Cuando llego a las alturas

Cuando llego a las alturas
Voy mirando a Madre Cunya¹
Como brotan sus agüita
Dentro de sus manantiales

Canta tu walina,² lindas casteñitas
Con pañuelos en el viento
En honor a nuestras aguas
Canta tu walina, lindas casteñitas
Con pañuelos en el viento
En honor a Madre Cunya

When I reach the heights
I gaze upon Mother Cunya¹
At how her waters spring forth
From within her mountain sources

Sing your walina,² lovely young women
With scarves waving in the wind
In honor of our waters
Sing your walina, lovely young women
With scarves waving in the wind
In honor of Mother Cunya

1. Cunya (sometimes spelled Cuñaq or Kunyaq) is the name of a mountain spring that feeds Carhuayumac, the most important canal in San Pedro de Casta's irrigation system. While the name's etymology is somewhat unclear, it may allude onomatopoetically to the sound of the water as it bubbles forth from the spring.

2. A genre of ritual water song from San Pedro de Casta. Sometimes spelled hualina, the term derives from warina, a reference to the ancient Wari civilization that built Casta's irrigation system.

Tags