Myths, Legends and Peruvian Stories (Mitos, Leyendas y Cuentos Peruanos)
Selections and Notes by José María Arguedas and Francisco Izquierdo Ríos
Costa – Leyenda (Coast – Myth)
006. The Hill of the Bell (El Cerro De La Campana)
Collected in Trujillo, capital of the Department of La Libertad, by Carlota Linares M., a fifth-year high school student at the “Miguel Grau” National School in Magdalena Nueva, Lima.
I was very young when on one of those evenings that the family, between one thing and another, had the conversation fall back on historical themes, legends and distant things that had happened here and there, that I heard a story, a story that had engraved deeply in my memory that I could never forget and which I am going to tell as I heard it then:
It has been many, many years since this and the Spanish were still masters and lords of Peru. On a small hill at the Cove of Huanchaco, a Virgin appeared. And here they erected a Chapel. A short time later, and when the Chapel had already housed the Virgin, an enormous gold bell of divine beauty was found nearby; it had an inscription that read: “For the Church of Huanchaco”. The news spread in an instance and reached Trujillo. They tried to find out its origin, but their efforts were in vain because nothing was known about it. The discussion was on where they should put the bell; according to some it should remain at the Chapel of Huanchaco; but others maintained that such a valuable item cannot stay in an insignificant Cove; that Trujillo would gain greater attractiveness with its cathedral adorned by that bell; besides, it’d be the same for the bell to stay at one Church or another. Accepting the second opinion, and with much effort where many men cooperated in the task, they moved the bell to the Cathedral of Trujillo.
But if the transport [of the bell] was difficult, it was much harder to get the bell up to the tower and attach it to the bars where it was to be rung. Being very tired and sweating [profusely], the men came down from the tower to contemplate how beautiful the Cathedral looked with her new and mighty bell. But the spectacle would not last, [for] very early in the morning of the next day, new, curious people stopped by to view the bell; but to their surprise they saw an empty tower and broken bars where the bell was hung. The bell had disappeared!
A messenger from Huanchaco came to confuse them even more, that the bell was found at the place where they first saw it for the first time. But in spite of this strange turn of event, they were not satisfied with the bell staying in Huanchaco. And they made preparations to take it back to Trujillo [once more]. This time they found it to be very heavy and had to redouble their efforts and ingenuity to get it to where they wanted it to be. Nevertheless, they felt great satisfaction on seeing the bell in the Cathedral where they could admire it for a second time. Guards were placed [around the bell] to prevent a repetition of the event which had surprised them a few days earlier. But for what? Perhaps the guards fell asleep, for the truth is that there were only broken bars in the place of the bell that next day.
This time they could not retain the bell any longer; the inhabitants of Huanchaco had seen it flown through the air, in a speedy flight, and thrust itself with a great boom into a hill near the Chapel of that Cove.
And there it is and will be, who knows until when.
A great festival is held every five years for the Virgin of the Chapel and [at that time] they carried her from Huanchaco to Trujillo. During the evening prayers of that festival, they say that at midnight they’d hear the grave and sonorous tolling of the bell; and others say that not only on those days, but at midnight everyday one would hear tolling of the bell, as if they are being called to [attend] mass; and that the ringing of the bell is both very impressive and strange [to the ears].
This Chapel is notable for its Virgin and because the remains of Dean Saavedra rests there. And besides, the Hill where the Bell stands is located next to it (note 3).
[Note 3] The Hill of the Bell is a typical mountain on the Peruvian coast. Because it rises in a desert plain, it seems to be much higher than it really is. It is separated from the Andes by a relatively narrow pass and its slopes fall very close to the sea. Viewed from Trujillo or from Huanchaco, this hill has the figure of large cathedral bells. Despite being several kilometers from Trujillo, The Hill of the Bell is part of the landscape of the city, its geographical world, and is the central element of the natural decoration of the valley in which the city is located.
