Beginnings
Two hundred years after the last Inca ruler (Tupac Amaru) died, a rebellion began to bubble away in Peru. The most famous members of the uprising were a wife and husband:
We don’t know a lot about the couple’s childhood, but we know they grew up near Cusco. Bilingual José was indigenous and studied at a Cusco school for the sons of caciques. His father was the leader of 3 towns, including Tungasuca where José was born. Raised in a family that had a certain amount of wealth, his upbringing was fairly comfortable.
Meanwhile, Micaela Bastidas was mixed-race and…
Notes
This legend comes from the Shuar people, who live in the jungle in the southeastern Ecuadorian Amazon. Generally speaking, they are brave and proud of their traditions and of the fact that they are one of a handful of indigenous groups who managed to resist both the colonising missions of the Inca and the Spanish.
To the legend, I’ve added dialogue and a few extra details, such as the intrepid wife’s name. Yanua means ‘star’ in the Shuar language.
Sources:
- Creación de un museo digital interactivo sobre criaturas mitológicas, leyendas y cuentos ecuatorianos de diversas zonas del Ecuador por…
The Wife and The Frog
She waited for the amphibian to come back to the tree where it liked to sing each night. Hours and hours she waited by that tree until twilight came to the forest.
Finally, she began to hear the tree frog’s song. Then, just as she heard a croaking noise getting louder and louder, she lifted the axe high above her head and swung it round to cut into the tallest tree in the area. She hacked and hacked whilst the kuartam frog drew nearer and nearer. Her arms began to shake a little under the…
The Wife
Yanua decided to go into the jungle, and so, after a brief stop at her hut, she made her way out of the clearing in which they all lived. But just as she was on the edge of the forest, one of the village’s young warriors approached her and asked her what she was doing. Once Yanua had told him, he couldn’t help but throw up his hands in horror at the thought.
“I insist that not only I, but also all of the community’s bravest men, accompany you into the forest. …
Today (12th August) in 1563, Beatriz Clara Coya entered the Santa Clara Convent in #Cusco as a young girl.
She had a very hard life, as her father died early on and a mestizo raped her at the age of 8.
More info: mybook.to/idie
Image by Jorge Láscar.
#inca #onthisdayshe #peruvian #12august
The Spirits
“Ah yes,” the shaman uttered. “I see it now so clearly. Your intuition has served you well, daughter. The tree frog was rightly angry at being ridiculed and so transformed himself into a jaguar, whereupon he attacked and ate your husband. I’m sorry to say that your husband is no more. This is the work of the spirits. They wanted to teach the man a lesson. For they had been watching him and had grown angry at his lack of proper regard for the rainforest’s creatures. This is what has come to pass. Your prediction was correct and he…
The Jaguar
… he was pounced on from behind by a huge jaguar, its claws flexed and angry, face ripped open in a mighty roar, muscles clenched and ready. The man fell to the ground under its terrible weight, unable to move and too frightened to cry out.
Meanwhile, back in the community, Yanua was asking her neighbour, “Have you seen that useless husband of mine?”
The neighbour shook her head.
She continued, “He slipped out this morning and I haven’t seen him since. He was supposed to go fishing with the other men and instead he has disappeared. Typical!”
…
The Frog
He thought it would be humorous to imitate the voice of a kuartam frog that lived in the trees of the jungle and made a strange noise that sounded like ‘kuar-tam’, hence its name. He had been planning the idea and practising the imitation for a while now and was impatient and itching to do it. This childish man thought more about larking around than finding food for himself and the community.
“Kuartam, Kuartam,” he called out in the middle of the night, but nothing happened. Only soft rustlings of leaves could be heard. The forest was still.
…
In the province of Morona-Santiago, around the city of Macas, a legend has always been told about the dangers of behaving disrespectfully towards nature. It is a legend that comes from the Shuar people, who live in the jungle in the eastern Ecuadorian Amazon. Generally speaking, they are brave and proud of their traditions and of the fact that they are one of a handful of indigenous groups who managed to resist both the colonising missions of the Inca and the Spanish.
The Joker
There was once a Shuar man who lived near Macas and was always laughing and joking about…
Here is a poem to go with Inca-tastic Tales, bringing history to life for kids!
books2read.com/incatastic
mybook.to/incatasticbw
A is for Anawarki, Pachakutik’s wise empress.
B is for bird, who warned the twins of doom.
C is for Cusco, the empire’s first city.
D is for daughters, who prayed to the moon.
E is for excellent emeralds,
F for a fox’s friendliness.
G is for glittering gold,
H for Mama Huaco’s happiness.
I is for Inti, god of the sun.
J is for jaguar, who made Cusi cry.
K is for kill, enemies beware.
L is for Lima, where Pachakamaq died.
…
Helen Pugh
#Inca history where #women take centre stage! Ebooks & paperbacks for kids + adults in English & español. She/her author.to/hpugh #womenshistory #SouthAmerica.
