The Image of Indians in the Modern Poetry of Andean Region

Abstract

This paper analyzes the images of Indians and theirs representation in the contemporary poetic texts of the Andean region. In this article is revealed not only the expressive means but also the sense and the meaning of the imagesThe peculiarity of the modern culture of Latin America is formed on the basis of two cultures: the western (Spain, Portugal) and the national culture of the indigenous inhabitants (Indians). In some countries, there was an influence of African cultures. The rise in the culture of Latin America began in the late XIX century, after the liberation war of the colonies and the creation of independent states. However, information on the indigenous population of Indians, their culture, way of life, traditions and customs are often incomplete.When the first Europeans ships reached the coast of America, the continent was already inhabited by indigenous tribes who have reached different levels of development. They settled not only in Latin America but also in Mesoamerica. At the time of discovery of America by H. Columbus, all native population can be divided into two large groups: the tribes of hunters and nomads, constantly changing their place of habitation, and tribes who created the whole civilization. The last one includes representatives of three nations: Maya (Southern Mexico, Guatemala), the Aztecs (Central Mexico), Incas (Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and part of Argentina).From the beginning the conquest of Andean countries there was a mixture of two cultures: the culture of the conquistadors -the Spanish and the indigenous Indians. This was reflected primarily in the way of life, religion and culture.The history and culture of this ancient nation are represented first of all in modern poetry. The modern author, such as José Santos Chocano, Feliciano Mejía, Antonio Cisneros, and César Vallejo had mentioned the historical personalities, places and events in theirs work. Moreover, this mentions we can divide into three main groups: the image of Indian at whole, the history of ancient people (especially the period of colonization) and the famous people from the history (different chiefs, warriors).It is worth to mention that the image of Indian, in modern poetry is the image of a brave and courageous warrior who is willing to defend their land from foreign invaders. This is an image of a wise ruler who honors the tradition, who is endowed with heavenly knowledge, and from the one side has the divine origin, from another he is closely connected with the nature: The whole lives of the Indian, his feelings are reflected in the nature. Nature is a kind of mirror of the soul, if the Indian has bad feelings -it is raining, trouble -rock fall, happiness -the sun is shining, tears -the river flows, and so on:«Cantando en el cerro llorando en el río, se agranda en la noche la pena del indio ... » [2]