1527. The living god is dying. Wayna Qhapaq (Quechua for "splendid youth"), the eleventh emperor of the Inca Empire, is likely the victim of smallpox, brought to South America by the Spaniards. Trying to please both Huascar -his elder son- and Atahualpa –his favorite son-, right before his dead Wayna Qhapaq splits the empire between them, setting by this act the downfall of the Inca empire, as Huascar soon declared war on Atahualpa, claiming the reunion of the recently dismembered empire.
1532. Atahualpa, is resting in Cajamarca after winning a long five year civil war fighting his own brother. The winner has had to order the execution of the defeated. Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror, has arrived to Cajamarca in an expedition to meet the Inca; the secret task: to subdue the ruler of the land of gold. Pizarro demands from the emperor to abandon ancient traditions and religion and to submit and convert to Catholicism. Atahualpa’s answer of him being “no man’s tributary” sets his fate along with that of the Incan empire, as Pizarro attacks the native army, wins the battle, and takes Atahualpa as a prisoner, demanding one room full of gold and two of silver “up to where his arm reached” , as a ransom. The biggest ramsom known in history.
1533. In spite of having fulfilled the ransom, Atahualpa is not set free; instead, he is taken to a trial. Pizarro, who has murdered thousands of Indians, who has not minded killing women and children, orders the execution of the monarch. Atahualpa, the last Child of the Sun, dies in Cajamarca the 26th July. “Dusk took place right at noon”, mourn the subjects.
The word of Atahualpa's death reaches four ends of the Tahuantinsuyu. The stream of gold that is still heading for Cajamarca is halted. The faithful Incan generals hide the treasures they bring along. One of them, Quinara, is close enough to Cajamarca; he has already passed Cuxibamba and is now surpassing Wilcopamba, when he learns of his emperor’s assassination. He unloads the “70.000 man-loads” of gold he was transporting, sets a concentric point equidistant a whistle sound length from three different masks set facing each other on three mountains surrounding a valley under the folds of the mountain range. In that very point, he buries the treasure –along with the carriers-. The gold is given back to the Pacha Mama, instead of to the treacherous Spaniards.
1874. A young man, son of shipbuilders in Hamburg, is heading to America as part of the crew of a transatlantic. He has deserted the German Army and on doing so, has “ashamed his family” according to his father. Ernst is his name. During the journey, he listens to stories on the exotic land he is heading for, to start a new life. Somebody relates to him the story of Quinara and the treasure hidden in a valley named after the Indian general. The young man remains mesmerized, envisioning him finding the treasure and returning home full of glory. Finding the treasure of Quinara becomes then an obsession for young Ernst.
1876. Ernst is heading south, eventually. Upon his arrival to Guayaquil, he had to find a job and ended up remaining two years as a clerk of the Poppe imports house, a German fellow’s business. But now he is on his way to Loja and to his dreamed treasure.
1919. A sick, too slim and weak Ernst is no longer able to lead the last of countless expeditions to the mysterious valley of Quinara, where he has sought and dug for the treasure for 39 years. He now makes an inventory of his life since he arrived to Loja. Most of his earnings have been invested in finding the hidden treasure of Quinara, almost to no avail; he found one of the three masks indeed, but that was as close as he got to the lost Incan treasure. The final balance of his life is not in red though, as he discovered another lost treasure: Ricarda, a strong, independent and open-minded woman who became his wife and mother of his 9 children; her black eyes sparkling as gems and her outstanding determination became Ernst's wealth, one he found at the end of a long trip from Hamburg to the exotic lands of South America.
1970. The first daughter of Ernst and Ricarda is celebrating her 90th birthday, surrounded by her large extended family. A 12 year old girl stares at grand-aunt with admiration, wondering how it is possible to reach such an age in such a good state of mind. That young girl is me, one of the over 120 great grand children of Ernst Witt, the treasure hunter.
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