Francisco Chiwantito

Translated by Lynn Levin

A thicket of clouds covers
the constellations of the hummingbird

and the flock of llamas
+++++++in heat

In the manger . . . could that be the cave of Rayampata?
a tense calm extends, like the stillness
that comes before a battle
or a storm

++++++++++++++figures
+++++++in softened and relaxed postures

On a goatskin pelt
the God-Child wiggles in delight
naked

+++++++and who is this little one?
+++++++++++++++++++++inquire

the cowherders from Lucre, the trekkers,
the llama herders from the Paruro nation
the drovers from the plains of Anta
the wood cutters, the women who spin wool
the salt miners from Maras

The Good Shepherd cradles
a little lamb, and the congregation
is guided by an angel
with a herald’s trumpet

In the reed basket
the Kings of Orient have left
ginger from Malabar, sandalwood from Timor,
cloves from the Moluccas, camphor from Borneo
cinnamon from Ceylon

++++++++++++++The Virgin
+++++++the Child and the angels glow
+++++++with a sweet and simple beauty

+++++++one of the delights
+++++++of Cusqueñan art

Lamb of God
Son of Man
the newborn has
two whorls in his hair

++++++++++++++the mark

of one who will be stubborn

Notes:

Francisco Chiwantito was a prolific indigenous painter of the Cusco School, active mostly during the latter part of the seventeenth century. He was best known for his detailed depictions of landscapes and scenes of monastic life.

Rayampata, Lucre, Paruro, Anta, and Maras are villages in the Cusco region.

This poem is from Odi Gonzales’s collection La Escuela de Cusco [The School of Cusco], (Santiago de Surco, Peru: Ediciones el Santo Oficio-Gráficos, 2005). This translation by Lynn Levin was first published in Off the Coast.