The Origin of Duality
In the Andean world, everything exists in duality — the world, the universe, society, the individual. Everyone is connected with someone else, and together they form a complementary whole. This worldview embedded a strong belief in community, solidarity, and cooperation in Andean societies.
Masintin – Complementary Friendship
Masintin is a concept composed of the word masi, which means friend, and the suffix -ntin, which indicates belonging, community-building, complementarity — that which accompanies someone or something. Roughly, the concept can be understood as complementary friendship, and it accompanies each member of the Andean community from birth to death — and even beyond! Everyone is connected with someone. All children are also “masintin” in relation to their parents. However, this is not a permanent state, and to achieve full maturity and develop one’s personality, it is necessary to live with a partner:
“…Single people lack an important part of themselves. They say that when you don’t have a partner, you’re only half a being. You are precious, unique, but you are only one part. You are not yet whole. That is why when you are alone, you either accumulate so much that it becomes overwhelming or deplete yourself to the point of weakness. As a result, you may feel fear, confusion, or loss. …you might know yourself, but you can never truly see yourself. For that, you need another person. You need other eyes, another perspective to see it. When you’re a child, you have your parents. But when you’re older, your parents are no longer there to see and recognise you. As an adult, your yanantin, your partner, is the person who sees what you don’t see in yourself, just as you are there to see in them what they don’t see in themselves. That’s why it’s easier to care for another than for oneself — because you’re not supposed to care for yourself! That’s why there is another person,” says Arawi Ruiz, a Quechua historian and president of the Quechua Academy of Humanistic Sciences.
Yanantin – Complementary Partnership
So, what makes us whole is yanantin. When children reach sexual maturity, they begin to search for their yana (lovers, partners) to become yanantin — harmoniously paired, complemented. This also happens with the help of “masintin,” through friendship and getting to know each other, by building a relationship based on what connects and complements us. Only through this can one grow and mature — through the eyes and care and tenderness of another. From the word yana, another Quechua word yanapay was derived, meaning help — which can also be received through a relationship with another person.
“Romantic relationships among the Quechua have always been based on mutual help. The more you help someone, the more you love them,” says Ruiz. “Duality always exists so we can be aware of the needs of the other. Duality also exists within each individual — in the relationships and needs of one’s masculine and feminine sides,” he emphasises.
Asymmetry as a Condition for Movement
Although one translation of yanantin is mutual complementarity, one of its main characteristics is also asymmetry, imbalance. Although at first glance it might resemble Taoism or dialectics, this is not about opposites:
“For us, yanantin doesn’t focus on the differences between two beings. That’s what separates them. Instead, we focus on the qualities that brought them together. That’s why we don’t see them as necessarily opposed but as complementary. One person alone cannot carry everything, cannot take care of everything. Not only is it good to be together — it is necessary. There is no other way. When there is another, it means additional strength for both.”
In that relationship, one side is always dominant in a given situation. And it is precisely in the tension of power and help that lies the strength that drives dynamism, mobility, and change. Disproportion is the basis of reality and represents the force that allows things to happen. Asymmetric dualism holds that reality is composed of different — even opposing — forces that need each other to be complete.
That this is not about opposites is also shown by the fact that homosexual couples could also be yanantin. “In Andean civilisation, homosexuality was considered sacred. Femininity, too, was seen as divine — the more feminine someone was, the closer they were to Pachamama, the Earth Mother goddess. Even men here speak more gently as a sign of politeness and good manners,” notes historian Ruiz. What a stark contrast to Christian patriarchy! Today, same-sex couples are no longer allowed to be called yanantin, but are categorised as masintin, due to the pressure and dominance of the Catholic Church and its traditions.
Asymmetry as a Way of Governance
Yanantin as a foundational principle for organising individual and collective life was also central to the Andean political system. Ideologically, this principle created a god-pleasing community that functioned according to divine laws. The name of the Inca Empire was Tawantinsuyu, which best explains how Andean peoples understood political organisation. Tawa in Quechua means four, -ntin signifies belonging to a group, and suyu means region or province. Literally translated, this state was called the “Fourfold Empire” or “Empire of Four Parts.” It consisted of an upper and a lower part — and each of these was again divided into an upper and lower half. These four parts met in the capital city, Qosqo.
In Qosqo, the Sapa Inca ruled together with his co-ruler — the Qoya. In the central square, they had a double throne — the ushnu — with two seats. Although we don’t know how much real power the co-ruler had, she was a necessary part of the Empire’s sacred yanantin. She gave the ruler legitimacy, without which his reign would have been seen as sacrilege.
Yanantin as a Means of Domination
Yanantin was also subject to abuse on all levels of social and political life. Asymmetry in family relations often implied a greater burden on women regarding care for the household. Even though ideologically this wasn’t formally prescribed, the daily responsibilities women carried often far outweighed those of men.
Inca rulers also used this pairing principle to control newly incorporated peoples. A local leader would be paired with a representative of the Empire, and the two would rule together. It was clear that the Inca representative had a supervisory role and maintained the link with central authority.
At the broader political level, the Incas used this principle to build patron-client relationships with their subjugated people. Labor and contributions to the Empire were “repaid” through the “care” of the state and ruler, in the form of state granaries and divine grace. To justify and reinforce this system, a refined and complex set of festivals, rituals, and calendars was created. However, given that many peoples saw the Spanish conquest as an opportunity to free themselves from Inca “benevolence,” we may question how successful and/or deep this propaganda truly was.
Understanding
Duality, life in pairs, or yanantin is a philosophical concept known in Western thought as well. Phenomenology, communitarianism, and feminist theory — each from their own perspective — emphasize that personal development, social integration, and understanding one’s role and context all depend on relationships with others and with the wider community.
However, nowhere in the world has the principle of duality been applied as consistently and completely in practice as in the Andean societies. The insistence on togetherness and shared responsibility certainly reflected the harsh environment of this culture — in which a person alone could not survive. But beyond this, on a spiritual level, the belief in shared work and life represented a sacred, god-pleasing mode of being. Togetherness was holy.
Although this principle stands in stark contrast to the Western notion of individuality, Andean societies did not deny individuality. On the contrary, they were far more open to difference and otherness. For example, their acceptance and appreciation of homosexuals and homosexuality. That’s because the principle of duality did not necessarily require a male–female pairing — the emphasis was always on togetherness and complementarity. Yanantin provided a strong framework for behaviour, but within it, there were many pockets of autonomy and freedom.
Though noble and fully justified given the challenging environment these cultures lived in, yanantin was not immune to abuse. Originally designed as an inclusive opportunity for all to connect with others and build harmonious, functional communities, this principle was used in struggles for political and social dominance — from the family to multiethnic empires.
Yanantin remains highly relevant today and forms the backbone of social organisation in rural Andean regions. By learning from the past — both from its strengths and from the ways it was abused — yanantin continues to offer valuable insights, both for political organisation and for individual self-work and one’s relationships with others.
