What is the Kakuy and its meaning

If you want to know much better the mythical and wonderful kakuy, what it is, its song and much more about this amazing legend of this striking native bird from northwestern Argentina, we invite you to visit this interesting post. Don't stop reading it!

KAKUY

What is the term Kakuy about?

Kakuy is the word with which a bird of prey is called that is native to the northwestern part of the Argentine country, one of its peculiar qualities is its nocturnal habits, in addition to being characterized by inhabiting solitary in the highest of the trees of the locality and can be recognized due to its song of sad melody describing it as a bird of ill omen.

Now, due to the fact that this geographical part of the Argentine nation is populated by indigenous inhabitants of the Quechua ethnic group, this peculiar bird is identified with the words Kakuy turay. You already know that the word Kakuy means bird of prey but as for the word turay it is translated into Spanish with the word brother.

It is essential to comment in this article regarding the Kakuy that this unique bird also inhabits other nations of the South American continent, such as Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Chile and even Brazil.

This bird is characterized by living far from society and its singing tends to be with sorrow. In other places, this Kakuy bird is known by other terms such as cacuy from Quechua, Urutaú and in the Brazilian nation with the name of Jurutaui.

As we have told you in this article, this bird called Kakuy is nocturnal and its singing evokes feelings of sadness to the people who hear it because it is associated with a kind of lament according to the oral narratives that the aborigines of generation to generation.

KAKUY

Regarding the legend of this striking Kakuy bird

According to the narrations given by this aboriginal ethnic group, in a very distant time, a couple of male and female siblings lived in a house. In this case the boy was the eldest of the two and they lived in a shack since both parents had died.

The boy was noble and was imbued with beautiful feelings, in addition to being a hard worker, he was even in charge of caring for and protecting his younger sister and as far as possible and thanks to the food they got in the forests of that region, he provided his sister of rich delicacies since he loved him very much.

But his sister was not of good feelings as the boy was more unfairly treated despite the fact that his older brother provided everything she required and much more.

Always when the boy arrived home after spending the day working inside the mountain, he had accustomed his sister to have food prepared for him to enjoy a delicious meal and then rest from such hard work.

But as it is said in the legend of the Kakuy, her little sister was not orderly, and she also treated her older brother indifferently, who sacrificed himself so much for her. On one occasion, he asked her for water sweetened with honey to quench his thirst.

The girl annoyedly went to look for the jug with the liquid but instead of serving her brother what he craved due to his bad behavior, she spilled it on the body of her older brother whom she should have respected and didn't.

The brother let that situation pass but the next day another much worse mishap happened again. The girl had thrown the food at her brothers with everything and a plate on their clothes, so the boy felt very sad and was concluding that it was best to leave. to live in another place even in the depths of the mountain where he worked so hard.

The boy went back to work as usual while reflecting on the attitude of his younger sister while walking in the dark of the road since the tall trees covered the sunlight due to their foliage.

He came to sit down to rest on the edge of a huge tree while in his mind he remembered the taste of rich fruits such as peas, carob beans and other dried fruits that are very rich on the palate as well as the fruit of prickly pears that in the measure of opportunities he took his little sister every time he came down from that imposing mountain so that she could enjoy the tastiest thing she found in nature.

He even took his sister to eat countless fish such as tarpon and other diversity of fish that he was in charge of fishing in the rivers that were deep in the mountain as well as a very exquisite meat that is known as quirquincho.

KAKUY

In view of the great experience of the older brother, he knew exactly where to find the hives of bees to take part of their rich honeycombs and thus bring his beloved sister the purest and most delicious honey that could be found in the forest.

But these gifts that the brother gave with great pleasure to his younger sister were not easy to obtain and although he did everything possible to obtain them, his little sister was not grateful and rather behaved in a not pleasant way.

One of those days the young man returned to the hut very tired and exhausted from his daily work. He was also wounded, so he asked his sister for water to quench his thirst and to be able to clean the wounds that had been made on his body. But the girl, instead of worrying about her brother, brought her the water and instead of giving it to her, she let it fall to the ground.

