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Peruvian literature

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The term Peruvian literature not only refers to literature produced in the independent Republic of Peru, but also to literature produced in the Viceroyalty of Peru during the country's colonial period, and to oral artistic forms created by diverse ethnic groups that existed in the area during the prehispanic period, such as the Quechua, the Aymara and the Chanka indigenous groups.

Prehispanic oral tradition

The artistic production of the pre-Hispanic period, especially art produced under the Incan Empire, is largely unknown. Literature produced in the central-Andean region of modern-day Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, was transmitted orally, as there were no known writing systems at the time. It consisted of two main poetic forms: harawis (from the Quechua language)--- a form of lyrical poetry---and hayllis--- a form of epic poetry. Both forms described the daily life and rituals of the time, and were recited by a poet known as the harawec.

Orally transmitted folktales expressed the cosmology of the Andean world, and included creation and destruction myths. Many of these stories have survived until the present, thanks in no small part to the efforts of early chroniclers such as Inca Garcilaso, who rediscovered Quechua poetry, and Guaman Poma de Ayala, who preserved mythology. Their inclusion in the "official canon" was a slow process, as they were not viewed with seriousness. For instance, Jose de la Riva Aguero, in his 1905 thesis Character of the Literature of Independent Peru considered the Pre-Hispanic literary tradition "insufficient" and unimportant in the formation of any new literary tradition. It was resurrected from obscurity in the XXth century, by a number of literary scholars and anthropologists who compiled and rescued Pre-Hispanic myths and legends. Among them are:

Adolfo Vienrich - 'Tarmap Pacha Huaray'' (translated as 'Azucenas quechuasor Quechuan lilies), compiled in 1905; and Tarmapap Pachahuarainin(translated as Fabulas Quechuas'' or Quechuan fables), compiled in 1906

Jorge Basadre - 'La literatura inca(Incan Literature), 1938; En torno a la literatura quechua(Regarding Quechua Literature), 1939.

Jose Maraa Arguedas, who translated a XVIIth century manuscript entitledHombres y dioses de Huarochiri''(Men and Gods of Huarochiri)

Martin Lienhard - 'La voz y su huella. Escritura y conflicto etnico-cultural en America Latina. 1492-1988'' 1992

Antonio Cornejo Polar -'Escribir en el aire: ensayo sobre la heterogeneidad socio-cultural en las literaturas andinas'' , 1994

Edmundo Bendezu -'Literatura Quechua(Quechua Literature), 1980 and La otra literatura'' (The Other Literature), 1986

Bendezu affirms that Quechua oral tradition constitutes a marginal system opposed to the dominant Hispanicizing force. He speaks of a great tradition of "enormous textual mass" which was marginalized and sidelined by the Western scriptural system. Luis Alberto Sanchez, on the other hand, employed elements of the Pre-Hispanic tradition to illustrate his theory of a racially mixed "Creole" literature of both indigenous and Iberian parentage. To this end, he cited chronicles by authors such as Cieza, Betanzos and Garcilaso.

Colonial Literature

Literature of Peru's Discovery and Conquest

The ''Literature of Peru's discovery and conquest'' includes all works produced in in the region during its discovery and conquest by Spain. It can also refer to literature produced roughly around this time. The period begins on November 15, 1532 in Cajamarca with the capture of the last Inca lord, Atahualpa; it ends with the complete dismantling of the Incan Empire and the founding of the city of Lima. The principal literary manifestations of this period are in the form of chronicles of discovery, or are epistolary in nature. Major works which explore the literature of this time include: Francisco Carrillo's Enciclopedia historica de la literatura peruana (Historical Encyclopedia of Peruvian Literature), and various tomes by Raul Porras Barrenechea which detail the works of the early chroniclers.

Spanish Chroniclers

According to Francisco Carrillo, the early chroniclers could be divided into various groups. The first is the group of chroniclers detailing the conquest. The majority of these were writers and soldiers who were responsible for producing official transcripts of military expeditions. In addition, there also existed a small group of non-official chroniclers or personal diarists who provided unique personal insights on the effort to subdue and colonize the region. Both groups coexisted during the first period of the Peruvian conquest, which took place between 1532 and 1535.

