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Quechua Literature
Would you forget me? (Click here to listen to the Spanish version) That hardened heart of yours A lump of rock drenched by my tears Was for me a cozy nest Amidst the cold, amidst the wind
By the shadow of your eyelashes I let my life take its repose, And from your wine-colored lips I imbibed the wholesome blood
Would you forget your beloved? The one who dwells in the limbo
Would you mow down your own heart by cutting mine to pieces? Andrés Alencastre/Kilku Warak'a Read in Spanish by Odi Gonzales
Quechua Poetry Modern Quechua poetry has developed its own set of features. It no longer exhibits its original collective quality, anonymous and oral, so apparent in the prayers and hymns that make up its initial manifestations. Even though ancestral poetry highlighted the exploits of the founding gods, colonial poetry was of a markedly religious nature. It was mainly composed of prayers and hymns translated from the catholic ritual. Nowadays, the exceptional works of José María Arguedas have eclipsed those of many other Quechua writers who have produced remarkable bodies of literature. The cusqueño Kilku Warak'a (pseudonym used by Andrés Alencastre) is one of the finest writers in the Quechua language. When his first book Taki Parwa (Song in bloom) was published in 1952, Arguedas identified Alencastre as "One of the best Quechua poets of the 20th century". In 1999, over fifty years after being published in Quechua, Taki Parwa was published once again in a bilingual Quechua/Spanish edition. The translation, prologue and notes were prepared by the Peruvian poet and educator Odi Gonzales. Besides Arguedas and Alencastre, the Peruvian lyrical tradition written in Quechua continues to grow thanks to the work of César Augusto Guardia Mayorga, Inocencio Mamani, Faustino Espinoza Navarro, Edmundo Delgado Vivanco, William Hurtado de Mendoza, Macedonio Villafán, Odi Gonzales and many others.
Quechua Narrative Even though a great part of Peruvian literature has its origins in the Andean oral tradition, the production of Quechua written narratives has been quite scant. In the last few years anthropologists have been more instrumental than writers in enhancing this body of literature through the introduction of a new genre: the testimonial. One of the most entrancing books in this genre is Gregorio Condori Mamani's Autobiography, compiled by the anthropologists Ricardo Valderrama and Carmen Escalante. Also, as of late, many foreign scholars have visited Quechua communities in order to gather stories, legends, songs; which are later transcribed, translated, and published in bilingual, Quechua/Spanish editions. The efforts put forward by publishers like the Bartolomé de las Casas Center and the Peruvian Studies Institute have been instrumental in the distribution of these books.
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