Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ollantay
is a work of classic Quechua - the version of Quechua spoken at the time of the conquest. But because
the Incas didn't leave behind a written language, its origins are quite murky: no one knows who composed it, or
when. Its first recorded appearance is in the manuscripts of an 18th-century priest named Antonio Valdés, who
worked in the department of Cuzco. Some scholars have surmised that Valdés may have written
Ollantay
. Others
say that it was one of the many epic poems transmitted orally among the Incas, and that Valdés simply recorded it.
Others figure Valdés may have tailored an indigenous work to suit Spanish tastes. Regardless, it is a popular theat-
er drama in Peru - and remains one of the great works of art in Quechua.
