These are the great stories of people from the ancient generation.
MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER
He was born in Cajamarca on August 7, 1932, and passed away on August 1, 2011.
It was a very hot and joyful afternoon when a woman was giving birth; her name was Ulala (Campos), wife of Chego Primero (Rui). It was their first baby boy after having had a daughter.
They were very happy, especially my great-great-grandmother. In those times, women were worth nothing if they were infertile, and if they did not provide male children, they could be left behind to marry someone else; but that was not the case. My great-great-grandmother gave birth to a boy and handed him to my great-great-grandfather.
Back then, there were no hospitals or anything like that; a midwife would come to help with the birth, usually a relative of the pregnant woman. Her family had come to visit and strengthen ties with my great-great-grandfather. When they shouted for joy, the men came over, handed the baby to my great-great-grandfather, and he said:
CHEGO I : —Blessed be the name of God, for He has given me the privilege of having a son. He shall be named CHEGO SEGUNDO to continue my lineage. Thank you, God.
When he said that, everyone began to thank God, as the baby could have been born sick.
After she finished giving birth, she stayed to rest for a few days to recover. Her mother helped her with the chores and the baby, giving her advice and instructions. Together with the other family, they decided to give a portion of their land to the child, and the father thanked them. Later, they went to the town, an hour away, and shared the news with their friends. Since it was Sunday, they went to mass and gave their tithe. The priest told them:
PRIEST: —My brothers...
THEY: —Yes, father.
PRIEST: —Bring the boy when he is a little older to dedicate him to God.
THEY: —Yes, father.
PRIEST: —Oh, and do not forget to bring offerings to God for this healthy child.
THEY: —Of course, father, we will do that.
PRIEST: —And give my regards to your family. Goodbye.
THEY: —Yes.
At that time, there was only one religion in the town: Catholicism. Since there were no schools in that area yet, my great-great-grandparents barely knew how to read.
When my great-great-grandparents were passing through a part of the town, they saw a man steal a bag of shoes. They chased him to the outskirts of the city. Chego Primero surrounded him and cut off his path, leaving him caught in the middle. They locked him up and took him to the town. When the town was judging the crime, the priest said:
PRIEST: —He only took two old shoes; have him return them and that is it.
The majority of the citizens did not resist, but a minority wanted justice; they knew that if they let these things pass, more people would become thieves (choros).
It was then that my great-great-grandparents and the townspeople grabbed him, took him by force, and whipped him. The priest accused them of almost killing him, and all of them (thirty people) were beaten with a whip. Those who did the whipping were divided in their opinion on whether to do it or listen to the priest, but the priest pressured the people, and they ended up giving them thirty lashes each.
Furthermore, several people began to reject them, such as by not selling them goods. But the priest told them that if they gave more offerings and tithes, God would help them, and so would he. After these events, they returned to their lands in Bambamarca, an hour's walk away. They crossed rivers, hills, and ravines, and because it had rained, they struggled through the mud.
Upon arriving, they were told that my great-great-grandmother Ulala was sick with the flu (at that time, they did not call it the flu, but "a strong fever"). When they were told she had a "strong fever," they ran back to the town asking for help, but no one wanted to help them. It was then that a man, who mostly opposed the priest and did not go to mass, told them he could help. He also spoke of how the priest was evil and only wanted to use them for his own benefit. They, due to the urgent need for medicinal herbs, told him what he said was correct, but a doubt remained in Chego Primero's mind.
Later, they returned to the hut after an hour-long walk. They gave her the herbs and, luckily, she was able to recover (at that time vaccines existed, but they did not reach very rural areas; besides, there were problems in Peruvian politics). When she was given the medicine, she regained her health. Later, my great-great-grandmother's father told Chego Primero:
GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER: —Boy, you must give an offering and the tithe to the priest as penance for disobeying his orders.
CHEGO I : —But we did nothing wrong.
GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER: —Hey, relax, he is still the priest, God's envoy. We should have listened to him. Take this from me and give it to the priest. I also have problems with my land and have to leave.
CHEGO I : —Yes, sir.
After going to mass, the priest saw the money and his eyes lit up. He gave his forgiveness and blessed his wife and child.
Afterward, my great-great-grandfather noticed that with the priest's forgiveness, everyone treated them with respect and offered them their products. He tried to find the same man who had helped them, but he heard that he had to go to another town because he could not buy food or land. Since he was a craftsman and could not buy food, he had to leave for another village where there were people who shared his ideas. My great-great-grandfather Chego felt that urge to satisfy his doubts, but since the man was gone, he could not.
FIRST DAYS WITH THE BABY
Because the baby had just been born and Ulala's parents had left, Chego had to help his wife. Although there was a lot of machismo at that time, he acted one way outside, but his behavior at home was different. He was afraid of being called "henpecked" or too attached to his wife, which was not well accepted in the community at the time (and in some areas of Cajamarca, machismo still exists today). But my great-great-grandfather was not that way; he helped his wife, learned to change diapers, cook basic meals for the three of them, and go out to farm in the afternoon and return at night. When the baby cried, he would wake her up so she could see what the baby needed. After that, the boy kept growing until he was a child of three to six years old.
I hope you liked this short story. I will be touching on more characters, like the Empress, later on. But so as not to lose these memories, I will be putting them in and weaving them together. I plan to do it starting from the great-grandfather, grandparents, parents, and the Empress, as I have several stories told, and to not lose them, it is better to narrate them.