Full transcript
0:12We , Ecuador ,
0:16today present stars and ancestors .
0:37Spirits have inhabited the earth since
0:40before time . They incarnated in bodies
0:44and traveled the planet . They arrived
0:48as wanderers , but they no longer knew
0:50where they came from . They sought the
0:53gods and called them with songs . Around
1:06the fire , the men and women who
1:08populated the generous land grew up .
1:13They knew a black and very scarce stone
1:15with which they made weapons and tools .
1:22By skillfully striking it , they
1:24obtained arrowheads and spears . They
1:30tried to satisfy an ancestral hunger
1:32and did not imagine that they were the
1:35source of infinite ingenuity . The stone
1:42is called obsidian . The Earth made many
1:52turns around the Sun and women now
1:55germinate food like their plants .
2:04Animals and fruits continue to come to
2:07the hearth . Men finally found their
2:12home and the wise Shaman raised his
2:15song to the gods . And the gods heard
2:27him . The greatest plant of the Andes ,
2:30corn , arrived to be distributed in
2:32abundant grains . Sacred corn and
2:48obsidian emerged from the heights of
2:51the Andes to open new borders . Just as
3:10the earth bears fruit , women give life
3:13to men . Women are the Earth , and men
3:17are the ones who fertilize her . So are
3:20the sun and the moon , love , and death ,
3:26an infinite duality . When men became
3:38brothers with plants , they celebrated
3:40the union of so many and chose their
3:43territory . They praised the stars and
3:57venerated their dead . They faced death
4:02with fertility , and women and earth
4:05were the wombs of the seed . The first
4:12recognized culture in America lived on
4:14the coasts of present-day Ecuador . It
4:17was called Valdivia . Ceramics
4:22flourished with it , and from the clay
4:25emerged the well-known Venuses , women
4:28in gestation , the symbol of fertility .
4:40From the Valdivia culture onwards , men
4:43perfected ceramics . The various
4:48cultures that occupied a good portion
4:50of the equatorial coast at different
4:53times made various vessels for domestic
4:55use . Their ceremonies were presided
5:00over by figures of shamans , idols and
5:03mythical animals that served to summon
5:06divine forces . Ah . And if forms were
5:34born from clay , plants brought
5:36something more than food . Cotton was
5:40vital to cover their bodies . The first
5:45textiles emerged from cotton and it was
5:47a loom that wove them . Restless on land
6:00, they sought a way to navigate the
6:02waters of the sea . They did not get
6:06very far with the so-called totora reed
6:08boats . Then they devised a raft by
6:12joining logs together , but there was no
6:15force to propel it , only human power .
6:18They did not get anywhere either .
6:21Despite their attempts , restlessness
6:23continued to drive the desire to sail
6:25into the unknown . The shaman is
6:34increasingly essential , as an
6:35intermediary between man and his
6:37deities . He uses the powers of a flower
6:47, the floripondio , to converse with the
6:49gods . He asks them for a vision to know
6:54how to cross the seas . The sun and the
7:00stars of the night respond to the call .
7:05The shadows that the great star
7:06projects on the earth when it passes
7:08through the totem indicate an exact
7:10position and a course over the waters .
7:25The shaman's vision anticipates the
7:27course for the sailors . The wish seems
7:34to be fulfilled . Now that the ship is
7:42there , ready to set sail , the shaman
7:44gives to the ocean in gratitude what
7:46the earth has generated as an offering .
8:07Skins , fabrics , fruits of the earth ,
8:09cotton and obsidian are the goods .
8:13Ceramics are the fragile cargo , but
8:17something more precious goes with them .
8:20It is a sacred shell , the Spondilus .
8:26Due to its mysterious marine origin , it
8:29is granted a unique power . The chosen
8:35ones must dive to great depths to find
8:37it . Then , to make their lungs hold up ,
8:41they drink a brew of Frailejón , a
8:43plant brought from the Andes . To reach
8:48depth quickly , they carry with them a
8:52carved stone that acts as additional
8:54weight . The ship that set sail under
9:37the gaze of the stars and the good
9:39omens of the shaman returns to its
9:42origin , armed with the experiences from
9:44beyond the sea and with Spondylus , the
9:47sacred shell . In the land of Salangone ,
9:51they are awaited to begin the
9:53privileged work . From the sea they
9:55bring two shells from the same family .
