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The Anden Cóndor Myth

The Condor is a mythic Trickster figure in the legends of the local people of the Andes. There is a myth which accompanies the Condor recounted below from source unknown.

There was once a an old shepherd who lived with his beautiful young daughter in a little village at the top of the Andes. The girl pastured the sheep, llamas and other animals from her father’s farm while his wife tended to household chores.

Un expectantly, a young man visited her in the mountains. He went to see her every day and always so elegantly dressed as if he was attending a great gala in the Andes and a always wore a beautiful white scarf about his throat. The two got on very well and were vary careful to meet when she would attend to the livestock.

They became quick friends and at one of this visits he asked the girl if she would play a game. “If you pick me up, I’ll pick you up”. She trusted the man and lifted her in his turn, just as she and made for a quick leap into the sky, he transformed into turned into a magnificent condor and gently cradled the her in the cage of his talons and took her up to his nest inn the highest peaks of the Andes.

They lived together in his nest for a long time. He brought her food and took care of her and she fell in love with him and gave him and she had a beautiful baby. While the girl loved them both – husband and child- but she missed her father deeply and cried every night thinking about how lonely the poor old man would be.

One day she saw a humming bird passing by and asked him for help. The bird would go to the village and bring back her father to rescue her and her child and in reward the humming bird will have every flower in her father’s plot. The cheerful bird accepted.

The agreement met, trrudb e gone and the Condor had finished eating po youn nv g truth he returned to his nest and instead of his family he found two green frogs in their place. The humming bird was waiting for him there and told him that the girl and their son turn into ojos frogs right in front of his eyes and there was nothing he could do.

On the following day, her father arrived at that there with a dead donkey to distract the Condor while he rescued his daughter and her child.

Legend says that now the Condor watches over the Andes trying to find a new girl to bring to his nest and just once in a while when he sees someone as beautiful as the shepherd’s daughter he becomes an elegant young man and visits them trying to trick them into playing a game with him.

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