While reading Turn Right at Machu Picchu I, of course, learned much more about the history of Peru and the Incan rulers. I read names and places that were familiar which brought back fun memories. Most interesting, however, it sparked a language and cultural conversation that also taught Albino more about his language (Quechua). The author mentioned a song commonly sung in churches around the Cusco area, Apu Yaya Jesucristo. I, like the author, understood apu to refer to the mountain gods (a simplified definition for this blog entry), and, thus, the translation of the song title makes Jesus an apu. “This doesn’t sound right,” I thought. But, I chalked it up to the synchronistic tendencies seen in the churches. Albino recognized the song and didn’t seem to take issue with the lyrics. Confused, I asked him to explain how Christians could sing songs that apparently made Jesus just one of many gods. Upon closer examination of the word, apu, it means, the highest—a title, not a thing. Jesus holds the title of being “the highest” He is the highest, the best. He is Lord of creation, Lord of the mountains, Lord of our lives.
Christian Quechuas struggle with their traditional worldview and the new biblical worldview. For Quechuas, spirits cause illness, etc. Rather than saying that those spirits don’t exist (which is our tendency to believe in North America) we all must recognize that Jesus is greater than those spirits. He truly is the apu. My disclaimer: I write now that Jesus is the apu in order to share my cultural and language insight, but I will probably be cautious to use the terminology in the future. Too many common misunderstandings of traditional Quechua culture and language can get in the way. I’m not an expert and even native Quechua speakers have difficulty explaining.
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