In the article below, we'll tell you about one of Enrique López Albújar's famous literary works, " Andean Tales ." Don't miss it!
Summary of Andean Tales
In 1920, the Peruvian writer Enrique López Álbujar published his book "Cuentos Andinos" which marked the beginning of a new beginning in the study and appreciation of indigenous culture, on Peruvian literature. Andean tales have a collection of ten books in total and many people made positive reviews, counting different authors.
[su_note]These books do not try to leave the people of this culture as victims, they try to describe them without pity, if they do not try to describe their strength in each of the stories, showing them as human beings with their positive and negative things.[/su_note]
The Andean tales summarized received a number of positive reviews and supported the work of Enrique López Álbújar. Even for Raúl Porras Barrenechea, a renowned diplomat and historian, the story "Ushanan-jampi" is the most dramatic in all of American and Spanish literature.
All these stories differ significantly because they are narrated taking into account the psychology of all the characters; and not just the force with which events naturally occur.
Furthermore, all these Andean stories by Enrique López Albujar reflect the loves, customs, traditions and all aspects related to the lifestyle maintained by the population.
There is also a variety in these writings, some depending on the subject can be creative; and use the flavor of coca according to the sensation it provokes in people. If it is sweet it means that a great victory is coming for the whole tribe, on the other hand, if the taste is bitter it is because a defeat is very close; Other stories reach other levels, including dramaturgy.
Andean Tales Collection
The collection of Andean Tales, written by Enrique López, comprises ten stories, each published on a different date. These are: The Three Jircas, The Louse's Pride, Ushanan-jampi, The Champion of Death, How Coca Speaks, The Man with the Flag, Taita Ramun's Mule, Julio Zimens's Glass, Licenciado Aponte, and Tiger Cub. Below is a brief summary of some of the most popular Andean Tales :
The three jerks
It is one of the most popular stories in this collection, which tells us the story of how Maramba, Rondos and Paucarbamba became the three most famous hills in the Huanuco region, which is still present today, these are also called the three Jirca-yayag by the Indians. The story is told by an Indian named Pilco who speaks with the narrator.
Here's a summary of the three hills mentioned above; they are named after three great warriors who fought for the love of a beautiful young woman. The governor, also called Curaca, was named Pillco Rumi and had a very beautiful daughter.
Cori Huayta is the name of his daughter; if translated into Spanish the meaning of her is Flor de Oro. her beauty was so great that her father did not consider any man as worthy for her; Cori was already a woman and even her father refused to marry her; the three men were originally from the highlands, the jungle and the sea.
The three warriors surrounded the entire place with a large army; the Pillco-Rumi man shows great desperation in the face of this situation and begs God Pachacámac to help him. To help him he takes Cori as part of her payment and kills her by striking her with lightning; At that very moment he hears his voice mentioning "huañucuy" which means die.
The citizens of the town very scared and fearful, leave this place. And in another place they establish her life, she was baptized as Huánuco, in honor of the word mentioned above by the God.
If you want to know more about the three Jircas, we invite you to watch the following video:
[su_box title=”The three Jircas part I” radius=”6″][su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/FEQyPFeljPc”][/su_box]
the champion of death
It tells us the story of Hilario Crispín who is an Indian without respect, who kidnaps Liberato Tucto's daughter, but when he gets tired of her, he murders her and not happy with that, he also dismembers her to finally give her to her father.
When Liberato plans his revenge, he looks for the best shooter, but not only to kill him with a shot, but to make him suffer by passing through him with 10 bullets and that the last one is deadly, at the end of the story, the man makes an ancestral warrior custom, eating the Hilary's heart
To detail this story a little more, here are the most important aspects:
It is a story that is very marked by cruel violence, revenge is the main theme in this story. A bad Indian is presented with a vision of revenge and negativity.
The story begins with an Indian named Hilario Crispín, who robs a young woman (Faustina); after he gets tired of that woman he decides to kill her. But death is not enough for this Indian; he dismembers the entire body and gives it as a gift to Liberato Tucto, Faustina's father.
