Huarochirí Manuscript
Also known as: Manuscrito de Huarochirí, Quechua Myths of Huarochirí
The Huarochirí Manuscript is a Quechua-language compendium of Andean myths, rituals, and traditions, preserving pre-Columbian cosmology as recorded under Spanish colonial rule.
Description
The Huarochirí Manuscript, compiled in the late 16th century in Quechua and attributed to indigenous informants under the priest Francisco de Ávila, is a rare written preservation of Andean mythology and cosmology. It contains thirty-one chapters that recount the deeds of local deities, origin stories of sacred mountains, accounts of floods, transformations, and ritual practices. Central figures include Pariacaca, a storm god, and Chaupiñamca, an earth and fertility goddess, alongside ancestral beings and trickster figures. The text reflects both mythic narratives and ritual contexts, often tied to sacred geography. It stands as one of the most important sources for pre-Columbian Andean religion, though mediated through colonial oversight, offering invaluable insight into the spiritual and mythic imagination of Quechua-speaking peoples.
Historiography
The manuscript was compiled between 1598 and 1608, likely in the Huarochirí region of Peru. It survives in a single colonial manuscript held in Madrid, later rediscovered and translated into Spanish in the 20th century, with José María Arguedas and Gerald Taylor among its key translators. Its survival owes partly to missionary campaigns, though its indigenous voice is strong despite colonial mediation. The manuscript is central to modern scholarship on Andean religion and myth.
Date Notes
Compiled in Quechua during the late 16th and early 17th century by indigenous informants, transcribed under the supervision of the priest Francisco de Ávila
Major Characters
- Pariacaca
- Huallallo Carhuincho
- Cuniraya Huiracocha
- Chaupi Namca
- Macahuisa
Myths
- Paria Caca the Storm Deity
- Huallallo Carhuincho the Devouring Ogre
- The Flood of Huarochirí
- Chuqui Suso and the Springs
- The Rivalries of Local Mountain Gods
Facts
- The Huarochirí Manuscript is one of the only surviving Quechua-language mythological texts from colonial Peru.
- It was compiled between 1598 and 1608 under the supervision of Francisco de Ávila.
- The manuscript contains 31 chapters describing local Andean myths and rituals.
- Central deities include Pariacaca, a storm and rain god, and Chaupiñamca, a fertility goddess.
- The manuscript preserves stories of floods, transformations, and sacred mountains.
- It reflects the coexistence of pre-Columbian religious traditions with colonial oversight.
- The single surviving manuscript is held today in Madrid.
- Key modern translators include José María Arguedas and Gerald Taylor.
- The myths often tie divine beings directly to specific Andean landscapes.
- The text is a cornerstone for the study of Andean cosmology and ritual practice.