The Ugly One (20 page)

I move forward in time and watch the Mother Jaguar attacking me to protect her children. It is a horrifying scene of fear and blood and screams. It is no wonder my younger self chose to forget something so terrifying.

And now I see my scarred self hiding throughout many, many years. I wish I could tell this girl that all will be fine; the suffering will have meaning and be worthwhile. But as the wind, all I can do is watch and learn.

There is my first visit to the Paqo's
wasi
, when his flute music called to me and I dared to enter his home. I chuckle, watching myself stumble over my own feet as I rush outside, a look of terror twisting my face. No wonder my teacher laughed at me that day.

Here I watch Mama in her kitchen, preparing the evening meal. She hums her usual soothing tune, waiting for the water to boil. I watch in wonder as she purposely places the side of her hand within the bubbling water, a look of resolve on her face. Not once does she cry out. Her determined walk to the Paqo's
wasi
, protecting her burnt hand from the winds with her cloak as she steps along the path, is one of a mother who will do whatever she needs to do for her child. Her face dares anyone who might see her to question her actions.

I am Beyond, but I can feel my body calling me back to the Acllahuasi. It is telling me that there is much to do. The people need more rain, and it is time to begin my journey as a powerful priestess so I may help them. But there is one more time and place that calls to my wind self. It was a favorite of mine back when I was the Ugly One. Come and visit it with me as the wind.

We are home in the
llaqta
. It is night, sometime after Ucho returned from Machu Picchu and the crops grew from the plentiful rains. The people are gathered about the fire, their bellies full and content. Uncle Turu stands in front of the popping flames, waiting in stillness for the tension to build, and I hover on the edge of the crowd, as I used to do. It is a new one, this story Uncle Turu is about to tell.

As the wind, I know that Uncle Turu's long silences before he begins aren't just to create tension. It is his habit to go over the story in his mind, to recall how he wants to tell it. Now he is thinking about the ending of the story he is going to share, as it is still new to him and he wants to tell it right and true. Let us visit Uncle Turu's thoughts and hear how he practices this ending in his mind as the people wait by the fire.

And so the Marked Girl stepped up to the Sacred Rock and placed her scarred cheek against its body
. Here Uncle Turu imagines that he will turn his head and lean in, as if touching the side of his face to a large rock.
The Marked Girl spoke with the spirits and asked for the rains. A mighty clap of thunder foretold the end of the dry times as the skies opened and gave the earth its water. The crops grew and the people feasted, always giving praise to the Marked Girl. She had saved her people, right and true.

Uncle Turu looks at the faces flickering in the light of the flames and offers a smile. It is a story filled with joy and pride that he is about to tell. He is ready. He opens his mouth and begins. Let us whisper along with him, “
Ñawpa pachapi
, once upon a time . . .”

Quechua was the
runa simi
, the human tongue, of the Incan people. They did not have a written language, and there's no way of knowing exactly how their words were pronounced. But a version of Quechua is spoken today in parts of what used to be the Incan empire, and I have based the pronunciation guide on that.

 

aca (
uh
-kuh): maize beer

 

antara (un-
tuh
-ruh): a musical instrument made of wooden pipes bound together

 

ari (uh-
ree
): yes

 

aymaran (eye-
muh
-run): a dance that originated in the Ay maran culture and was adopted by the Incan culture

 

campu (
kuhm
-poo): a pendant

 

Capac Raymi (
kay
-pack
ray
-me): Magnificent Festival

 

Chasca (
chuh
-skuh): Morning Star

 

chasqui (
chuh
-skee): a runner, a messenger

 

cocha (
koh
-chuh): a high mountain lake

 

conkana (kon-
kuh
-nuh): a board game using wooden dice and colored bean counters

 

curacas (koo-
ruh
-cuhs): inspectors sent by the Sapa Inca to take an annual census

 

Cuzco (
koo
-scoh): Center of the World, or navel; the capital city of the Incan empire, now part of Peru

 

hailli (
hayl
-yee): victory

 

hanaq (
huh
-nuk): Beyond

 

huaca (
hwa
-cuh): a spirit rock

 

Huayna Picchu (
hway
-nuh
pee
-choo): Young Peak

 

ichu (
ee
-choo): a gray-green grass found at higher altitudes

 

Illapa (eel-
yuh
-puh): god of thunder and lightning

 

Inti (
in
-tee): Sun Father, sun god

 

Inti Raymi (
in
-tee
ray
-me): Festival of the Sun

 

kachitu (kuh-
chee
-too): beauty

 

kallpa (
kull
-ypuh): strength

 

koka (
koh
-kuh): leaves or plant used for tea and for medi cinal and ceremonial purposes

 

llaqta (
lyuhk
-tuh): a village

 

maca-maca (
muh
-kuh
muh
-kuh): a plant native to the high Andes

 

Machu Picchu (
ma
-choo
pee
-choo): Old Peak

 

Mama Killa (
mah
-muh
keel
-yuh): Moon Mother, moon goddess

 

Mama Ocllo (
mah
-muh
awk
-low): Daughter of the Moon

 

manca (
muhn
-kuh): a cooking pot

 

Manco Capac (
muhn
-koh
kay
-pack): Son of the Sun

 

Micay (
mih
-kay): Beautiful Round Face

 

Millay (
mihl
-yay): Ugly One

 

molle (
mol
-yeh): a type of tree

 

muña (
moon
-yuh): a grass whose scent was used to help with head and stomach problems

 

munca (
moon
-kuh): a purple flower

 

musqukuti (moo-skoo-
koo
-tee): dreamtime

 

Musuq Simi (
moo
-sook
sim
-ee): New Voice

 

ñawpa pachapi (
nyuh
-puh puh-
chu
-pee): once upon a time

 

