Instructions from Incas
Kyiv hosts an exhibit to mark the 400th anniversary of Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala’s illustrated Peruvian chronicle
Santa Cruz, Tucuman, Miscui, Oropesa de Huancavelica, Callao – the very names of the cities and towns of Peru, once a colony of Spain, sound like hypnotic music. You can learn about the way their residents lived at the exhibit of illustrations to The First New Chronicle and Good Government by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, a manuscript written approximately in 1615 in Peru. As part of a major cultural and historical project, the copy of the chronicle is being displayed at the Big Belfry on the territory of the National Kyivan Cave Historical-Cultural Preserve.
It is symbolic that the exhibit is being held at the Kyivan Cave Monastery which is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. For the 17th-century manuscript belongs to this organization’s Memory of the World register. As Peru wants to acquaint the world with its treasure, the exhibit about The First New Chronicle and Good Government travels across various countries. According to Juan Olivas Cornejo, Peru’s attache for trade and the economy in Ukraine, the project has already been shown in Poland, where the exposition will return to after being presented in Ukraine. The exhibit will move to Amsterdam shortly before Catholic Christmas and New Year Day.
FAMILIAR REALITIES
The First New Chronicle and Good Government by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala is a bound manuscript of almost 1,200 pages. It is famous for 398 engravings that accompany the author’s text. As the title suggests, the book is divided into two parts. Peru’s non-resident Ambassador to Ukraine (with residence in Poland), Alberto Salas Barahona, explains that that The First New Chronicle deals with the pre-Incan times and the empire of Incas, whereas Good Government exposes injustice, exploitation, and power abuse by colonizers. In the second part of the text, the author also proposes that the Spanish crown carry out social and governmental reforms in the empire’s new colonies.
In spite of being geographically and temporally remote, many of the realities described in the chronicle are well known to modern-day Ukrainians. Some of de Ayala’s illustrations are about moral depravity, corruption, and power abuse. One indulges in wine, another whips Native Americans, still another takes a bribe, smiling. Yet the author in general supports the colonizers. Some illustrations depict his journey to Lima for the purpose of expressing his respect for the Spanish king’s representative.
The manuscript is an important source for historians because it describes the history of Peru from the most ancient times, tells about the life of Incan rulers and their wives, laws and traditions, faiths, calendar, agriculture, songs, prisons, and palaces. “The value of The First New Chronicle is really high because it was written by a representative of Incas. Therefore, contemporary historians can make up a clear picture of the life, customs, and traditions of this great civilization,” Juan Olivas Cornejo says.
THE MANUSCRIPT’S EUROPEAN JOURNEY
Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala addressed his opus to King Philip III of Spain and sent to the Spanish royal court. However, exhibit organizers doubt that the king received it. In any case, the chronicle reached Europe, for it was found, even though as late as in 1908, at the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen, where it is still kept.
“The Peruvians consider this work really great and are proud that it has survived,” Juan Olivas Cornejo emphasizes. “The Peruvian government has already made attempts to return the original from Copenhagen to Peru, but the government of Denmark is unwilling to meet these wishes. Still, you can find extracts from The First New Chronicle in any Peru history textbook. Children study this work in schools and students at universities.”
The exhibit about this famous manuscript is also important because, as Mr. Cornejo points out, it is not so easy to establish cultural links between Ukraine and Peru due to geographic remoteness. The attache adds: “Peru is now preparing to celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries. An exhibit of all kinds of chronicles, documents, and photographs is in the making.”
The illustrations to The First New Chronicle and Good Government will remain displayed at the National Kyivan Cave Historical-Cultural Preserve until November 30.