The boy felt very sad about the humiliations, contempt and ridicule that his little sister made him consecutively, so he reflects and decides to give the spoiled little girl a spoonful of her own medicine, for which he invites her to accompany him to a walk through the depths of the mountain where he always worked.

In this way, the young woman could observe where the bee hives where her older brother brought her the rich honey that she tasted so much. This invitation was accepted with pleasure by the young sister who wanted to taste more of that delicious honey without imagining that her brother would give her a lesson for her bad behavior.

KAKUY

Upon reaching the forest, the older brother suggests to the young sister that she climb to the top of a huge tree and she, in her interest in obtaining the precious delicacy, immediately accepted both of them climbed the tree.

The boy was devising a great plan so while the girl continued to climb to the top of the tree he did the opposite, he was in charge of descending from it stealthily while simultaneously with his ax he eliminated the branches where he was going down so that his sister could not go down.

As recounted in this Kakuy story, after the boy came down from the tree, he slowly retreated while the girl was imprisoned at the top of the tree without being able to find a way to descend and was totally terrified.

Hours passed and with them came dusk, it became night and the young woman's fear turned to horror as she continued to scream for her brother to rescue her. Her throat became dry from screaming and her tongue did not allow her to continue calling her brother and the cold was inclement, more in her spirit she felt her remorse.

For the young woman it was even worse when she showed that her feet were transformed into very sharp claws similar to that of an owl and her beautiful nose, as well as her nails, began to transform, in addition, her arms were becoming wings and her body was filled with large amount of feathers so that the young woman at night changed her appearance to a bird of nocturnal habits.

Thus the natives give rise to the birth of this peculiar bird called Kakuy that in its constant and incessant cries that it proclaimed towards its brother were heard in the immensity of the mountain in the following way:

“…Kakuy! Turay! Kakuy! Turay! Kakuy! Turay!…”

Which in the language of the Quechua ethnic group translates as Brother. But in addition to this unparalleled legend, others like the following can be heard so that you can venture into this amazing mythological story.

As is the case of the version made by the natives referring to the urutarú where they comment on the Sun God who was represented in the image of a very elegant adult man who set himself the goal of conquering a beautiful young woman named Urutarú but then to make her fall in love, he must go somewhere else.

Transforming into the resplendent star that we observe in the center of the Universe and the young Urutarú was devastated and very sad for the abandonment of her beloved, she sought to climb the tallest tree in the region to be able to see him without being able to approach her love.

So the legend that is narrated from generation to generation by the natives of the town says that when sunset falls and the Sun hides, the young Urutarú cries inconsolably for the lack of her love and in her tears you can feel despair and their cries of pity that can only be calmed when their beloved Sun is once again placed in the east.

KAKUY

Curious facts regarding the myths of the Kakuy bird

With respect to this peculiar bird called Kakuy, the points of view referring to the unity of entities can be evidenced, as is the case of theogonics, which concerns the study of mythological deities according to the civilizations of a region or locality, cosmogonic related to the mythological description of the origin of the Universe including the Sun and the other stars.

And the last point concerning the anthropogony corresponds to the religious mythical character about the creation or emergence of this mythological native bird of the northwest of the nation of Argentina.

Regarding the vision Theogonic, it is evident in the story of the Kakuy legend that the immense tree represents the central axis of the Universe that allows the union of the divine or supernatural with the physical aspects of the earth.

Emerging an imaginary mythological deity who is in charge of protecting the beehives by transforming the young sister into one, representing the divine in this reflective event.

From the point of view Cosmogonic, this legend is located in a remote time and space which originates from the physical disappearance of the parents of the two young brothers and removing the branches of the immense tree is related to the detachment of the union between the earth and the Darling.

KAKUY

Now, from the point of view anthropogonic, the transformation of the spoiled and impure-hearted sister into a bird of prey known today as Kakuy is observed with surprise.

