Ecuador Joannan silmin - Ecuador in my eyes: Amazonic Kichwa traditions

A group of men appeared under the canopy of the leaves at the limit of the fields with the jungle.

The men carried long chonta spears and blow pipes wit poisonous darts.

All of them had different animals in their chakras that they had hunted and two of the men carried a pekari, a jungle's wild boar, between them.

We have arrived, the first man called and the rest followed him in a row.

All of them were strong men, muscled and fearsome warriors of the forest.

The children run around them, and laughed in high voices, the women greeted them with joy.

The group laid their eyes on the prince and silence grew in the village.

Who is he, asked a man with blue parrot feathers in his hair and a puma by his side, who is he and why is he in our village.

I have come well, answered the prince and bowed his head.

The women grew silent and returned to their fires, the children ran away.

Rumi stepped ahead, I welcomed him, he answered quietly, he has come well, and he has drinked our chicha.

The men looked at the stranger surprised, there was no way to throw him away tonight, he had been given chicha already, and with it their welcome and hospitality.

Well, we must show the stranger that we are hospitable people and we know how to treat the strangers, the man with the puma answered.

I am not a stranger, prince answered, I am Amarun, your prince, and I have come to seek men to help me to free my father, the king, from the hands of the jaguar men and the vultures in the North.

Everyone fell quiet.

Let us talk; an old man very much alike Rumi answered finally, let us talk and drink ayawaska, so we can know what we should.

Yes kuraka, the other men nodded; that is the best thing we can do.

Let us talk and drink ayawaska, the sacred drink, the man with the puma nodded.

I am Ukuku, he said, like the ocelot.

A good name for a fierce warrior and sage hunter, the prince thought.

This is our kuraka, Ukuku nodded at the old man, our wise man, the one who talks with the nature and the spirits.

I am kuraka, the man nodded; my name is Urku, like the mountain. And I rise above the other men in my quest for the good of our people.

I am Amarun, the prince answered, like the noble boa, wise and ancient. And I have his magic, together with him I can talk with the earth, the water, the fire and the air.

That is good, the old man nodded, that is how it should be.

Women, Ukuki barked, get the pekari and get some food coming for us.

The women run to take the meat from the men and to start cooking.

Issa, bring us chicha, Ukuki called, we shall talk and kuraka needs to get ayawaska ready to be able to spirit travel.

Yes father, Sisa stared at her toes and ran to do as her father had ordered.

She is kacike's daughter, Amarun thought looking at her sinuous form, descendant of a chief, a woman worthy of a leader.

To be continued...

This is the tenth part of the story.

If you want to read the first part of the story go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 1

To read the second part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 2

To read the third part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 3

To read the fourth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 4

To read the fifth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 5

To read the sixth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 6

To read the seventh part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 7

To read the eight part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 8

To read the ninth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 9

To read the eleventh part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 11

To read the twelth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 12

This is the seventh part of the story.

If you want to read the first part of the story go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 1

To read the second part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 2

To read the third part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 3.

To read the fourth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 4.

To read the fifth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 5.

To read the sixth part of the story, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 6.

The two weeks were torture to the prince. He travelled as fast as he could to his mother’s castle where he tried to say goodbye to his mother. But he was too old, too big, too grown-up, her mother didn’t even recognize him.

In her mind the time stood still, and so in the castle and around it, everything was in a standstill. Even the sun and the moon moved slower and seasons of the rains had changed to accommodate her magic.

But her enchantment only reached the area around the castle. And the prince had treaded the outlying forests and the distant mountains. He had reached the peaks that almost touched the sky and the rivers that were born in faraway lands.

For him, the time never stood still. It moved its steady course with the rains and dry seasons, just like it always had. And through the change of the rainy seasons to dry seasons and back, the prince had grown and become an adult himself. He was no longer the little boy that the queen remembered.

- Farewell, mother, the prince whispered and a single tear slid from his eye to his cheek and fell to the ground.

Where the tear fell grew a bush of chili pepper with tiny little peppers, the strongest ones. Without saying a word, the bear took a handful of the peppers and hid them in his chikra.

From a far, prince stood looking at her mother and said his goodbyes. It almost broke his heart but he was determined to go. He buried his hands to the bear’s fur, loyally it had followed him to the castle and loyally it stood next to him while he said his goodbyes.

- Are you sure you want to go, it asked him and looked him straight to the eyes; the queen will go mad from grief and loss if you will perish also. She cannot lose both of you, you know?

- I am sure, friend, prince answered; I cannot stay here and watch her destroy herself. And I cannot be the small boy he wants me to be.

Now the whole kingdom and its future depended on his journey and its success. The queen’s magic was changing everyone and little by little this corner of the world would be separated from everything else. And who could know what would happen then?

Prince could feel the land’s dissatisfaction and knew how dangerous that was. It would not let this go too far. And when that would happen, he knew that his mother’s life would be in danger.

Fast he ran, as fast as he could. Around the castle that was not fast. It was more like treading molasses, he fought against the wind and his feet could not find a good hold on the earth. He knew that in reality he was fighting against his mother’s will.

Finally he came to a standstill. He stood next to a calm little lake where his parents had used to bring him when he was little. Prince looked at his image in the lake and stood as still as he could. Little by little he could feel the grip of the queen around him, letting go. And he could his mother’s deep sadness that lingered around the lake.

He remembered the good moments that they had had at the lake, the laughter and the play. How his father had taught him to swim and her mother how to jump. How they had spent the days in the water to dry themselves in the sand later on, basking in the heat of the sun. He remember how they would have sat under the trees, eating maitos and drinking chicha, his mother herself had made and served them.

The queen wrapped herself in these memories and let go of her sadness. It was good, she told herself, everything was good. Her son had just gone to the lake to swim and play, like he always did. And she moved on, letting go, letting the prince free.

- Goodbye mother, the prince whispered again and jumped into action.

He ran and ran, his feet flying over the forest path. For him it had been only two days but when he finally passed the area surrounding her mother’s castle and the limits of her spell, he could see that the fortnight had almost passed. It would be a close call to reach the spot where he had agreed to meet with Iluku.

So the prince ran, without stopping to eat, or drink, without taking even a slightest nap. He carried a bit of food with leaves wrapped around to it, to keep it fresh and a little bottle of chicha that his mother had given to him while welcoming the stranger that she thought he was, to the castle. From this he took sips while he ran, and felt fortified by her love. The food he saved for later.