Centro Internacional de la Papa International Potato Center
Important news goes here

Publications /  The Potato, Treasure of the Andes
From Agriculture to Culture

THE ORIGIN

 por: Walter Wust
According to an Andean legend, the people who planted the quinoa grain conquered the highland communities, planning to let them die out slowly by cutting back gradually on their food supplies. On the verge of starvation, the poor prayed to the Heavens. God sent them a handful of large, fleshy seeds which, when sown, grew into beautiful plants that embellished the highland plains with their purple flowers. The invaders showed no opposition, planning instead to confiscate the harvest. When the plants had withered and their fruits appeared to have ripened, the overlords invaded the fields and took what they assumed to be a bountiful harvest.

Desperate and starving, the oppressed prayed to the Heavens once more, and they heard a voice saying: “Dig into the earth and pull out what I have hidden there to fool the evil and raise up the good.” They did as they were bid, and found, beneath the soil, the magnificent potatoes. The highlanders harvested all the tubers and hid them in secret stores. Every morning, they added a few potatoes to their hunger rations, and soon they grew strong enough to overthrow their oppressors. The overlords, seeing that they had been defeated, fled. Never again did they disturb the peace of the mountains.

(Based on a myth from Andahuaylas, Apurimac, Peru)
Back Contents Next