The masca paicha of the Inca

Abstract

Max Uhle’s essay defines the exact shape of the masca paicha, the royal fringe of the Incas. He criticizes colonial portraits for inaccuracy and uses a wooden figure of Inca style and ancient chronicles (Jerez, Garcilaso, Montesinos) for his analysis. He determines that the llautu was not a broad cap-like band, but a cord wrapped around the head, and that the masca paicha was a wide fringe, crimson for the sovereign, hanging over the forehead suspended from the llautu. Uhle also suggests that the term "masca" might derive from the Masca tribe, settled to the west of Cuzco.