Ñusta

Ñusta, which roughly translates to "princess" in the Quechua language, is a term for a highly noble or upper-class woman of Inca or Andean birth. Inca noblewomen were essentially part of the Inca Empire where they spoke the traditional Inca spoken language "Cuzco Quechua." Ñustas were not full descendants of Inca royalty. Therefore, the Quechua term was used to denote the regional origin of the ñusta's non-royal parent. A ñusta could range from being the daughter or half-sister of the Sapa Inca himself, one of his lesser wives, or a wife or daughter of another high-ranking male noble, such as the heads of the local municipalities, kuraka. The Spaniards recognized ñustas as noblewomen and added the Spanish term “Doña” to their Christian and Andean names.

As Ñustas were part of the Inca culture, there would be a large focus and heavily connection when it comes to familial relations. One of the most important foundations and ideologies was family unification and adapting to a bounded organization. They also engaged with the process of creating food surpluses, maintain economic prosperity and having multiple opportunities to establishing a stabilized society being part of the Inca civilization.