9:58They are the Spondilus Calcifer and the
10:01Spondilus Princeps . While the Princeps
10:05is small , red on the outside and is
10:08found at great depths , the Calcifer is
10:11larger , purple on the edge and is found
10:15at shallower depths . Using stone chips ,
10:21they manage to drill holes in them and
10:23create jewelry made of beads or mullets
10:25. These , in addition to being used as
10:30attire , were recognized as coins and
10:32were used for exchange . On their
10:37voyages , the Manteños and Hancavilca
10:40navigators took the Spondilus from
10:42Salangone north to the Mayans and south
10:45to what is now known as Chile . But by
10:49land , the spondylus reached as far as
10:52the Amazon jungle or the equatorial
10:55Andes . Thus , each shaman finds his way
11:00to speak with the forces in the jungle
11:02through Ayahuaska , a powerful beju to
11:05cure bodily illnesses or inspire the
11:08soul . In the Andes with the San Pedro ,
11:19a magical and visionary cactus , all
11:22vibrant links with the divinities .
11:40Beyond times and places , the universal
11:43spirit that governs men is to approach
11:46the gods in close alliance with nature .
11:52So , by that same spirit , men seek to
11:54get closer to each other and share both
11:56their beliefs and their objects . They
12:06are known as jumbos , the merchants who
12:09transport goods from the Andes to the
12:11coast or the jungle . Thus , among
12:15various local products , the obsidian
12:17cargo from the mines of the Andes
12:20shares the same mat with the sacred
12:22shell of the spondylus . The spondylus ,
12:38feminine divinity , finds its masculine
12:41equivalent in a snail , the Strombus .
12:45Together they procreate the continuity
12:48of life . Ah . Ah . Their children , the
13:27flowers and the grains seal the union
13:29in offerings to the sacred fire . Due to
13:47its ceremonial significance and its
13:49delicate flavor , the body of the
13:51Pondilus was distinguished as the food
13:53of the gods . Tornadoes of symbolic
14:01seals are prepared to celebrate , after
14:03so many journeys and risky investments ,
14:06the well-being of all . Oh . In the
14:37immense mouth of a river , there is the
14:40island covered in mangroves . Here the
14:54sun materializes in gold and matter is
14:57transmuted into spirit . Only the dead
15:06and only dead dignitaries come to this
15:09island . Ah . And a few living people ,
15:40the only inhabitants of the island ,
15:42adorn them with gold by trade . They
15:47guide them on the long journey to where
15:50only they know . On a pyramid and
16:38parallel to the funeral rite of the
16:41highest figures , the offering of a life
16:43takes place . Gold has taken on the
16:52forms , death has taken over the island
16:55of Tolita . But gold did not only serve
17:04the dead , the living also enjoyed its
17:07shine . Their abundance was not wealth ,
17:23but the magnificent manifestation of
17:25the sun on earth . 2,000 years ago ,
17:30numerous lordships had formed in half
17:33the Earth , in South America . The small
17:36Oayus communities have been left behind
17:39. Alliances between lordships formed
17:42confederations . One of them , the
17:47Cañari , built large cities among the
17:50mountains . The myth tells that the
18:01Cañari are descendants of a macaw and
18:04a young man who had taken refuge with
18:06her , escaping the universal flood . They
18:12dedicated great devotion to the closest
18:15star , the moon . So the greatest cult
18:20was called Kilia Raimi , which means
18:22festival of the moon , and it was
18:25celebrated in a sanctuary called
18:27Pilaloma . They wore a gourd belt around
18:52their heads as a headdress . That is why
18:55they were called pumpkin heads .
19:06Splendid goldsmiths worked the abundant
19:08gold for their funeral rites . Under
19:17Pila Loma is hidden the tomb of an
19:20illustrious priestess . Her maids
19:24accompanied her to the end . After a
19:54journey of many days , the Jumbos
19:56returned from the coast . They arrived
20:00in the land of the Quitus , when they
20:02were celebrating an abundant harvest of
20:04sacred grains . Legend has it that once
20:08men of an intelligent and enterprising
20:11race arrived from the sea , from the bay
20:14of Caraques . Caraques comes from cara ,
20:17which means man . The caras climbed the
20:21Andes and subdued the Quitus , who
20:23inhabited a region of the mountains
20:25called Quito . From this union arose a
20:29new lordship , that of the Quitucaras .
