Theatre
Apu Ollantay
Ollantay
Antonio Valdés · 1770
Synopsis
Ollantay, a war chief of the Antisuyu born outside the royal line, secretly loves Cusi Coyllur, daughter of the Inca Pachacútec. He asks for her hand; the emperor, who reserves his daughters for royal blood, refuses him. Ollantay leaves Cuzco, has himself proclaimed Inca by his people and entrenches himself in the fortress of Tambo, where he defeats General Rumiñahui's army in an ambush. Shut up in the house of the chosen women, Cusi Coyllur has given birth there to a daughter, Ima Sumac, raised not far from her; then Pachacútec dies, and his son Túpac Yupanqui succeeds him.
Context
The oldest known copy, dated to around 1770, is attributed to the priest Antonio Valdés, who is said to have written the drama down and arranged it for the stage; Justo Pastor Justiniani copied it, and other copies were kept with the Dominicans of Cuzco. A copy by Justiniani, titled Rigores de un padre y generosidad de un rey Ynca, held in the Archivo General de la Nación, was declared cultural heritage in 2021. Tschudi published the text in Vienna, and Clements Markham translated it into English in 1871. Some hold Valdés to be the author, others a copyist; the most widespread view sees in it an Inca legend transmitted orally and then given form in the colonial period.
Who it is for
A drama in three acts, in mostly octosyllabic Quechua verse, in which serious scenes alternate with the lines of a comic page; it can be read in a bilingual edition.
Prizes and reception
Translated into English, German, French and even Latin, it is regarded as the major work of Andean theatre.