Introduction.I have been silent for a while, mostly because I needed to work more on my storytelling (see more on this on the DigiStory blog) but now, after some workings and reworkings on several stories, I am able to start writing again.
The story I will now post is not related to food in particular, but it does talk about some wonderful food...It was written originally in Spanish, by Andres Henestrosa. I found a website with some anecdotes about Maestro Henestrosa's life, which illustrate the kind of man he was. My dad was lucky enough to have Maestro Henestrosa, as his history teacher and he spoke to me about him and his lectures with affection.
The story takes place in the state of Oaxaca where very famous meso-american cultures flourished, like the Mixtec and the Zapotecs . Maestro Henestrosa who was born in the region, was inspired by their mythology and wrote this wonderful and tragic love story. You can find the story in Spanish here. I have translated, expanded and adapted the story for the blog.
The two Kingdoms.
In the time before time there were only two kingdoms, the kingom of the Earth and the Kingdom of the Heavens; and there were only two kings, the King of the Earth and the King of the Heavens.
The King of the Heavens was very poweful. He could command with a movement of his hands the rise of the sun who would every morning dance its way through the heavens spreading light and warmth and happiness to the Kingdom of the Earth. The King could summon the night and the stars and the moon with a smile. The moon would then travel through the skies spreading her blueish, light over the Kingdom of the Earth. One of the King's favourite pastimes was to arrange the stars in beautiful shapes and formations and gaze down to the people of the Earth as they stared up in admiration at the glowing, shiny sketches of light on the darkest of skies. The King could also summon the clouds by sending a soft whistle and the clouds would come billowing to his summons and upon feeling the warmth of his breath, some clouds would then dissolve into the gentlest of rains, which would bathe the people of the Earth with freshness.
The King of the Heavens knew that he was really a very powerful King, but it never crossed his mind to use that power to conquer or abuse, therefore there was friendship and peace between the kingdom of the Earth and the Kingdom of Heavens.
The Births
One day there was rejoicing in both kingdoms for a little baby boy had been born to the Kingdom of the Heavens, and a baby girl had been born to the Kingdom of the Earth. There were parties in both kingdoms simutaneously and the King of the Heavens illuminated both kingdoms with a wonderful array of shooting stars that decorated the cupola of the Heavens and illuminated the Kingdom of the Earth with their tails of light.
Time passed. The boy grew up into a fine young man, able to fearlessly ride the clouds but also gentle and kind. He was strong, tall and handsome. Soon, the King of the Heaven's thought, there will be the time to look for a wife for him. So, the King of Heavens sent for searching parties all throughout both Kingdoms, to look for a bride for his son. One night, as he was peering down unto the Kingodm of the Earth, as he often did when bored, he saw a young maiden walking by the river.
Her hair was lustrous and black as a raven, her mouvements were graceful. She walked lightly on the Earth as though guided by an inner sense of cadence and rhythm. She often paused to gaze at the water, or to take in the travelling of the moon through the sky. And so it came to pass that by the light of the moon, the King of the Heavens saw the face of Nayeli, the most beautiful maiden of the Zapotecs. The King of the Heaven's mind was made up on the spot. That maiden was to be her son's bride. He followed the ancient custom of asking for the bride's hand immediately by asking for his messengers, the biniguendas to go to the King of the Earth and formally ask for Nayeli's hand in marriage.
The King of the Earth.
The biniguendas were the constant messangers between the Kingdom of the Earth and the Kingdom of Heaven. Nobody really remembers now-a-days what they looked like, but a green iguana who knows about these things, told me not long ago, that her ancestors used to see the biniguendas sliding their multiple arms up and down over the most silk-like of threads. Sliding up and down, they could run the messages between heaven and earth much faster than light. The silver silken threads were invisible to almost anyone, except, of course to the green iguanas.