For the most part, these chroniclers all wrote from the perspective of the conqueror, whose mission was to "civilize" and "reveal the true faith" to the native peoples of Peru. Therefore, many of their descriptions and the motivations they ascribe to the indigenous peoples of the region are distorted and in error.

Among the official Spanish chroniclers were Francisco de Xerez, personal secretary of Pizarro, who wrote the Verdadera relacion de la conquista del Peru y provincia del Cuzco llamada la Nueva Castilla , in 1531. He is also responsible for Relacion Samano-Xerez (the Samano-Xerez Narrative) of 1528, which details Pizarro's first expeditions of 1525 and 1527. His historical accounts are reiterated by Pedro Sancho de la Hoz, in his La Conquista de Peru (The Conquest of Peru), of 1524.

Another official Spanish chronicler was Fray Gaspar de Carvajal, who produced the Relacion del descubrimiento del famoso rio grande de las Amazonas (The Narrative of the Discovery of the Famous Great River of the Amazons) of 1541-1542, which described the first expedition and cartography of the Peruvian amazon territory, and of its towns and indigenous inhabitants.

Other Spanish chroniclers worth mentioning are:

Miguel de Estete - Noticia del Peru (News from Peru), 1535

Cristobal de Molina - a Chilean who was the first to write of the Indigenous inhabitants of the region in hisRelacion de muchas cosas acaesidas en el Peru, en suma para atender a la letra la manera que se tuvo la conquista y poblazon destos reinos... , 1552

Pedro Cieza de Leon -Cronica del Peru (Chronicle of Peru), published in 4 volumes: Parte primera de la Chronica del Peru (First Volume of the Chronicle of Peru), 1550;El senorio de los Incas (The Lordship of the Incas), first published in 1873 but composed between 1548 and 1550; Descubrimiento y Conquista del Peru (The Discovery and Conquest of Peru), 1946; and the fourth volume, divided into five books: La guerra de las salinas (The Battle of the Salt Mines), La guerra de Chupas (The Battle of Chupas), La guerra de Quito (The Battle of Quito), La guerra de la Huarina (The Battle of Huarina) and La guerra de Jaquijaguana (The Battle of Jaquijaguan), published in 1877, 1881 and 1877 respectively.

Indigenous Chroniclers

There were a number of indigenous and and mestizo chroniclers in Peru. Many of the indigenous chroniclers, such as Titu Cusi Yupanqui, were of royal Incan bloodlines. After familiarizing himself with Spanish culture, Yupanqui wrote Relacion de como los espanoles entraron en Piru y el subceso que tuvo Mango Inca en el tiempo en que entre ellos vivio (The Narrative of How the Spaniards Entered Piru and Mango Inca's Eperiences while Living Among Them) in 1570. In it, he presents a vision of his own history, and presents Incan creation myths, traditions and customs, historical memories and impressions regarding the conquest and colonial dominance. Other similar works are Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti Yamqui Salcamaygua'sRelacion de antiguedades deste reyno del Piru (Narrative of the Antiquity of this Kingdom of Piru) 1613, and Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's 'El primer nvueva coronica y bven govierno(First New Chronicle and Good Government) written between 1585 and 1615, but first published in 1936, in which the author details the devastation of the Andean world and tries to make sense of the chaotic reality in which the indigenous peoples find themselves. Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti also writes a chronicle in which he crudely attempts to explain the Inca cosmogony in rudimentary Spanish.

Guaman Poma, wrote an extensive 1179-page letter to the king of Spain, Philip III, in which he narrates the history of his universe and ends with a proposal for a utopic society. He embarks on a harsh criticism of the authorities, of the abusive priesthood, of the Spanish envoys and landed gentry, and of "mestizo" and creole society. In the words of Luis Alberto Sanchez, this long and futile letter constitutes an indictment of the colonial system.

Neoclassical Peruvian Literature

The hegemony of Creole oligarchy in Peruvian society favored the abandonment of indigenous forms in favor of European ones. Neoclassicists, such as Manuel Asencio y Segura and Felipe Pardo y Aliaga arose, and the genre dominated until the end of the XIX century.