Pachamama (puh-chuh-
mah
-muh): Earth Mother, time

 

pachis (
puh
-chees): thank you

 

Paqo (
puh
-koh): Shaman

 

punga-punga (
poon
-guh
poon
-guh): a flower that was often dried for medicinal purposes

 

qanimpa (kuhn-
eem
-puh): the past

 

quena quena (
keh
-nuh
keh
-nuh): a traditional wooden flute

 

quipu (
kee
-poo): colored thread or strings used to record important information

 

quwis (kwees): guinea pigs raised indoors for food

 

Sapa Inca (
suh
-puh
ing
-kuh): Emperor

 

simi (
sim
-ee): voice or language

 

Sumac Huanacauri (
soo
-muhk hwuh-nuh-
kaw
-ree): Hand some Rainbow

 

taccla (
tuhk
-luh): a foot plow

 

tampu (
tuhm
-poo): rest house

 

taskikaru (tuh-skee-
kuh
-roo): journey

 

tumi (
too
-mee): a ceremonial knife often used in sacrifices

 

Turu (
too
-roo): Bull

 

Ucho (
oo
-choh): Hot Pepper

 

vicuña (vih-
coo
-nyuh): a close relative of the alpaca and llama

 

wasi (
wuh
-see): home

 

Willka Rumi (
will
-ykuh
room
-ee): Sacred Rock

 

Wiñay Wayna (
win
-ee
way
-nuh): Forever Young

 

yachachisqa (yu-chuh-
chee
-skuh): an apprentice

 

yanapa (yuh-
nuh
-puh): helping

 

yunka (
yoon
-kuh): the jungle

 

yuraq sara (
yoo
-ruhk
suh
-ruh): white corn

 

yuya (
yoo
-yuh): remembering

I have always loved traveling, and over the years I've visited many places around the world. Peru, with its lush rainforest and mountainous hiking trails, had long called to me, and finally I was able to go. My agenda was simple: to explore and experience a country very different from my own. One highlight of the trip was having a scarlet macaw land right on my head at a nature reserve in the rainforest. Another was visiting Machu Picchu, a magical, ancient city built high in the mountains. I wandered the maze-like passages of the ruins and imagined what it might have been like to walk there when it was a thriving, alive place.

When I returned home, all sorts of unique souvenirs came back with me: beautiful sweaters woven from alpaca wool,
antara
flutes, small rocks and pottery shards I had collected as I hiked through the Andes Mountains, and, of course, many lovely pictures and memories. What I didn't know was that something
else
had come back with me too. A story.

I was trying to finish a novel that I had been working on before my time in Peru. One day I opened my notebook to jot down a few ideas, and suddenly the sentence
I had always been ugly, as far back as I could remember
was staring up at me from the previously empty page. Where in the world had these words come from? Who was saying them? I tried to ignore this unexpected character, but she was insistent. I drew a picture of her, and there she was, one side of her face hidden by a macaw that perched on her shoulder. Her uncovered eye stared at me hauntingly. I knew I had to write her story, and eventually I knew her name: Micay.

I returned to Peru a few years later to research the Incan culture in more detail. Along the Incan trail, I met a modern-day shaman. For many hours, late into the night, I interviewed him as we sipped coca tea by the fire, surrounded by the towering Andes Mountains. He shared the white corn myth with me that night, a story that became part of this book. I also visited Machu Picchu again and imagined it coming back to life. We call it Machu Picchu now, because that is the name of the mountain upon which the city is built, but I wondered what it had been called by the Incans of long ago. For my story, I chose the name Sacred Sun City, but to this day we don't know the true name or exact purpose of this mysterious place.

I stayed in Machu Picchu well past sunset, gazing up at the sky. The stars were nothing like the faint, distant lights I had seen all my life. At that high altitude, they were more like close friends twinkling in the dark space created by the mountains that soared into the hushed air. It was clear that the people who built this place were deeply connected to the sky, the rocks, and the gods they believed dwelled within all. Every stone was shaped and placed with great care, and one towering rock was expertly carved to resemble the mountain behind it. There was no denying the power it commanded in this special, now silent city. It became the Sacred Rock of my story.

In the years that followed, I slowly finished the book, writing and rewriting, trying to remain true to what I had learned of the Inca people as I wove Micay's story into the fabric of their rich culture and spirit. I hope I have done the Incans justice and that Micay is pleased that her story has finally been told.

BOOKS

Nonfiction Books About Machu Picchu

Kops, Deborah.
Machu Picchu: Unearthing Ancient Worlds.
Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2009.

Lewin, Ted.
Lost City: The Discovery of Machu Picchu.
New York: Philomel Books, 2003.

 

Nonfiction Books About the Incas

Calvert, Patricia.
The Ancient Inca.
New York: Franklin Watts of Scholastic, Inc. 2004.

Drew, David.
Inca Life.
Hauppauge, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 2000.

Newman, Sandra.
The Inca Empire.
New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2010.

Roza,
Greg. Incan Mythology and Other Myths of the Andes.
New York: Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2008.

Sayer, Chloe.
The Incan Empire.
New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2011.

 

Incan Folktale Picture Books and Collections

Garcia, Anamarie, illus. by Janice Skivington.
The Girl from the Sky: An Inca Folktale from South America.
Chicago: Children's Press, 1992.

Jendresen, Erik, and Alberto Villoldo, illus. by Yoshi.
The First Story Ever Told.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Kurtz, Jane, illus. by David Frampton.
Miro in the Kingdom of the Sun.
New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.

Sepehri, Sandy, illus. by Brian Demeter.
Munay and the Magic Lake: Based on an Incan Tale.
Vero Beach, Florida: Rourke Publishing, 2007.

 

Novels About the Inca

Clark, Ann Nolan.
Secret of the Andes.
New York: Penguin Books, 1952.