Myth and Identity: A Compilation of Oral Traditions in a University Context from Peru

ABSTRACT

Peru is a multicultural country, with a wide wealth of languages and traditions. However, most of the contributions from the Andean and Amazon areas have suffered segregation by members of the majority culture, represented by the Spanish language and centralised in the coastal cities. For this reason, migration to these territories has included the concealment of the mother tongue, cultural mimicry and the loss of identity values. For this reason, this study seeks to achieve the opposite effect: to revalue the Quechua language through the presentation and compilation of oral myths from different Andean localities, thanks to the conception, performance and style of a group of students of the Beca 18 program at a private university from Lima. This means revaluing the cultural elements that are part of the identity of these students, specifying the activity as a form of cultural strengthening, and recovering the myth as a manifestation of oral literature in the Peruvian environment, as well as in the official spaces of culture majority.

KEYWORDS:

• Myth acceptance
• identity development
• story building
• linguistic behaviour
• literature

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mauro Marino-Jiménez

Mauro Marino-Jiménez is a research professor at the Faculty of Communication of Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Perú. He coordinates the research group Comunicación, Cultura y Sociedad Digital (COMUNICADIGITAL) and is editor of Lemma: Revista de Comunicación.

Ana María Flores-Núñez

Ana María Flores-Núñez is a full-time professor at the Faculty of Communication of the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Perú. She is currently studying a PhD in Literature from the Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP).

Henry César Rivas-Sucari

Henry César Rivas-Sucari is a professor at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Perú. He is currently studying a PhD in Literature from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

Paola Vásquez-Espinoza

Paola Vásquez-Espinoza is currently studying a PhD at the Université de Montréal, Canada. She has directed educational projects related to linguistics and neuroscience.