan Inka position.