A special story for children

Likewise, there is evidence of a story alluding to the children's population entitled Kakuy where it is commented that there was once a long time ago a pair of little brothers, the girl was named Huasca while her older brother was called Sonko. They were orphans as their parents had passed away and lived deep in the woods on a ranch owned by their deceased parents.

Sonko the older brother was a very noble boy and with a good heart he treated his little sister Huasca with great affection as if she were his mother but on the other hand the Huasca girl did not have good feelings, she was also very careless and did not pay attention to her brother higher.

As they grew up Sonko worked in the forest with the intention of getting food to take home where his sister Huasca was waiting for him. His job was to find honey, delicious fruits, fish and meat in the forest that the older brother knew that her sister liked with the intention of pampering her.

But despite the food that her brother Sonko brought to Huasca, she was not attentive or affectionate towards her brother, she treated him very badly, she also argued a lot, being perverse in actions towards her brother's person, although he did not pay attention to her bad behavior because He loved her very much even when the young woman behaved in a bad way.

Sonko was so fond of his sister Huasca that in the forest he had great inconveniences trying to bring her exquisite delicacies that his sister liked and one day when he came down from the forest he found some rich, very appetizing fruits, keeping them in a basket.

That the older brother himself had made and was very happy to present himself to his sister with that delicious delicacy, so he ran away while thinking the following:

   “…My sister Huasca will be happy when she sees these tasty fruits, she will surely have prepared food for me for lunch, and I will give her these beautiful cherimoyas and exquisite carob beans.”

. My little sister is so gluttonous! If only I had a sweeter and more loving heart with me! … .Because with the others she is a very good person…. she is so affectionate, she is only with me that she is ordinary and evil…”

While he was going at full speed, Sonko stopped for a moment to check the fruits that he was carrying because due to the haste they could be spoiled but this had not happened and the young Sonko continued to reflect as he descended to his home where his younger sister was waiting for him:

 “… Why is it that Huasca behaves so ruthlessly with me?…. But no matter, I will make her love me, with my love she will come to love me!…”

KAKUY

With such a beautiful reflection, Sonko continued to descend home with great joy and next to the hut there was a handmade loom that is somewhat rustic where a blanket of beautiful colors that the young sister was making could be seen.

Inside the hut a very beautiful song was heard that his sister Huasca was performing. Sonko was very excited and happy about the gift he was bringing to his little sister and called him right away:

"... Huasca!... Little sister!..."

A beautiful dark-skinned young woman came out from inside the hut, still singing that beautiful melody on her lips, but when she looked at her older brother, her gaze turned sharp and with great resentment she responded to her noble brother in the following way with a rude tone: and rough:

"… What do you want?…"

The brother was surprised by his sister's bitter response and felt his heart, which was full of joy, deflate because of his sister's contempt, but despite this, he had promised himself that his sister would love him, so he said with a voice tender and affectionate to his sister:

"... Greedy look what I brought you is just for you..."

And immediately she extracted from the basket that Sonko himself had designed the beautiful and very appetizing fruits and when seeing them the reckless sister exclaimed the following:

"... Custard apples and carob beans!... I love them"

KAKUY

But he did not say a word of thanks to his brother for the detail and effort he had made to bring him such precious fruits. She unwisely snatched them out of his hand and re-entered the hut with her back to his brother.

The young Sonko walked behind her and when he entered the hut he noticed that the sister was still cooking the food, which consisted of porridge that was still on the stove over low heat. As she was very hungry, she grabbed a clay pot to fill it with this delicious food and the girl, seeing it, immediately hit her very hard on the hand as well as yelling at her angrily:

“…Don't grab that!…Or is it that you think I prepare the food for you to eat…! How comfortable you are! You don't spend it here and when you come back everything is ready! You get to reach out to serve yourself! And with a dominant voice he told her the following: "... Go away, Turay!...! Kakuy Turay"...