—– VOCABULARY —–
Llanura – (topography) plain, prairie; (regularity) smoothness, flatness, evenness
Angosto – narrow
Contemplar – (to observe) to gaze at, to contemplate, to study; (to examine) to consider, to contemplate, to look at; (to allow for) to make provision for, to provide for, to envisage; (to pamper) to indulge, to spoil; (religion) to meditate
Asentado – (well-balanced) mature; (permanent) established, well-established, deeply-rooted, deep-rooted, firmly-held, settled; (positioned) situated, located
Campana – (instrument) bell; (in school) bell; (for absorbing smoke) hood, extractor hood; (for protecting food) cover; (for diving) diving bell; (sentinel) lookout
Recaer – (medicine) to suffer a relapse, to have a relapse, to relapse; (to be assigned to; used with “en” or “sobre”) to fall on, to devolve upon; (to be awarded to) to go to; (to reoffend) to relapse into, to fall back into
Lejano – (far away in space) distant; (far away in time) distant; (not closely related) distant
Grabar – (to make a recording) to record, to film (film, television); (computing) to save; (to inscribe) to engrave (in stone or metal), to carve (in wood)
Grabarse – (to recall)
Suceso – (happening) event; (criminal act) incident, crime; (accident) incident; (result) outcome
Caleta – (geography) cove, inlet, small bay; (nautical) coaster; (hiding spot) cache; (a great deal) (Chile) a lot
Capilla – (part of a large church) chapel; (oratory) chapel; (printing) proof sheet
Albergar – (to shelter) to house, to accommodate, to be home to; (to hide) to harbor; (to bear) to harbor, to cherish; (to contain) to house, to hold
Albergarse – (to accommodate) to lodge, to stay; (to take shelter) to shelter, to take refuge
Difundir – (to circulate) to spread, to broadcast, to issue, to disseminate; (physics) to diffuse (technical), to give off
Difundirse – (to circulate) to spread; (to disseminate) to become diffused
Procedencia – (source) origin; (transport) point of departure (train or plane), port of origin (ship); (legal) legitimacy; (appropriateness) properness
Vano – (fruitless) vain, futile, in vain, pointless; (unfounded) vain, empty, hollow; (agriculture) empty; (figurative) (literary) (dispirited) empty; (self-important) vain, conceited; (superficial) shallow; (architecture) opening, space
Discutir – (to fight verbally) to argue, to quarrel; (to talk about) to discuss; (to answer back) to talk back; (to debate) to discuss; (to question) to challenge, to dispute
Alegar – (legal) to claim, to allege; (to adduce) to cite (reason), to put forward (excuse or reason), to plead (excuse or reason); (to quarrel) to argue; (to protest) to complain, to gripe
Adquirir – (to get) to acquire, to gain, to achieve; (to buy) to purchase, to acquire; (to adopt) to acquire, to obtain, to take on
Barra – (long piece of metal or wood) bar, rail, crossbar, pole, rod; (quantity of a substance) bar, stick; (counter) bar; (punctuation sign) slash, oblique sign; (insignia) stripe, bar; (geological formation) sandbank, bar, river mouth, estuary; (music) measure, bar; (pole for ballet and exercise) barre, bar; (bread) baguette, French stick; (group of friends) gang; (audience) fans, supporters, crowd, spectators
Tañer – (to play an instrument) to strum (stringed instrument); (to cause to sound) to ring
Transpirar – (to exude sweat) to sweat, to perspire; (to give off) to transpire
Transpirarse – (to exude sweat) to sweat
Barrote – (rod) bar; (carpentry) rung, crosspiece
Mensajero – (person carrying a message) messenger, courier; (carrying a message) messenger
Confundir – (to disconcert) to confuse, to confound; (to misconstrue) to confuse, to mix up, to mistake; (to take aback) to overwhelm
Confundirse – (to be wrong) to make a mistake, to get wrong; (to become confused) to get confused, to get mixed up; (to become mixed with) to blend, to disappear
Conformar – (to constitute) to make up, to form; (to influence the development of) to shape; (finance) to endorse, to authorize; (to satisfy) to keep happy; (to be in agreement) to agree
Conformarse – (to be content; used with “con”) to be satisfied with, to be happy with; (to reluctantly accept; used with “con”) to resign oneself to, to settle for; (to adapt; used with “con”) to comply with, to correspond to
Contemplar – (to observe) to gaze at, to contemplate, to study; (to examine) to consider, to contemplate, to look at; (to allow for) to make provision for, to provide for, to envisage; (to pamper) (Spain) to indulge, to spoil; (religion) to meditate
Evitar – (to keep clear of) to avoid; (to avert) to prevent, to avoid; (to keep from) to save from, to save
Evitarse – (to keep clear of) to save oneself
Asombrar – (to surprise) to amaze, to astonish; (to make darker) to darken
Asombrarse – (to be astounded) to be amazed, to be astonished, to be surprised
Apoderarse – (to appropriate; used with “de”) to seize, to take possession of, to take control of; (to overpower; used with “de”) to overcome, to grip
Apoderar – (legal) to authorize, to empower, to grant power of attorney
Veloz – fast, quick, rapid, swift, expeditious
Estruendo – (loud sound) crash, din, boom; (racket) uproar; (ostentation) pomp
Vísperas – (religious) vespers
Víspera – (previous day) eve, day before
Tañido – (sound of bells) peal, ringing; (music) sound, strumming (of a guitar), picking (of a lute)
Repique – ringing, peal, pealing
Reposar – (to physically relax) to rest; (to be buried) to lie, to repose; (culinary) to stand, to settle; (to be placed) to lie, to rest; (to digest) to digest