19th-Century Literary Currents

The 19th-Century brought Romanticism to Peru, with the works of Carlos Augusto Salaverry and Jose Arnaldo Marquez. Narrative prose developed away from the pastoral works of Manuel Ascensio Segura and Ricardo Palma) (see Costumbrismo) toward Modernism, with the works of Manuel Gonzalez Prada and Jose Santos Chocano.

Modernism in Peruvian Literature

The general crisis following the War of the Pacific gave rise to Modernism in Peru. Its best-known exponents were Jose Santos Chocano and Jose Maria Eguren.

The Avant-garde movement was encouraged by the magazines Colonidaand Amauta''. Amauta was founded in 1926 by the prominent socialist essyainst Jose Carlos Mariategui. The influential poet Cesar Vallejo was one of its collaborators. There were various splinter groups among the Avant-Gardist poets, whose major exponents were Xavier Abril, Alberto Hidalgo, Sebastian Salazar Bondy and Carlos German Belli.

Interest in indigenous poetry was resurrected by the work of Luis Fabio Xammar. Others who brought Indigenism to the fore were Ciro Alegria, Jose Maria Arguedas, and Manuel Scorza.

During the 1950's urban realism developed with the works of Julio Ramon Ribeyro and the playwright Sebastian Salazar Bondy. Realism is also the province of the major luminary Mario Vargas Llosa, while Alfredo Bryce Echenique incorporated new narrative techniques within the genre.

Some of the most notable names in poetry are Emilio Adolfo Westphalen, Jorge Eielson, Carlos German Belli, Antonio Cisneros, Washington Delgado, Marco Martos, Carmen Olle.

Noteworthy in narrative prose are: Miguel Gutierrez, Gregorio Martinez, Alonso Cueto and Guillermo Nino de Guzman.

Contemporary Peruvian Literature

Jaime Bayly is a noteworthy contemporary Peruvian writer. His work No se lo digas a nadie (Tell No One) has been adapted for the screen.

References

Basadre, Jorge. Literatura Inca. Paris: Desclee, de Brouwer. 1938.

Carrillo, Francisco. Enciclopedia historica de la literatura peruana. Tomo 1: Literatura Quechua clasica (1986); Tomo 2: Cartas y cronistas del Descubrimiento y la Conquista (1987); Tomo 3: Cronistas de las guerras civiles, asi como el levantamiento de Manco Inca y el de Don Lope de Aguirre llamado "la ira de Dios" (1989); Tomo 4: Cronistas del Peru Antiguo; Tomo 5: Cronistas que describen la Colonia: Las relaciones geograficas. La extirpacion de idolatrias (1990); Tomo 6: Cronistas Indios y Mestizos I (1991); Tomo 7: Cronistas Indios y Mestizos II: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (1992); Tomo 8: Cronistas Indios y Mestizos III: El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1996); Tomo 9: Cronistas de convento, cronistas misioneros y cronistas regionales (1999). Lima: Horizonte.

Cornejo Polar, Antonio [y] Cornejo Polar, Jorge. Literatura peruana, Siglo XVI a Siglo XX. Berkeley-Lima: Latinoamericana. 2000.

Cornejo Polar, Antonio. Escribir en el aire: ensayo sobre la heterogeneidad socio-cultural en las literaturas andinas. Lima: Horizonte. 1994.

Cornejo Polar, Antonio. La formacion de la tradicion literaria en el Peru. Lima: CEP. 1989.

Guaman Poma de Ayala, Felipe de. El primer nueva coronica y buen gobierno. 1615/1616. Kobenhavn, Det Kongelige Bibliotek, GKS 2232 4. Autograph manuscript facsimile, annotated transcription, documents, and other digital resources.

Lienhard, Martin. La voz y su huella. Escritura y conflicto etnico-cultural en America Latina. 1492-1988.. Lima: Horizonte. 1992.

Porras Barrenechea, Raul. Los cronistas del Peru (1528-1650). Lima: Sanmarti Impresores. 1962.

Porras Barrenechea, Raul. Las relaciones primitvas de la conquista del Peru. Lima: s/e. 1967.

Sanchez, Luis Alberto. La literatura peruana, derrotero para una historia espiritual del Peru. Buenos Aires: Guarania. 1950.

Sanchez, Luis Alberto. Nueva historia de la literatura americana. Lima: Edicion del autor. 1987.

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