Mitos y Leyendas: When the Sun Didn’t Rise

• Genny de Bernardo shares with you what happened when the sun didn’t rise.
• This story originates from the Huarochirí region.
• In the end, they gave a name to this occurrence.

A long, long time ago, in ancient times in the region of Huarochirí, a strange myth was woven around a peculiar event: the day the sun refused to awaken.

For five long and mysterious days, the sun remained hidden in the sky, leaving the earth in shadow. This period of darkness baffled men, plants, animals, and all living things.

When the sun did not appear on the horizon, a new order emerged in the world, not necessarily better or worse than before, but simply different.

Silence enveloped every corner of the earth, and sounds ceased.

The planet froze

Rivers stopped their flow, transforming into silver mirrors where owls stared at themselves, preening their feathers and aging in honor of the long night that was approaching.

Even the stones, which for centuries had been mute witnesses to paths and guardians of watercourses, left their natural positions and began to dance to the rhythm of the silence.

They spun and danced gracefully, showing their joy for what was happening at that moment. Among them, the small and agile stones stood out, jumping and spinning in a frenzy of movement.

But the true wonder was watching the larger stones and giant rocks. They took 123 steps forward, then 123 steps back, in a perfectly coordinated dance that continued for hours.

When the Sun Didn’t Rise

However, a sudden change in rhythm caused some of these rocks to collide with each other, creating sounds like «plaf, plaf, plop».

That’s when the grinding stones and mortars emerged from among the rocks, as if they were waiting for their chance.

During the time when the sun didn’t come out, some thought it was gone forever. But as years went by, people figured out that this darkness happened because the moon got in the way, stopping the sun’s light from getting to our planet. They named this dark event an «Eclipse.»

Mitos y Leyendas hopes you enjoyed this story. Genny de Bernardo says goodbye. We await you in the next magical story.