10 Argentine pre-Hispanic legends to see the world differently

Before the Spaniards arrived in American lands, they were inhabited by natives who knew how to express their way of seeing reality with their beliefs, language and love for the environment, in brief legends that lasted over time and gave a story to each event. , like rain or dusk. When we read them, we will learn a lot from these cultures and from all they had to show us in the world.

O awesome.club prepared for you 10 pre-Hispanic legends from Argentina that are as beautiful as they are interesting, and that can teach us to see reality in a different way.

From the very beginning, when the word “science” did not exist, man was already wondering about his origins, so you can read many fascinating stories about the creation of the world. This legend, which takes the name of a flower, tells us that Tupá, the good god, used the virgin land brought by I-yará, the god of the waters, to make two clay dolls with it, which he later gave life to. , so that they were natives of that place. But this is not a story like that of Adam and Eve, they were not a man and a woman, but two brothers: Moroti, a pale man, and Pita, who had reddish skin🇧🇷 Some time later, Tupá gave each of them a partner so that they could have families. The land was beautiful and there was a lot to see: Pitá discovered fire, Morotí learned to hunt, and both tasted the roasted meat with satisfaction. All was well between them… until they faced the drought and, as they suffered the hardships it entailed, the two began to fight over provisions, to the point that they began to use the weapons used in hunting to fight each other. The war between the two filled the patience of Iyará, the sun god, who made it rain for three days in protest. Then he went down in a beam of heat to talk to the two of them. “How can they fight like that? Are you brothers!”I told him with disgust, like an angry father scolding his two young children. The warning worked, because soon they embraced repentantly, asking for forgiveness for the damage they had caused. To everyone’s surprise, the embrace didn’t end there, the union was such that they, little by little, became a reddish flower like Pitá, but pale when drying, like Morotí. Thus, the forest lily was born, and Tupá decided to leave it on Earth to remind all men that they should never fight one another.

The protagonist of this story is what Argentines usually call the light bug. A Guarani named Isondú was the most athletic and attractive young man in his tribe, and while this made him warm to women, it also made men feel the opposite. In other words, while they loved him, the rest hated and envied him. Men, failing to surpass him in all their abilities, decided to set a trap for him and get rid of him🇧🇷 One night, while walking in the darkness of the jungle, he was ambushed and attacked with guns and blows until he was killed. Fortunately, the villains were not the winners of this story. As soon as Isondú let out her last breath, the drops of blood from her wounds rose to the sky and began to glow, illuminating the entire forest with their small lights. Isondú died, but your beauty endured in those fireflies that we see today as a song of victory in front of the envious who do not know how to rejoice in the joys of others.

This romantic legend is also a beautiful example of how pre-Hispanic cultures saw events in nature as messages from the gods.

The hero of the story was called Igtá, a young athlete who fell in love with Picazú, one of the most beautiful women of his tribe. As the affection was mutual, and with the approval of their families, perhaps someone thought they could be united in marriage without any problems. But it wasn’t like that, because they had to overcome many other tests. The first was to ask the permission of the Moon through Tuyá, the wise elder of the tribe. Fortunately, the star with a bright light in the night sky gave its approval. So, the chief of the tribe decided to test Igtá’s ability by making him swim for a long time in a pond, and then sent him hunting for the tribe. Far from backing down, he fulfilled all the demands, surpassing them in time and quantity. They were married afterwards, but unfortunately this did not mean a happy ending for the protagonists, because the approval of Tupá, the good god, was still lacking. This one, unfortunately, he expressed his disapproval of the union with a heavy rain that everyone interpreted as her cry. The couple was then exiled to an island where all the couples whose marriages were not approved by Tupá lived and, while the two went swimming, the people, to lessen the punishment of the god, insulted them. Soon after, a member of the tribe shot an arrow at them, and many others joined in the action, thus putting Igtá and Picazú’s lives at risk. Suddenly, the evening sun was painted an intense red that dyed the earth and the sky the same color. This impacted the crowd, who fled in terror, which allowed the lovers to escape alive. Finally, they arrived at the island where they could live their love happily ever after (exiled, of course).

The Moon and the Sun were often protagonists of the multiplicity of stories and myths. In this case it was no exception, they took on a heroic role even in a legend that justifies the existence of a natural monument located in Mendoza, which is very popular in Argentina.

