The legend of waqanki orchid

Known as the Legend of Waqanki, which means “tears” in Quechua, this is an ancient Inca tale from the 15th century.

In the realm of the Andes, there lived a young and beautiful princess. She fell deeply in love with a brave and handsome Inca warrior. When her father learned of this relationship, he forbade them from seeing each other, as the princess was destined to be offered to the Sun God.

Upon hearing her father’s decision, the princess ran through the Andes, weeping for her forbidden love, and transformed into the beautiful flower known as “Waqanki.” So, whenever the warrior found this flower in the Andes, he too shed tears, remembering his lost love.

The spirit of beauty continues to live on in this legend, expressed even in our days through a song we can still hear:

“You will weep, my most beautiful flower, with your lovely eyes. For you, envy surrounds me. To you, I am committed, beautiful Waqanki, a flower that blooms in the heights. How will your song be when I carry you in my heart?”

The chronicler Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala in 1615 mentioned the wife of the Inca Sinchi Roca, named Chinbo Urma, who held “ynquilcona flowers” in her hands. In Quechua, the word “Inkill” is used to refer to an ORCHID, and the “cona” ending indicates the plural.

The pre-Columbian Peruvian cultures named orchids in their native languages: Uritu for the Lycaste, Gaiwampu for the Oncidium, Shacashaca for the pseudobulb, Wapagana for the Sobralia, Waqanki for the Masdevallia, and Inkill for the Sobralia Altíssima.