Liberato's reaction is to take revenge and he hires the services of Juan Jorge, an excellent shooter; which clarifies that he not only wanted to see this Indian killed with a single shot. He wants her to suffer so that she pays for all the damage she caused both to him and to his daughter.
He tells him to give him ten shots, with long pauses to increase the pain; the shooter accepts this offer, however, he clarifies that the price to carry out this action is four bulls and ten rams. Liberato, without having problems, complies with his payment and they go to where Hilario is; immediately the action begins and Liberato enjoys all the suffering.
Finally, Juan Jorge takes out his heart to consume it, thus continuing with the warrior custom of his ancestors.
ushanan jampi
This tragic story revolves around Cunce Maille, who is a thief in the village who has stolen cattle several times. When he tries to defend himself before the elders of the community or also known as yayas, he excuses himself by exclaiming that he simply stole from those who accused him of having committed these acts, even so, they remind him that he could not apply justice, That said, his punishment was never to return to the village and in case he did not comply with this, the law of Ushanan-jampi (meaning: the last remedy) would fall on him, in other words, they would give him the death penalty.
[su_note]Despite the warning they gave him, he decides to go back to his beloved mother's house, but what he didn't know is that she was being watched. When the news reaches the yayas, they go to confront him along with a group of Indians, but before they arrive, Maille manages to escape and enters a tower, where he is quickly located. [/ Su_note]
In an attempt to defend himself, he begins to attack with his rifle, although he knows that eventually they will catch him, so when the attacking Indian, José Facundo, convinces him to surrender, he gives in, believing that they will set him free after that, but everything turned out to be a deception, since as soon as he approaches to give him a supposed peace hug, he tries to hold him.
Between the struggle, Maille manages to free himself and cuts out Facundo's tongue. By the time he hurts him, he already had the other Indians on him, and between the cries of his mother, Maille is repeatedly stabbed, and they even rip his skin and dismember him.
To conclude the ushanan jampi summary , the part is added in which the very furious Indians drag all of Maille's remains; with the aim of extracting the viscera and all participating in a bloody orgy.
the flag man
This story is about Aparicio Pomares who returns to his town after the war with Chile, even so, by 1883 the battle was not over. Chilean soldiers had invaded Huánuco and its people, despite being in a critical situation, did not take action against them.
The story will revolve around how Pomares tries to convince the Indians to free them and raise their weapons in battle, through words and stories from his past he manages to encourage them. During the crusade, carrying a bicolor flag with him, Pomares fights with the Indians and they are victorious after killing the Chilean chief. Unfortunately at the end of the story, Pomares dies due to his injuries.
The lawyer Aponte
This story is connected to Ushanan-jampi. After finishing his military service, Juan Maille returns to his beloved town, but many things had changed in his absence, his father had died (as told in the other book) and his grandmother was nowhere to be found. As if that weren't enough, everyone in town hates him for his father's bad deeds, so he leaves and changes his last name to Aponte.
He takes a job at a farm, but his boss turns out to be a hot water smuggler, but Juan still decides to help him. For a while, everything goes well and he manages to pass the merchandise without being seen, but in the end, he has to camp due to a storm.
He suddenly remembers that he forgot to pay tribute to the Jirca (a deity) and begins to feel that something is wrong. His hunch becomes true when he hears horses approaching, and between the bullets fired from the men's guns, one hits Juan, ending his life.
Conclusion
The book, Andean Tales , is comprised of true stories of the violence endured by indigenous people. Furthermore, it values them as human beings, highlighting their virtues and the inherent humanity that characterizes them.
[su_note]In writing these stories, Enrique López attempted to portray the indigenous people as free individuals who endure tragedies while respecting their ancestral traditions. If you'd like to read summaries of these stories, we invite you to read another of our articles: Ovid's Metamorphoses .[/su_note]