20:33The lordships had a fixed fair site
20:36called Tiangués . Merchants came to
20:39these sites to barter . One of the most
20:43important points in the Andes was the
20:45Tiangués of Quito . And here again the
20:48products of the various equatorial
20:50regions are found , the vegetables of
20:53the mountains , the cotton of the coast
20:55and once again the Spondilus in front
20:57of the obsidian and the tears of the
21:06gods , the gold . Karan Shiri reigned in
21:12Quito . He had been at war for many
21:14years without being able to defeat his
21:16neighbors , the Puruaes . Since Karan
21:33Shiri had no male children , he
21:35proclaimed his daughter , Princess Toa ,
21:37as his heir . She chose a prince of the
21:42Puruaes named Duchisela , son of King
21:45Condorazo , to marry , achieving with the
21:47Alliance of Blood what weapons could
21:50not achieve during so many years of war
21:52. The royal symbol was a large emerald
22:12called umña , which took care of good
22:14health and happiness . Thus
22:18Duchiselashiri ruled the new empire
22:20that the chroniclers called the Kingdom
22:22of Quito .
22:26A few years later he forged an alliance
22:28with the powerful Cañari , extending
22:31the territory to Loja in the south .
22:37Every story is based on the myth that
22:39is the creative power . The people are
22:42nourished by its spirit and affirm
22:44their love for Mother Earth with the
22:46extraordinary virtues of the legend .
22:49And the legend , if poeticized , sweet
22:52and magical , is nothing more than a
22:54truth told in other words . His truth is
22:57timeless . It transcends all distances
23:01and explains to the heart through
23:03parables what cannot be understood
23:05through a detailed account of events .
23:13It happened once at the beginning of
23:15time . A people came to a peninsula
23:24seeking refuge from the universal flood
23:26. There they founded the town of Sunpa .
23:34After a long time , they had an
23:36ambitious and dreamy chief named Tumbe .
23:40Tumbe left two sons , Quitumbe and Otoya
23:44. Where their father could not reach ,
23:52they arrived . Unexpectedly , giants
23:59appeared on the coast and pursued Otoya
24:02. Otoya was soon subdued and died . For
24:18his part , Quitumbe sailed and sailed
24:20and reached the coast of Peru and
24:22founded the city of Tumbes in honor of
24:24his father . Then he returned and took
24:27refuge on an island that he called
24:28Puná . We do not know why . Quitumbe did
24:31not stay on the island for long , but he
24:34left a beautiful son named Guayanai ,
24:36which means swallow , in the womb of a
24:39woman . Finally , Quitumbe reached the
24:41fertile valleys of the equatorial Andes
24:44and founded the city of Quito . Quito
24:47means the middle or half of everything .
24:54Meanwhile , on the island of Puná ,
24:56Guayanáig Golondrina had a descendant
24:58named Manco Kapac , who arrived with his
25:00wife Mamaukio at Lake Titicaca . Another
25:05legend says that both were born in that
25:08lake and later , as envoys of the god
25:10Cocha , they would follow the path until
25:12they found the place to found Cuzco .
25:15Cuzco became the capital of the Inca
25:18Empire and Manco Kapac , the first Inca .
25:21The legend explains the common origin
25:24of the Andean peoples . The symbol of
25:27the swallow illustrates the successive
25:29migrations , all generating an ancient
25:32miscegenation . The Cuzco empire grew
25:39immense . It was the Inkatupa Kiyupki ,
25:43the first conqueror , and in his
25:44eagerness he dominated the Cañari and
25:47reached the gates of Quito . Linca
25:52banished many of the conquered peoples
25:54and sent them to live in distant places
25:56. This was the system of the mitimaes .
25:59He also brought mitimaes from Cuzco to
26:02Quito . The Inca remained for a long
26:05time in Tomebamba , which was the
26:07capital of the province . Here his
26:09firstborn son Guain Capac was born . The
26:18new Inca further intensified the wars
26:20of conquest towards the north . In Quito
26:24, the Shiris were not prepared for a
26:26war of this magnitude , but they had
26:28allies such as the Karanquis , a warlike
26:30people who had little fear of death .
26:34Cochasquí was the name of the sacred
26:36site of the Caranquis . It was also used
26:39for observing the stars , home to the
26:41matriarch named Kilago , lady of
26:43Cochasquí . Princess Kilago decided to
26:50confront Guaincapac by conquering him .
26:56She invited him to a party . After
27:05offering him chicha in a golden cup ,
27:08the seduction was immediate . She wanted
27:24to distract him with love in order to
27:26kill him , but the Inca . Kilago's
27:34attempt ended with his death . The
27:39conquest of Quito lasted several years .
