The Legend of Teyunaphur
The Legend of Teyunaphur
In the year 1715—in the depths of the Amazonian jungle of Colombia—an explorer by the name of Louise Oppegard Kent followed the outlined trails written in her father’s diary, speaking of a legend more than 150,000 years old. Louise was now searching for the lost city of Teyunaphur.
Among trees, armadillos, toucans, macaws, titi monkeys, jaguars, and sloths, she was searching for giganticcacaos like the ones mentioned in her father’s diary. Her father had written, “... lucious cacaos with an exquisite scent, yellow in color, and 5 times their normal size...” The entrance to the lost city could be found amongst these trees.
Accompanied by her faithful companion–a macaw named Halí–Louise began her adventure, delving deeper and deeper into the thick jungle. After several hours of walking, Louise prepared to camp out for the night. However, from the top of a tree, a titi monkey caught her eye by pointing to a tree with strange markings. Louise noticed that behind the tree was a path of obsidian stones. She decided to follow it and as she walked further, she noticed that she was not alone. She was surrounded by titi monkeys that followed her every step.
At nightfall, her friend Halí began to feel nervous. The monkeys disappeared as though something were lurking nearby. They heard a roar that seemed to come from all around them, leaving Louise petrified. Without having many other options, she decided to climb a tree and spend the night there. Around midnight, with a clear sky and full moon lighting up the entire jungle, Louise could see off in the distance the trees she had been searching for. As her father had described: “Giant, majestic cacao trees and sloths hanging everywhere from them.”
At the break of dawn, Louise climbed down from the tree and began walking towards the giant cacao trees. Along the way, she saw a variety of unique species–macaws, toucans, titi monkeys, sloths, and armadillos–all double their normal size. As she approached the spot, she noticed little by little that the jungle began to get quieter and there were fewer and fewer animals around her.
Suddenly, Halí let out a harrowing scream and took flight in terror. Louise–frightened and confused–heard a roar on her left side. When she turned, she saw clearly that it was an enormous, majestic jaguar with bright emerald eyes. She immediately turned around to flee from the jaguar that was chasing her. She ran desperately and with all her might, knowing that this could be the end of her life if not. The huge jaguar jumped and caught her. Surprisingly out of nowhere appeared a troop of titi monkeys throwing stones, attacking the jaguar and managing to chase it away, ultimately saving Louise's life. Exhausted and terrified, she fell unconscious.
When Louise woke up, she saw her friend Halí in the trees, playing on top of a luscious, aromatic cacao that was yellow in color and 5 times its normal size. Ecstatic, Louise got up and looked around, realizing that this was the place mentioned in her father's diary.
Not far from there–scarcely a few meters away–she saw a cave with an incredibly decorated entrance made from obsidian stones. Entering the cave, she followed an ancient stone path, discovering along the way toucans with fluorescent feathers and armadillos with brightly colored shells. Louise could see an incandescent light that illuminated the end of the cave. Upon exiting, she could see the mythical lost city of Teyunaphur.
Leaving the cave, she was surprised to see majestic macaws and sloths with shiny fur and large, tree-hugging claws. Fascinated and overwhelmed by the incredible buildings and enormous jungle pyramids, she began her exploration of this place full of mysterious artifacts and magnificently decorated objects. Her expedition was then interrupted by an almost blinding sparkle. Louise ran immediately to the source, discovering a giant emerald–the size of a man's fist–carefully carved into the shape of a titi monkey.
While she delicately held the stone in her hands, time stopped around her. The whole place–including the animals–was frozen and an ancestral spirit appeared in front of her, taking the form of a white monkey the size of a man. Unable to move, she heard the spirit say to her the following: “You've discovered the lost city of Teyunaphur, along with the Viracocha stone of wisdom. For your good heart, love of nature and all the species of animals within it, you are worthy of receiving the infinite wisdom and power of the jungle. Plants, armadillos, toucans, macaws, monkeys, sloths, jaguars, insects, and all the species of the jungle will be your allies. Your mission will be to protect them and to safeguard this fantastical place.” Since then, Louise disappeared (Misterioso), never to be heard from again. The local tribes don't know the story of this explorer but they recognize Louise's name. In their culture, it isn't right to mention it since it's part of the full name of the mother spirit, which they call Lök the protective spirit of the jungle.
