Uncu (Unku[1]) was a men's garment of the
Inca Empire. It was an upper-body garment of knee-length; Royals wore it with a mantle cloth called ''
yacolla.'' Women wore a long dress known as an
anaku.
Structure
Uncu was similar to a long
tunic, ranging between 84 and 100 cms, with a 72-79 cms width range. However, the length of the highland and coastal garments was different; Uncu in the highland were sleeveless and longer than the coastal tunic. Kings, nobles, and ordinary people all wore Uncu. The design and motifs for these dresses were rank-, cultural-, and event-specific. For example, capac uncu was a rich, powerful shirt worn by Inca Roca (the king). Inca royals clothing consisted of ''
tocapu'' an art of geometric figures enclosed by rectangles or squares.[2][3][4][1][5][6]
Ordinary Uncu was made from cotton blending with various
camelidae fibres such as
llama,
alpaca, guanaco, and
vicuña, but for royal use, a whole finest cloth (
cumbi) was used.[8]