The biniguendas slid down their silken threads faster than light and soon arrived to the Kingdom of the Earth. They knew exactly where to find the King of the Earth, because biniguendas were very wise. They slid accross their threads through the streets of the city of Earth until they reached the palace of the King. They found him in the kitchen talking with the chef about a banquet that was being prepared for the following night. The King was keen for mole, a cacao sauce to be prepared for that evening since it used the most delicious mixture of cacao beans and chillies from the region. He knew about the trees and plants of his kingdom and he liked to encourage the people of his kingdom to exchange knowledge about plants and spices for food and medicines. 
This might be one of the reasons why the food of Oaxaca is one of the most delicious and varied in Mexico. The eldest of the biniguendas asked for permission to speak after the King had made the last adjustments to the seasoning of the mole. The King of the Earth listened with respect to the request of the King of the Heavens. He smiled and told the biniguendas that he must consult with his daughter before sending back an answer. The King went in search of his daughter and found her in the gardens of the palace.
A Child of the Earth.
As soon as Nayeli heard the request of the Kingdom of the Heavens she became silent and her head hung low. She listened to her father extoll the advantages of going to heaven to live with the young prince; she listened about the beauties of the sky; she listened about the wonders of riding on the clouds and to the power that she would have to comand the stars in bountiful formations; she listened, but remained silent with her head low. Her father noticed the silence and eventually, asked her to speak.
Nayeli explained that she was a child of the Earth. She loved walking by the river, she loved to feel the earth under her toes and to respond to the rhythm of the seasons. She liked the sky, but as a backdrop to the Earth. She could not go to the Sky, moreover, she was in love, with a man from the Earth, an artist from the temple whom she had met during one of the dancing festivals last spring. She could not marry anyone else because her heart belonged already to a man from the Earth.
The King of the Earth listened. He went back to the binguendas that he was unable to give away the hand of his daughter because she was a child of the Earth and she wished to remain on the Earth.
Anger boils over.
The biniguendas sped up to convey the message to the King of the Heavens who was not at all pleased with the news. He was angry at the King of the Earth. Moreover, he was really angry at Nayeli for defying his wishes. He spied on Nayeli and soon found that she was in love with an artist from the temple. He saw them walking by the river at night. He felt himself boiling with rage and did what he had never done before, he plotted to use his power against the people of the Kingdom of the Earth.
The biniguendas came down to Earth in the night and wove a mask around the face of the artist from the temple as he lay asleep. In the morning, when he woke up, he could not see past the mask. He tried to take the mask away but his hands got stuck in the mask which was made of a sticky substance, that would get stuck forever upon the hands that touched it. No one could help him regain his eyesight and in desperation, the artist stumbled away from the city and left towards the mountains. He stumbled everywhere he went, until without being able to find his way, or eat or drinkg he fell on one of the many crevasses that open-up whenever the Earth yawns.
Nayeli waited for him every night by the river but he never showed up and eventually she went to his house and found he had become blind. She left the city and searched for him everywhere she could think of. Eventually, she also found her way on the roads to the mountain. The King of the Heavens saw her leave the palace and venture out into the roads towards the mountains. He was still very angry at her and at the Kingdom of the Earth. He then commanded the clouds not to spray their water over the Earth, for as long as Nayeli looked for her lover. Days grew into weeks and weeks into months. The earth was parched. Animals started dying and there was a huge famine as the crops did not grow. Still, Nayeli searched, until, tired, thirsty, hungry and unable to carry on she fell to the ground almost at the top of the mountain. Unable to walk any longer, she cried out and as the tears streamed from her eyes and fell to the ground, the earth took pity on her and opened its bowels to let the tears filter inside.
Slowly, a stream of water began to flow from the inside of the earth and became a small river that cascaded down the mountain into the valley below.
The water flowed, and soon, the people of the Earth were able to plant their crops and live normally again. No one remembered Nayeli nor the artist, until, one day, many many moons over, two hunters following a white tailed deer spotted a rock in the shape of a woman with a trickle of water flowing from the rock itself, unto a small stream that cascaded down unto the valley. They called the stone Nisagie, which means, tears that spring from the earth. Credits
The picture of the iguana was taken by Threefingerredlord. The picture of the market full of spices was taken by Jarek69. The magma was taken by Jenrock and the stream flowing from the rock by Ferran.
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