Inca literature

Before the Spanish conquest, there was a rich and varied oral literature in the area of the Inca Empire. Some samples of religious poetry, stories and Quechua legends have come down to us thanks to the fact that they were transcribed by chroniclers such as Cristóbal de Molina, the Cuzqueño, author of Fables and rites of the Incas (1575); Santa Cruz Pachacuti, evangelized indigenous defender of the Spanish Crown, who wrote the Relation of antiquities of this kingdom of Peru (1613), where he describes the Quechua religion and philosophy and collects in Quechua some poems from the oral tradition; the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616); and Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, whose work Nueva crónica y buen gobierno (1615) allows us to reconstruct a good part of the history and genealogy of the Incas, as well as many aspects of Peruvian society after the conquest.

Thanks to them and other chroniclers of the 17th century, a part of this legacy survived and is a living source for the later literature. That work was continued long after by modern and contemporary anthropologists, historians, and researchers. One of the most influential is José María Arguedas, also important for his novels, which underline the importance of the bilingual and multicultural nature of Peru.