Cuento #1: La Leyenda de Pachacamac

The Main Temple at Pachacamac - you can still see some of the red and yellow paint that used to cover it!

Because it's been more than a week since my trip has started, I figure it's high for a REAL story, not just my scattered ramblings - so I'd like to share with you the legend of Pachacamac, an ancient god whose temple we visited on Sunday. Another blog post is in the works, with information about what I've been up to for the past few days, but as a teaser (and so that post isn't 40 pages long) here's my first "Cuento" of the trip!


LA LEYENDA DE PACHACAMAC             (The Legend of Pachacamac)
according to our wonderful tour guide Carlos


Long ago, when the Earth was first born, the god Pachacamac created a man and a woman to inhabit it. But the land was hostile and barren, and it wasn't long before the man died. The woman cried out to Pachacamac's father, the Sun God, begging him to make another human who would keep her company and protect her in this inhospitable land. The Sun God took pity on the woman and gave her a child, Wichama, who he promised would one day grow into a strong and powerful demi-god.
When the young god Pachacamac saw his father doing so much to help this woman, he became extremely jealous. One night, he came down from the sky in a fit of rage and murdered her child, tearing the boy limb from limb. Pachacamac then decided to hide the dismembered pieces in the earth, so they would never be found. As Pachacamac finished his work, something strange began to happen: the buried parts of the child's body began to change and grow, until a plant had sprouted from every piece. From his teeth grew the first ear of corn; from his hair, the first cotton. Pachacamac rushed back to the sky, leaving a single piece of the Wichima's body by the place where his mother lay sleeping.
When the mother awoke, she found the Earth a completely different place, covered with plants which had grown from the bones of her child. When she realized that her son was dead, she once again called upon the Sun God, who used the piece which Pachacamac had left unburied to bring Wichama back to life. As the Sun God had promised, the boy grew tall and strong, and soon he began to travel long distances in his hunts for food. One night, when Wichama was far away, the god Pachacamac decided to punish these humans: he returned to the earth, this time killing the mother instead of her son.
Upon his return, Wichama was horrified to find his mother dead. He swore vengeance against Pachacamac, and spent years traveling the earth to find the cruel god. Finally, on the coast of what is now known as Lima, Perú, Wichama found Pachacamac's hiding place, and began to chase him into the sea. Pachacamac dove into the water, but as he hit the first wave he turned into an island. Wichama followed, and likewise was changed into a smaller island - and so, for all eternity, these two islands will float in the ocean, never touching, waiting to be released from their rocky prisons when the end of the world arrives.

Wichama and Pachamac, wet and cranky for all eternity

This took a lot longer to write than I thought it would, mostly because I kept second-guessing myself on my grammar. I keep writing things the way that I originally heard them/would say them in Spanish, and end up with a lot of phrases that make no sense. It's not that my Spanish is getting that much better (though it certainly has improved) - it's more that I'm a mediocre English speaker now.
¡Hasta pronto, amigos! Check back for another post (and more juicy details about Pachacamac) soon!