Humacchuco - Culture

• History
• Stories and Myths
• Celebrations
• Quechua

History (return to top)

Haciendas

Humacchuco has always been an agrarian community relying on crops and livestock for the prosperity of the area. From the 1550’s through 1969 Humacchuco and the surrounding areas were haciendas. The villagers were for all practical purposes slaves on the land that their families lived on for hundreds of years. In 1969, with the coming of land reforms, the workers were able to buy the land that they worked so hard on. Now they are able to not only provide food for themselves and the community, but also able to sell livestock and crops to make a living.

1969 provided new opportunity but the following year disaster struck Humacchuco and its neighboring village of Yungay.

The Tragedy in 1970

In 1970 a large earthquake struck central Perú causing unimaginable devastation. One of the hardest hit areas was the Yungar region. On the 31st of May, 1970 at 3:40 in the afternoon, the earthquake struck with ferocity, jostling a large part of the northern top of Mount Huascarán. The result was a massive landslide that started its way down the valley towards thousands of villagers. All the inhabitants of the Callejón de Huaylas were surprised, but especially those of the province Yungay. Many of the people in Yungay were gathered at a football match between two teams, Huashao and Atma. When the earthquake struck confusion set in. Many knelt and prayed because they thought it was the end of the world, others were running for their lives. The earth opened itself up and ‘burst’ with great force. When the quake finally subsided, the worst was still in store. The campesinos (inhabitants) of Pullucushma were the first ones to be enveloped by the river of mud, snow and rock that was making its way down the valley. Yungay was the next to feel the brunt of the landslide. In a matter of moments the village was completely buried and with it thousands of men, women and children. Humacchuco itself was mostly spared due to its location in relation to the flow of the mudslide.

After this tragedy, many towns were literally wiped away. Those who survived were severely injured and without clothing, food or medical attention. Those who lived in a small town near Humacchuco named Pullucushma all disappeared. To this day Pullucushma remains uninhabited for fear of a repeat disaster. The wounded were eventually brought to the town of Cachilpampa and the following day helicopters came to bring them to Lima or Trujillo. The dead were buried on the same spot where they were found. An airport was built not far from Yungay where supplies could be brought in but rebuilding was a slow and arduous process and the tragedy is still fresh in the minds of many people in the area.

The Establishment of Huascarán National Park

Huascarán National Park was established in 1975. Its border is right on the outskirts of Humacchuco so the establishment of the park affected the surrounding community greatly, both in positive and negative ways. Land that once was free for cattle grazing was now protected by the park system. The residents of Humacchuco were worried that it would greatly change the way they raised cattle. A compromise was reached so that the surrounding communities could still use portions of the Llanganuco region inside the park for raising cattle while other areas would be protected. It turned out that the protection of land was beneficial for the people of Humacchuco because the biologically diverse areas attracted thousands of tourists each year. Also, the campesinos were (and are) allowed to sell things like cuy to visitors in a tourist center near Lake Chinancocha.

The Project Started by The Mountain Institute

In 1999, The Mountain Institute in Huaraz set up pasture monitoring systems in Humacchuco. This provided new and different work for the people of Humacchuco and started a partnership that is blooming today. In 2000 a project was set up to help Humacchuco bring in and manage visitors so that they could eventually become self-sufficient. Guest houses were built and in 2001 the first guests were invited in. The project was met with great success and all involved hope that the project will continue to be successful to continue the development in the region of Humacchuco.

Stories and Myths (return to top)

The name of Humacchuco

The name of Humacchuco comes from an event that happened years ago. Once two stone sat on top of each other in the nearby pass of Rayán. An earthquake shook the area and dislodged the stones then situated themselves in the form of a hat. Because of this, the nearby community named the area ‘huma’ (on top of the head) ‘chuco’ (hat), giving the town its present name, Humacchuco.

