Three Poems in Quechua

Issue 34

Indigenous Literature

by Javier Pariona Salvatierra

June, 2025

Yaku Chukchacha

Sapa tuta simpani

yaku chukchaykita

Yakuhina lluqllamuptin

Ñachqa makywan

K i l l a p a s

s a p a c h i s i n k u y m i

warkurayan

nina kuruhina

yaku chukchachaykipi

W a y r a p a s

s a p a p u n c h a w m i

ñachqapayan

chuyay

yaku chukchachaykita

kuyasqay yanachallay

yaku chukchachaykim

rikraykihina

sumaq

sumaqta

aytun

rumi sunquyta

qasilla p u ñ u n a m p a q

Sweet Hair of Water

Every night, I braid

your sweet hair of water

which is like a torrent

that flows between my hands

when I comb your tresses.

And even the splendid moon

every evening

slides

entangles its rays

like a worm of fire

among your sweet hair of water.

And even the almighty wind

every morning

brushes

purifies

cleans

your sweet hair of water.

My dearest, my beloved,

your sweet hair of water

is like your shoulders.

Interwining

beautifully, delightfully

my heart of stone

that waits for you

to sleep calmly.

I

N

T

KILLA

p u y u i l l a p a c h i k c h i p a r a

r i t i i p

u

c h i r i RUPAY s u l l

a

q a s a PUNCHAW w a y r a

l a s t a TUTA c h i r a p a

lluqsimuychik llapaykichik tinkunanchikpaq

yarqaymi qamuchkan

qatarimuychik

Q

A

W A R M I

I

chuyay chuyayta chuyanay

mamapachata

pachamamanta

chay Y A K U W A N

mayupi

quchapi

S a c h a w a y t a m i k u y

asasllamanta sapichakuychik punchawhina

a m a p i p a s w a ñ u n a m p a q.

S

U

MOON

cloud thunder hail soft

snow ra

in

cold HOT fros

t

freeze DAY wind

snowfall NIGHT rainbow

all of you come to meet us

the hunger is coming

stand up and come here

M

WOME

N

and purify with clean and pristine water

the Earth Mother

the Nature Mother

with this WATER

from rivers

and lakes

Trees Flower Food

so your roots grow up like the day

to avoid the death of any being.

Anqas Yaku

Anqas yakupim

tayta inti michin

lliw Wanka Willka

runakunata

sunqunmantam waytarichin

killapa chukchanta

wayrapa sunqunta

miski llulluwayta

wiñananpaq

lastapi

parapi

ritipi

wayrapi

ama p

i

p

a

s

qunqayta

qunqanampaq.

Blue Water

In the blue water

Father Sun reigns

over all people

of Wanka Willka

and make the hearts bloom

the hair of the moon

the heart of the wind

the sweet and delicate flowers

and makes them flourish

in the cold

in the snow

in the air

in the rain

so that n

o

b

o

d

y

forgets

forgetfulness.

Translated from Quechua to English by Christian Elguera Olortegui

Photo: Spencer Arquimedes, Unsplash.

Javier Pariona Salvatierra

Javier Pariona Salvatierra (Lircay, Huancavelica) is a bilingual poeta and writer in Quechua and Spanish and a cultural promoter. He teaches Communications at rural educational institutions. His poems were selected for Harawinchis: Poesía quechua contemporánea (1904-2021). His books include Killapa Chukchan (2021), Yakura waytita del viento y la lluvia (2022), and Rumiryaku (short stories in Quechua, 2025). For his Spanish-language poetry, he took first place in the first Premio Internacional César Vallejo “Red Sacha Perú” (2025) and first place in the tenth Concurso Nacional de Poesía “Asonansas” (2024). He was also a finalist for the eighth Concurso Nacional de Poesía “Huauco de Oro” (2024), and he took second place in the ninth Concurso Nacional de Poesía “Asonansas” (2023) and in the thirtieth Premio Nacional “Horacio Zeballos Gámez” (2022). For his Quechua-language fiction, he received first place in the first Bienal de Narrativa “Vitaqura” (2022) and an honorable mention in the second Concurso del Cuento de las Mil Palabras (2022). He was likewise the winner of the Premio Nacional Bicentenario “Nuestros Relatos” (2020) and took third place in the twenty-fourth Premio Nacional “Horacio Zeballos Gámez” for myths and legends (2015).

Christian Elguera Olortegui

Christian Elguera Olortegui (1987) was born and raised in Lima, the capital city of Peru. However, he recognizes his family roots in Tingo María (a Peruvian Amazonian town in the province of Huanuco). He earned a bachelor’s degree in Literature from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and holds a PhD in Iberian and Latin American Languages and Literatures from the University of Texas at Austin. He also completed a Graduate Portfolio in the program in Native American and Indigenous Studies at this institution. Currently, Christian is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Marist College and, since 2021, he has been a translator and Indigenous Literature correspondent for Latin American Literature Today (LALT). As a creative writer, he has received literary accolades in Peru, such as an honorable mention in the XXI Biennial Copé Short Story Award for his text “El extraño caso del señor Panizza” (2020), the Copé Silver Award for his short story “El último sortilegio de Fernando Pessoa” (2022), and the Copé Gold Award for his first novel, Los espectros (2023).