La Guajira y Waleker

This work is inspired in the oral tradition of the Wayúu people, who live in the northermost tip of South America: a desertic peninsula called La Guajira. Irunnu was a hunter who brought home an orphan girl named Waleker. After her arrival, Irunnu’s family began to find beautiful weavings but no one knew where they came from. One day Irunnu entered the house at a different time than usual. In the corner where the girl waited for him, he saw a beautiful woman working at a loom. Irunnu approached her but she ran off into the bush. Irunnu caught up with her at the same tree where he had first met Waleker. When asked who she was she said, “I am Waleker, the Spider. I came to this land to teach the Wayuu people the art of weaving.” The beautiful Waleker vanished before his eyes. But in the trunk of the tree, he saw a spider busy weaving her web.