A Man and his Cow: Laguna de Nahuinpuquio, Peru

z

Nahuinpuquio is a small, indigenous pueblo in the Peruvian Andes near the town of Ahuac. It is situated at 11,150 feet on la Laguna de Nahuinpuquio, a crystal clear lake in an enchanted valley surrounded by eucalyptus trees and majestic hills of arid red and dusty beige earth. Indigenous women watched their animals as they spun crude wool into thread to weave chompas. According to legend, the laguna is enchanted. Its name means lake with eyes, and the legend has it that many years ago the area was inhabited by the Incas who had built a sacred temple on the shores of the laguna. When the Spanish Conquistadors came to exploit the area and slaughter the ancient rulers, the Incas retaliated. Unable to defend themselves from the mounted, metal-clad white gods that Atahualpa had predicted would arrive, they decided to sacrifice their treasures and sacred belongings rather than have them fall into the hands of the greed mongering Spaniards.They sank the gold bell into the laguna where it still lies today.The locals of Nahuinpuquio tell the story that many years later, a woman grazing her flock witnessed a spectacle that reinforced the anciet legend. The bell emerged from the water and seated itself on one of the grass-tufted islands of Nahuinpuquio and started to ring. It then disappeared again into the depths of the laguna.

It was 1973 and my friend Ken and I had rented a small adobe house a stone's throw away from the Laguna. The pueblo was almost entirely Quechua speaking, but we found a campesino, Don Juan Rojas, who also spoke Spanish. He owned an empty house where his son and family used to live before migrating to Huancayo in search of employment. Nahuinpuquio was a very impoverished area and the soil was exhausted. Making a living off the land was difficult and the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), a Marxist group, had a strong presence in the area. The local campesinos were more than ready to support anyone who was offering them a better life, as it appeared the government had totally forgotten them. People were hungry and had to walk long distances to find firewood to cook with. Many people had decaying teeth due to the coca leaves they chewed daily to deaden the hunger and tiredness that they felt.

One day Don Juan asked us to keep an eye on his animals since his wife and daughter were gone for the day and he had to go to Huancayo for some medicine for his cow that was sick. We could see his small lot of land from our house which was situated on a hillside opposite Don Juan's place. He told us he would be gone about three hours.

About an hour after Don Juan had left, I noticed that Don Juan's cow was nowhere to be seen. I walked over to check on her and found her lying on the ground dead. I immediately went to a neighbor's house to tell him, and he came over and drained the blood and butchered the animal before the meat spoiled. 

Don Juan returned a few hours later to receive the sad news about his cow. He dearly loved that animal and spoke of her as a family member. He set about right away preparing a going away party for her. He started a fire and opened a bottle of his home brewed corn liquor (chicha) to help kill the pain. The small group of people who were present all partook as Juan told stories about his cow and lamented her passing. He then roasted some of the meat and we all ate some in her honor. It was truly a day in the life in a faraway land, and I feel honored to have shared in it.