The story tells that the heir to the Inca throne became seriously ill. Thus, his tribe, who held him in high esteem, decided to go out in search of a spring of magical water which, as the sages of the kingdom had investigated, was the only thing with miraculous power to heal him🇧🇷 They wandered for months to find it, but when they arrived, they noticed with complete indignation that to reach the miraculous water it was necessary to cross a stormy and extremely dangerous river. Their indignation is understandable, as someone who, in a long run, can see the goal, but realizes that he will not be able to reach it. The prince’s life was already hanging by a thread, he couldn’t take it anymore. After all the effort and struggle, was this your end? May I help! The Sun and the Moon, who were witnesses of all the care of the tribe, were moved by the affection of their members and decided to help. Then the sky darkened, and the ground moved, like an earthquake, causing huge boulders to fall from the top of a mountain. When the turmoil ended, the men contemplated the emergence of a bridge that allowed them to reach the source. So they took the water to the prince who, by drinking it, regained his health, which allowed him to have a long life with his tribe.

The carão is a bird that lives mainly in the lagoons of northern Argentina. According to accounts, Carão was a very handsome young man who liked parties and dancing. While this description might make us think that it could be a headache for his family, it was just the opposite: he was a good son, a cheerful character, who loved your mother very much, to whom he devoted all his care, as she was in very fragile health. But one night, her health took a turn for the worse and Carão decided to seek the help of a doctor, but he never reached his destination. On the way he saw that there was a party and, after taking a look around, a beautiful woman completely stole his attention. He danced with her until a friend arrived, giving him the news of his mother’s death🇧🇷 The blame fell on him, and there was no consolation that could ease his suffering. Changing his cheerful personality, he began to cry, until his clothes became frayed feathers, and his body was transformed into a bird that now bears his name: the Carão. This legend can teach us a lot about loving our parents and our duty to care for them.

Irupé is a common aquatic plant in Argentina, known for its beauty. Legend has it that everything came about thanks to two lovers, Morotí and Pitá. A good love story must have a tragedy that matches the affection of the protagonists, and this case is no exception. Morotí wanted to test his partner by throwing his favorite bracelet into the river to see if he was able to pick it up, and so he did. But Pita did not resurface. After a long wait, Morotí, in an act of desperation, also submerged himself to look for the body of his lover and, just like his partner, he never left the water again🇧🇷 Unfortunately, the tribe understood that the couple had met their deaths in the river. But at dawn, they saw a strange flower floating near the beach, where they found the beautiful Morotí in the white petals and the daring Pitá in the red ones. Not even death could be against this love.

The paineira is a tree also known as Chorisia🇧🇷 Because of her pronounced curves, the indigenous people used to compare her to the figure of a woman, and it was based on this similarity that they created a legend that had a beautiful young woman as the protagonist. This one, being able to choose any suitor, decided to give his heart to a brave warrior who one day left to defend his tribe in a war and never came back. She swore not to love another man and went to the jungle to surrender to death🇧🇷 One day, two hunters found her on the ground, already lifeless, and, wanting to lift her body, they discovered that she began to transform into a tree, with branches and roots that began to emerge from her extremities. The Indians were terrified (who wouldn’t be in that situation?) and returned to the village. Some time later, they dared to return to the place. However, in the place where the girl’s body had been, there was now a tree with its own figure and white flowers. legend says that these little flowers are the tears that the lover shed for her dead love.

We couldn’t make a list of Argentine legends without including something as important as mate, which is a very popular infusion in the country, made with ground yerba mate leaves.

Yací, the moon, was very curious and loved to explore the human world. But unfortunately, when she arrived on Earth, darkness was already present, and she couldn’t see more than she illuminated with her dim light. Considering it an injustice to know the world just by what the Sun told her, one day she took courage and, with the Araí cloud, descended during the day to Earth disguised as a woman. They roamed the forest with so much emotion that they didn’t realize that a hungry tiger was following them, and they could have satisfied their hunger with them, had it not been for a hunter who appeared behind the animal and shot it with two arrows. In fact, the man didn’t do it as a heroic act, he hadn’t even noticed the women who were in danger, he simply had the tiger as his prey…