27:42The blood of many warriors was shed in
27:44many battles . Some surrendered , others
27:49faced the invaders and were
27:51extinguished in the fight . A legendary
28:01battle on the shores of a beautiful
28:03lake cost the lives of more than 20,000
28:05Quito residents . The bodies were thrown
28:09into the lake and the water was dyed
28:11entirely red . Hence the name
28:14Yaguarcocha , lake of blood . Countless
28:32battles followed that of Yahuarcocha ,
28:35one bloodier than the next . It is
28:38remembered that the legendary Quito
28:41warrior Pintac was captured by Wainac .
28:47Linca was impressed by the proud and
28:49brave character of the Quito residents .
28:58According to the chroniclers , in one of
29:00the battles the Inca ordered the hearts
29:02of the fallen Quito residents to be
29:04removed and then planted in the fields .
29:13In another battle , the Quito native
29:16Kacha also lost his life . His daughter ,
29:19heir to power , was taken prisoner . His
29:23great attractiveness caught Linca's
29:25attention . Thus Pacha was saved from
29:31death in the arms of Guaincapac . The
29:37Inca tried to convince Pintac to change
29:41sides . The warrior remained unmoved .
29:46Waina Kapac fell in love with Pacha .
29:50That night would be crucial for both
29:52the Inca . The insignia of the Shiris
30:01was a large emerald and that of the
30:03Incas crimson . Now both crown
30:07Guaincapac's forehead . Just as had
30:11happened before with Princess Toa ,
30:13Pacha avoided further bloodshed through
30:16seduction and marriage . In his prison ,
30:31Pinta has not opened his mouth , not
30:34even to eat . He remains steadfast in
30:38his will until one dawn when a guard
30:41finds him dead . Enraged by Pintag's
30:52tenacity , the Incas used it to prepare
31:02a ceremonial drum that was sent to
31:05Cuzco as proof of their submission . The
31:11Incas did not know writing in its
31:13current form , but they transmitted
31:16messages through an ingenious system of
31:18knots called Kipus . The Ochasqui
31:23messengers rested along the way at
31:26places called tambos . Tambos were
31:29strategically located military posts .
31:32The Inca Trail ran through the entire
31:35empire from southern Colombia to Chile .
31:38Its creation thus made stable and
31:40constant communication possible between
31:42the numerous regions . It was a society
31:46based on slavery , so technological
31:48advances were not necessary . The Incas
31:52did not know the wheel . At that time ,
32:01the pyramids of Kochasqui were
32:03considered the navel of the world .
32:08There , the Incas absorbed the ancient
32:10knowledge of the Caranqui priestesses
32:12in their observations of the stars . The
32:25men prepared to celebrate the union of
32:27the lands , as well as those of their
32:29gods . The Inca shaman imparts the
32:43wisdom of the sacred coca . Taguantinuyu
33:04means union of four regions , which
33:07constitutes a symbol within the Andean
33:10cosmogony . His Tahuantín is no longer
33:16an empire , it is a philosophy , a way of
33:20life . The Inca loved these lands so
33:34much that in Tomebamba he erected a
33:36gold statue with the figure of his
33:39mother , inside which he kept the womb
33:41from which he came into the world . But
33:48something threatens this dazzling rise
33:51of the Inca empire . No one knows the
33:55premonition that the shaman feels when
33:57he consults the gods about the future .
34:12Strange bearded beings have appeared in
34:15the sea . The Spanish could not have had
34:20the shaman's visions , but what they
34:21managed to see through their telescope
34:23took their breath away . It was a raft
34:29from Manteña with its intrepid
34:31navigators on board . But the shaman
34:37only glimpses a face that he attributes
34:39to an ancestral memory , the god
34:43Viracocha . According to legend ,
34:47Viracocha , a white , bearded man ,
34:50emerged from Lake Titicaca and promised
34:52the Incas to protect their empire .
35:01Guainakapacak heard the shaman in his
35:04visions . Now the shaman speaks to the
35:10Inca about Pachakuti . Every 500 years ,
35:13a reversal in the course of events
35:15occurs . The encounter between Viracocha
35:18and the first Inca gave rise to the
35:20myth . The Inca took 500 years to
35:23develop and that is when the omen was
35:25fulfilled . The Spanish made their first
35:28contact with the Inca . In the year
35:311528. The Twuantin Suyu was preparing
35:39for the main festival on the day of the
35:41solstice . The threat of the strangers
35:45was still far away , but in the shaman's
35:49heart there was a bad omen .