The boy replied to his sister the following when she ran him out of the home:

"...Huasca, I also work, I go out to look for honey, and I am working the land to grow food... I take care of the little herd of goats..."

So the young man told his younger sister again with a soft and humble tone the following words:

"...Little sister reasons, I'm hungry, give me a little porridge and give me a little piece of patay..."

The girl was reluctant and did not accept that her brother ate what she had prepared because she answered the following sentences in a bad way:

"...I already told you no, if you want to eat, you have to prepare it yourself, everything is mine..."

The boy was very hungry and asked his sister again to reflect on what had happened at home with the food:

"... Then give me one of the custard apples that I brought you because I'm very hungry!..."

The young sister in her anger and with her bad behavior replied the following to her noble brother:

"...I'm not going to give you a single one, you said they were for me, and I'll eat them all..."

The older brother felt very sad in his heart and with tears in his eyes he did not answer anything more to his spoiled sister, leaving the hut with his head lowered, reflecting on the following:

"...I don't understand why my sister treats me so badly and selfishly, because she denies me a little porridge and a little piece of patay, if I have always tried to please her..."

For what the young brother spent the day wandering in the forest eating wild fruits and when night came he returned to the hut where he lay down to sleep but despite how tired he was he could not sleep he thought about what action to take so that his sister I wanted it

When the next day arrived with the company of the dawn, the brother went to work again thinking that another beautiful gift could bring his sister Huasca while looking at the sky:

"... If my sister loved me, how happy we would be, we would live together with great affection and our parents would give us their blessing from the star where they are..."

While he was walking he saw a huge tree that had a fruit that was very juicy and he thought that maybe that was a gift for his sister Huasca tried to climb that tree that was covered with thorns and when doing so one of the thorns stabbed into one of his hands made him shed a lot of blood and his hand began to turn purple in addition to being inflamed.

He felt a terrible pain and tried to remove the thorn from the palm of his hand but it was very difficult but when he managed to extract the thorn from his hand he felt a strong pain as if he were dying as well as a strong headache and his throat was very dry immediately went to the hut asking her sister for help:

“…Huasca please help me…!”

The spoiled sister, seeing her brother Sonko in that situation, helped him immediately, hugged him and helped him sit up, also treated his wounds and gave him water with honey to quench his thirst. He was surprised by her sister's caring attitude as she thought it was a dream. But the sister turned evil again and she made fun of what had happened to her.

So Sonko at that moment felt angry and within himself a feeling of revenge for the attitude of his spoiled sister arose, so he returned to the forest to spend the physical pain he felt in his body and with his feelings hurt because of the attitude of his sister Huasca.

The young Sonko devised a plan to have his sister punished for what she had done to him. The days passed and when he came down from the forest he brought him gifts of rich fruits and honey as usual, so he said to his young sister:

"... Huasca, Little Sister, I've brought you something to eat that will fascinate you, my sweet tooth...!"

The curious girl immediately approached her brother asking him the following:

"... What do you bring me, Turay?..."

The boy replied in a sweet and cheerful voice, the following to the bad sister:

"... A beautiful hive, let's go look for it, all the honey is for you, come with me!..."

The young Huasca was very interested, so she decided to accompany her brother Sonko to look for the rich honey while they walked through the forest, the beautiful flowers greeted them on their way, as well as enjoying delicious fruits to eat while they arrived at the site where the hive was.

With a lot of effort they climbed a huge tree that existed deep in the mountain and as soon as the sister reached the top of the tree, Sonko began to descend from the tree cutting as many branches as he could and leaving the bark of the huge tree liza so that the spoiled sister could not come down.

When Sonko was already on earth, he moved away from the huge tree, leaving his sister at the top of that tree. Hours passed and Huasca began to feel fear since he did not see or hear his brother Sonko. When night came, the girl felt very scared and she screamed calling her brother with great pain and regret:

"... Turay!... Turay!..."

