It was one out of many stories she told me, Chile is a goldmine of Folklore and Legend. I would like to illustrate all of them as they were all very interesting stories. But then the book would be about the folklore of Chile, and interesting as it might be, that is not my aim at the moment.
The following short story might be from the other side of the world but it touches the European Catholic saintlore in many ways.
This summer, I have visited a source which is said to grant the same miraculous remedies as the lagoon in the story. The source I have visited was in the French Alsacian region, a long way from the Andes-mountains. There are more similarities as both of the main characters are princesses. But there the French story deverts somewhat as the French Saint-Odile is nowadays revered as a saint while the Inca princess is a princess of legend.
NOTE: would you also like to see your story get illustrated? please check out my previous blog post here and read the guidelines.
(click picture for bigger view)Story Title: Mamiña, the girl of my eyes (or Maminia)
Submitted by: Lenka Brejcha Avila
Country: Chile
It is said, an Incan princess who was losing her eyesight was brought to a lagoon between the Andes-mountain ranges and the Tamarugal-pampas. The princess was submerged in the water several times, and shortly after, she began to notice that she was regaining her vision. From that moment on, that lagoon was called Mamiña, wich means as much as "Girl of my eyes" in Quechua, Incan language.
For years the lagoon saw the arrival of Incan caravans, whose only intention was to find relief and remedy in its waters.
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