35:56The ceremony to pay tribute to the sun ,
35:58the Intiraimi , was about to begin . The
36:43young Atahualpa , Guaincapac's favorite
36:45son , who grew up in Quito inseparable
36:47from his father , appeared . One of the
38:06messages that reached Guainakapac about
38:08the men of the sea was a canvas painted
38:10in Spain for the Inca and the shaman .
38:14That face was that of the god Firacocha
38:16. The Inca never knew if the bearded
38:25men of the sea were gods or humans .
38:28Wainaakapak never saw a Spaniard . He
38:31died trusting in Viracocha's protection
38:33. His body was taken to Cuzco , but his
38:37heart was kept in a golden cup
38:40according to his will in Quito . Before
38:47he died , he left command of the empire
38:50to his two sons as an inheritance ,
38:53Huáscar from Cusco , the southern part ,
38:56and Atahualpa , what was Quito . The
39:01struggle that broke out between the two
39:03brothers was the bloodiest and most
39:05absurd civil war in all of history .
39:15Wascar was the defeated . His victors
39:20forced him to watch the execution of
39:22his women , even the pregnant ones , and
39:24his entire court . Also his 24 children .
39:33Atahualpa was proclaimed the sole Inca ,
39:36the Sapai Inca , lord of Tantinsuyu . In
39:48the meantime , the Spanish had landed
39:50and advanced so far inland that they
39:52reached the city of Cajamarca . For
40:03Atahualpa , this was incredible . It was
40:09the first time he had seen the bearded
40:11men and , moreover , mounted on this
40:13strange animal . Hernando de Soto gave a
40:18clear demonstration on the beast . The
40:25priest Valverde , with feigned
40:26confidence , was the first to approach
40:29the Inca , accompanied by a translator
40:31known as Felipillo . He brought with him
40:35two symbols of his religion , the
40:40crucifix and the Bible . When they were
40:44offered to the Inca , he replied , " I do
40:46not want a God who is not seen and
40:48punishes his son with death . My God is
40:52my father . The sun appears every day ,
40:56it illuminates me , it gives me warmth ,
40:58it makes the plants that feed me grow ,
41:01he is a good God . " Francisco Pizarro ,
41:05offended and at the same time
41:07frightened , orders an attack with more
41:09audacity than troops on the numerous
41:11court of the Inca . In a matter of hours
41:14, the massacre is consummated .
41:20Atahualpa is captured by Pizarro
41:22himself . That same night , Atahualpa is
41:35invited to Pizarro's table . He is
41:50allowed to keep all his usual
41:52privileges , including the care that his
41:55wives always lavish on him . Puzzled to
42:05eat his captors . Could they or could
42:08they not be sent by the god Viracocha ?
42:11With an obsessive greed for gold , the
42:13calculating Pizarro offers Atahualpa a
42:15military alliance that will consolidate
42:18his power , but the Inca rejects it
42:27until he realizes that he is Prisoner .
42:31Pizarro wants gold , lots of gold . The
42:36Inca then offers to fill the room with
42:38gold up to the marked height in
42:40exchange for his freedom . Atahualpa's
42:51imprisonment lasted 8 months . A special
42:54relationship was established between
42:56the two masters of war , but the moment
42:58arrived when Pizarro had to make a
43:00decision . The room was about to be
43:03filled with the promised gold , but he
43:05could not risk freeing Linca . He
43:08decided to kill him . Thus the moment of
43:11the trial arrived . Atahualpa was tried
43:15for four reasons : for having usurped
43:17the command of the empire , for killing
43:20his brother , for practicing idolatry
43:22and for insurrection . He was sentenced
43:26to death at the stake . At the last
43:28moment , Valverde offered him the
43:30sacrament of baptism . Atahualpa agreed ,
43:33believing that this would save his life
43:35. The spiritual integrity of Tantín
43:46Suyu was also demolished . Mercifully ,
43:51the sentence of the Indian , now a
43:53Christian , was changed to hanging . Upon
43:59learning of his death , the bearers of
44:01the gold reward hid it in the path . The
44:06body of the last Inca received a
44:08Christian burial . To this day , the
44:12legends of Atahualpa's treasure torment
44:15greedy minds . All is now in the past .
44:23The Twuantinuyu succumbed to a new
44:25change in the course of events . An
44:30ancestral belief confused the god
44:32Diracocha with bearded rogues . An
44:39immense silence reigns since then . The
44:43500 years of the prophecy have not yet
44:46passed . oho