That same night a transformation took place in the body of the frightened young woman: her body was filled with feathers, her lips became a curved beak, her nails became sharp claws in a few moments the young Huasca had been transformed into a bird that only emitted a cry of pain:

"...Kakuy Turay!...Kakuy Turay!..."

As a sign that Huasca has repented of his bad actions with his brother Sonko and through that sad song he asks his brother for forgiveness, thus ending this story that tells us about the love that should exist between brothers.

 Pertinent information about this Kakuy bird

This bird is known by this word thanks to the Quechua ethnic group. It is an animal of prey with nocturnal habits, living on top of the immense trees of the region where it tends to pose motionless with its beak pointing upwards to hunt the insects that pass by.

With regard to this peculiar bird, the Kakuy camouflages itself by the color of its plumage, making it difficult to be observed by its prey. It is also known as the ghost bird, since it tends to appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. of those present in the forest.

You can see in its feathers the colors black, brown and gray so it is very similar to the trunk of the trees where it remains and therefore it is confused as if it were one more branch of the immense tree. It is an animal with sedentary habits, so it does not like to migrate from its habitat.

Regarding the size of this peculiar bird, the Kakuy measures around 38 to 40 centimeters in height. It is characterized by its huge bulging yellow eyes that are similar to a searchlight and emit a light between yellow and orange.

With respect to its neck, it is thick and short, and its head is flat. One of its qualities is that when it is born from the egg, this bird is already covered with white feathers, unlike other species, and as it grows, they change to their characteristic appearance.

It is important to note that the Kakuy is a very quiet bird and only sings to communicate with its partner or with its children and sometimes it does so at night to differentiate the female from the male is a bit difficult. Although as a fact I tell you that the female of this species hatches the eggs at night while the male does it during the day.

In the mating season, the good ones are observed on the tops of the trees between the holes of some branches. They have a diameter of 10 to 12 centimeters in length and are characterized by being white with gray, brown or red spots.

It is essential to note that this bird, the Kakuy, belongs to the jungle of Latin America. It is not recommended to domesticate it as far as its feeding is done when the sun goes down. Regarding its diet, it consists of worms, crickets, flies, butterflies, beetles, termites, ants because it loves crispy-looking insects.

Another of its characteristics is related to the song of the Kakuy since it is a sad and disconsolate cry very similar to the whistle that people make. Many people have hurt them, even stoned them to death for considering them in their mythology as a bird of ill omen due to their sad song.

But it is a sweet bird that does not cause harm to people, rather it eats insects that can affect the health of human beings in those regions.

Poem in honor of this peculiar bird

The poet named Rafael Obligado wrote a poem dedicated to this enigmatic bird, an excerpt from it is described below in this article:

“… and so I tell you, porteño,

that in the house of the ravine

there is no such woman, nor such a father,

well, what she is, is a bird,

and the man that dwells there

and he goes down alone, it's his brother,

cheer up, because the poor

he has been suffering for a century;

and the moans you heard,

not in his room, in a tree,

they are from the kakuy that at night

she will sob by his side.”

Song dedicated to this unique bird

It is one of the birds that make up the Argentine culture and in this country they have dedicated a song to the Kakuy which was written by the composer Carlos Carabajal and performed by the singer Horacio Benegas.

Regarding the music, it was made by Jacinto Piedra, in this article you will be able to observe an extract of this unique song for this mythological animal from the northwestern nation of Argentina, El Kakuy called sister Kakuy:

people count

there in the payment,

what happened

between two brothers.

when he came back

of the journey

water and food

never found.

tired one day

to bear

took her to the mountain

to punish her

with a sad cry

looking for his brother

Kakuy is called

and lives in pain.

envelope of a tree

She was waiting

while the boy

from there he walked away.

to your claims

the wind carried them

and in his throat

groan and lament.

of this legend

don't forget

that the brothers

don't stop loving each other.

with a sad cry

looking for his brother

Kakuy is called

and lives in pain.

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