What was the Inca name for the Pleiades star cluster?

The Inca name for the Pleiades star cluster was Collca.

Collca is a Spanish-influenced spelling of the Quechua name Qullqa or Qollqa. The word also referred to an Inca storehouse or granary, creating a meaningful association between the star cluster and the preservation of food and seeds.

In Inca astronomy, the Pleiades were not merely a decorative group of stars. Their visibility and brightness were watched as seasonal indicators, particularly for agriculture. Observations of the cluster helped communities think about the coming growing season, rainfall, and the prospects for crops such as maize and potatoes. The Pleiades’ heliacal rising was also connected with calendrical reckoning.

The cluster was personified as the deity Qullqa, regarded as a protector of stored provisions and seeds. Readers may encounter several spellings—Collca, Colca, Qollqa, Qullqa, and Qollca—because Quechua sounds were represented differently in Spanish and later scholarship. Thus, Collca is a defensible English-language answer even though Qullqa is closer to a standardized Quechua spelling.