The history of the guanaco according to the Aonikenk

My friend, the singer, composer, journalist and writer Oscar Payaguala of purebred Aonikenk in his very interesting book "Anunk" left unmissable chronicles where he rescues traditions, customs and legends of his town. With attractive prose he knew how to write the history of the guanaco, a very enjoyable read and that teaches us a lot about this animal so characteristic of the Patagonian steppe.

Oscar says that "in the beginning, guanacos and men were very close, to the point that the guanacos had never lived alone." "The good Lord had given the guanaco great beauty, so that everyone wanted to be close to him, and no evil, which is reflected in his curious and transparent eyes."

"In that time when they lived together, the Tehuelches procured hunting, clothing and food in a different way: they looked for roots and fruits to eat, they made houses with branches and twigs, they wove clothes." "But, one day, someone said: they have so many children that we can't eat that we can eat some of them without them noticing, because we are hungry."

“A woman decided: why are they warm in their furs and we are cold? And they convinced the guanacos to give their lives for them. All in all there are many!!! And in exchange for their hides and skins, the men would take care of them from the pumas, who are their enemies.”

“Little by little, the guanacos gave everything: the house, the food, the tools to sew, the children, the bones to paint and make tools, the skins, and the men did not give anything in return and did not care that the cougar will kill someone. Total…there were many!”.

“And as these things happen, almost without realizing it, the guanacos became slaves of the Tehuelches. One day, Kwonip, a warrior, severely mistreated a large male and he, fed up with the abuse, ran away.

“He ran and ran until he was out of range and when he felt safe, he just stopped and got to know the new place. It was there that he met the fox who, curious, laughed a lot and explained to him the wickedness of men and other things in life”.

“The guanaco also believed that the fox had escaped from other men due to mistreatment and it was very difficult for him to understand what freedom was. He spent a few days there with his new friend, learning more necessary things and one day he convinced the fox to undertake the rescue of all the guanacos that were imprisoned by men”.

“It took him a long time to convince him, because the fox is very suspicious of humans, but he decided that his new friend was too good for such a company and accompanied him. Together they freed all the guanacos and together they set off on a swift race to the farthest lands they could find.”

Along the way they passed countless adventures and dangers and many times they had to hide. As they passed through places where the earth was ocher, their bellies were stained yellow, which Elal, who was watching them carefully, left them forever as a mark of the liberation of men.

“To all this, the countrymen became furious when they realized that the guanacos had escaped forgetting that everything had been caused by their abuse and thus began the hunt for guanacos of all ages, which Elal did not like either why not you had to kill chulenguitos or females, at most only adult male animals”

“But since he could no longer endow the guanaco with evil, because let us remember that all evil had been requested by men, he decided, in a talk with the fox, that he should train him in survival techniques: that is why the dominant male is always in control. the tops of a hill and groups of young males make patrols around the females and the babies, in that war between guanacos and people”.

“As for the friendship with the fox, unfortunately it ended badly because of the fox's children who are liars. But that is -says Payaguala- another story”.