The legend of Huascar and Huandy

This legend tells the story of how the two mountains, Huascarán and Huandoy in the Cordillera Blanca, came into existence.

For many years there were two empires. The kings of these empires were bitter enemies and had constant wars.

These kings had children. One king had a son named Huascar while the other king had a daughter named Huandy. As fate would have it, these two youngsters fell in love. They continued to foster their love knowing very well that if their parents discovered their secret relationship, there would be another bloody war. Because of this they only would meet at night when they would be safe from prying eyes.

One fateful day the couple went out to enjoy the beautiful sunlight. They walked arm in arm through a field full of flowers. While they were walking together, a soldier from one of the kings’ armies saw them. They realized that they were seen and quickly escaped into the mountains. The two young lovers made a pact to stay together even in the face of horrible consequences.

Once word reached the two kings of the affair, they joined their armies to find the couple. When finally they were caught, their punishment was swift and harsh. They were chained to a mountains face to face without being able to embrace one another. The couple cried and cried – so much that their tears turned to rivers, freezing to ice.

God showed pity on them and changed them into mountains. Huascar was converted into the snowcapped mountain Huascarán and Huandy into the mountain Huandoy. Melted snow from Huascarán became Lake Orconcocha (lake of the man) and thawed snow from Huandoy turned into Lake Chinancocha (lake of the woman). They have a son that is represented by Lake Chopincocha that lies between the two lakes. Even now, the mountains continue to cry, their tears flowing into their respective lakes.

Legend of Maria Josefa

María Josefa was a woman of incomparable beauty who stood out from her peers for her moral and religious stature. One day María Josefa met a man of means quite opposite to herself, who proposed marriage. María denied the proposal and started a flight to the mountains following the trails Conchucos. The gentleman followed and discovered her in prayer near Lake Chinancocha where he offered riches and high societal position if she would marry. She resisted the further temptations of the devil and denied the suitor once again. The gentleman lost all reason, drew a dagger and buried it within the chest of María, who died as a heroine defending her chastity.

The trail in which she found refuge can be found in the Llanganuco area of Huascarán National Park. Appropriately it is named The María Josefa Trail. To this day, locals still pay tribute to the heroine by placing offerings in a small hut found on the trail. They write wishes on paper, light candles and believe that their crops will improve if they leave hairs of their animals as a sacrifice.

Celebrations (return to top)

The people of Humacchuco celebrate religious holidays such as Christmas and Semana Santa (Easter) as well as their own days set aside to recognize the workers in the community and to appreciate aspects of nature that are significant to their daily lives, an example being the Trout Festival. Parties are prepared for days in advance as people cook and chop wood for ‘pachamancas’. The parties themselves are quite lively with everyone in the community dancing to local musicians and dressing in colorful and elaborate garb.

Along with special days of the year put aside for celebrations, birthdays are also celebrated. The 15th birthday for girls and the 17th birthday for boys are especially important as the birthdays are considered the time when they come of age.

If you are lucky enough to be visiting during one of these fiestas you will be welcomed and invited to join with all aspects including dancing and eating typical dishes. Here is a list of celebrations with their corresponding dates:

Quechua (return to top)

Quechua is the preferred language of the campesinos. It is the language of the Cusqueños, the people of Cuzco that became the heart of the Incan Empire. The language is so common for many rural communities that some children never learn Spanish. In Humaccchuco the children learn Spanish in school or their parents teach them. Even so, they still prefer to speak Quechua to one another on a daily basis.

If you care to practice, here are the numbers for one through ten in the Quechua language from the Ancash region:

1 - Huc (who-kh)
2 - Ishkay (eesh-kay)
3 - Quima (key-ma)
4 - Chusku (choo-skoo)
5 - Pitskay (pit-skah)
6 - Jokta (hoe-kta)
7 - Quanchis (kahn-cheese)
8 - Puwac (puh-wahk)
9 - Iskun (ee-skun)
10 - Chunka (choon-kah)