Mitos y Leyendas: The Quechua Story of the Hummingbird

• Genny de Bernardo shares the Quechua legend of the bravery of the hummingbird.
• This is a tale from this tribe that tells the heroism of this tiny animal.
• Its sacrifice saved the people of the world.

A very long time ago, in the Quechua lands in Peru, a bad drought started and kept going without stopping.

Sadness spread all over the area: small plants and moss turned into dust, the bigger plants started to die, and the sky stayed clear with no clouds to be seen.

The ground was hit by the very hot sun rays, with no shade for relief. Rocks started to break, and warm air caused dust to swirl around everywhere.

Not having rain put all the plants and animals at risk of dying.

Legend of the Hummingbird

However, amid this desolation, a Cantu flower tenaciously struggled to survive. This plant was especially resistant to drought, but even it began to dry out due to the lack of water.

The plant put all its effort into its last bud, concentrating all its energy on it.

During the night, something magical occurred. With the first lights of dawn, the bud transformed into a hummingbird, instead of falling to the ground as one might expect.

This hummingbird, with its tiny wings, flew off and headed towards the mountain range in search of help.

The Hummingbird Dies

The hummingbird’s destination was the summit of the mountain where the god Payán lived.

Payán was known for his preference for the Cantu flower, which he used to decorate his costumes and festivals. However, when the hummingbird reached the mountain summit, it found no Cantu plant.

What it did find was the god Payán, who, sensing the aroma of Cantu, realized that the flower no longer grew in his land due to the drought.

The hummingbird, exhausted from its long flight, died in Payán’s hands after begging him to help the exhausted land.

The Snake Amaru Awakens

Payán, moved by the bravery of the hummingbird and the sadness of the earth, cried two rock crystal tears that rolled down the mountain, causing earth tremors and rockslides.

These tears fell into Lake Uva Cocha, awakening the mythical snake Amaru.

Amaru, with its head at the bottom of the lake and its body coiled around the mountain range, stretched and woke up after centuries of sleep.

Its gaze was brighter than the sun, and its breath turned into a dense fog that covered the hills with its fish tail. By flapping its soaked wings, it caused copious hail and continuous rain for days.

Mission Accomplished

The reflection of Amaru’s many-colored scales in the water signaled peace and made a rainbow.

After doing its job, Amaru curled up again on the mountains, put its bright head into the lake, and fell back asleep.

The mission of the hummingbird had been fulfilled. The rain restored life in the land of the Quechuas, and the people watched as their empire greened and discovered new watercourses. Since then, the legend of how a small desert flower turned into a hummingbird to save the world from drought has been passed down from generation to generation.

Amaru’s scales became a symbol of the connection between all things, beings, lives, realities, and dreams. Genny de Bernardo bids you farewell. See you next time!