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The origins

The most remote past of Casma remains as a large part of our pre-colonial history, plunged in darkness, however, we can well shed some light on its origins, basing ourselves on data taken from the Spanish chroniclers and their modern followers, looking for a course between the mud of legends and traditions in which the period that this work begins is involved.

Thus, we can ask ourselves a question: Who were the first inhabitants of Casma? ... and from there we have to ask ourselves, who were the first inhabitants of the Peruvian coast?

It is said that the primitive cultures of the coast were forged by the yunga or yumca race. But this word does not mean anything properly and is of simi rune origin, that is, applied by the Quechua conquerors who destroyed the coastal kingdoms.

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It will take a long time yet, we believe so that the student can definitively orient himself on the positive races of the coast

But we can accept that the first settlers of Casma belonged to that race of primitive settlers that settled along the coast and that has left traces of their existence on the Casma coast, such as kitchen remains, lithic utensils, rough pots and fragments of primitive huts.

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Casma Preincaica

The inhabitants of the first Casma built a town on the hills of Sechín and Mojeque, within the valley of that name, far from the current site of the population, which only 192 years ago was moved there.

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Casma primitiva was thus an important military center and seat of a notable cultural nucleus. The valley crossed by innumerable irrigation canals gave occupation to the people who inhabited the slopes of the hills and in the hollows, using stone, mud and carob.

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Then Casma is included in the Empire of the Great Chimú and above all there are authorized versions, such as Father Gridilla, who says that the Casma valley was part of said kingdom that ran from the Paramonga valley (southern limit), to Tumbes ( northern limit).

This is how this first Casma appears, in the historical constellation of the Great Chimú, the empire founded by a second wave of Central American immigrants who arrived on the Peruvian coast; It is said by the beautiful legend that Don Cabello Balboa collects in his Austral Miscellany, under the command of a man of great talent and great value named Naylamp.

Later, in the process of our wonderful history, other men have to come, the Kaswas, who, by destroying or letting the primitive Casma die, will allow the inhabitants of the valley to build a second town on the Sechín hills. It will be in the next chapter that we will deal in more detail with the Inca conquest of the Casmeño valley.



The Inca Conquest

Approximately in the second half of the 15th century (the Incas ruled for only 60 years in the Chimú region), the powerful emperor of the Kaswas, Pachacútec, sent his son Prince Yupanqui - as Garcilazo refers to in the conquest of the Yungas states - to command of thirty thousand warriors. Faced with the attack by the kaswas, together with the chiefdoms of Pachacamac and Lunahuaná who wanted to avenge ancient grievances, the Chimú Kingdom, which was in decline, felt its military glories revived and fought with courage and despair.

After the bloody battle that was fought in front of the walls of the Paramonga fortress, the Chimús withdrew to the Huarmey Fortress and from there to that of Casma.

In the fortress whose ruins today bear the name of Castillo de San Rafael or de las Calaveras, the Chimús fought with such courage that Garcilazo says of them:



They resisted the strength of their opponents for many days without recognizing their advantages, they did such good deeds that they gained the honor and fame of their own enemies. They made an effort and raised the hopes of their curaca, the Great Chimú.

Cieza de León tells us:

they dared to compete with the Incas; of which they say that, more out of love and skill than they had, than by rigor or force of arms, they became lords of the

But Casma also fell before the conquerors who came from the Andes, after tough resistance in Santa came the final defeat, because "after cutting the irrigation canals, King Chimú submitted. Santa was the tomb of his freedom. "

Defeated then, Chimú Canchu, the last governor of the great coastal empire, Casma loses forever, it is hard to verify it, his once splendor. The Incas, in opposition to their policy with the conquered regions, allowed the Chimú settlements to decline and Casma did not escape this harsh victor's law.

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This second Casma is going to lead a dark life of total abandonment. The cause of this must be sought in that the Incas wanted to extinguish the centers of desperate resistance of the Chimú.

Casma first had to be devastated by the victor, although the Casmeño scholar Don Juan I. Reyna of the version that it was destroyed by earthquakes and floods, which seems to have strength, because over time the valley has suffered innumerable disasters produced by the rising of the river of his name. The fortress to which we have referred so many times was thus preserved, as well as that of Paramonga, to give rise to a military garrison. As an enduring work, the Incas left in Casma the route of the great coastal road whose trace can still be followed. They also built a road to the interior, which starts from Casma and passing through Quillo and Matacoto, ends at the Callejón de Huaylas through which the indigenous people still do their little trade.

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Casma in the Colonial Period

It is a tough task to investigate Casma's life in the colonial period. However, we have found data, isolated it is true, that will give us a fragmentary vision of its slow and poor development, sad is to confess.

In Cieza's Chronicle of Peru, despite finding a large copy of data, the first ones given by the conquerors on the geographical position and statistics of the coastal population, we hardly find a very general reference in the chapter On the most valleys and towns on the road from the plains to the city of the Kings, which can be applied to Casma:



For all the most destos valleys are almost deserted, having been as populated in the past as many know

But despite the brief and general nature of the note, it can well be inferred that the Inca Casma - which was hardly a shadow of the flourishing population that was under Chimú rule - saw the rigor of the conquest add to its decline.

Cieza has words of admonition when he blames the Spanish for the detriment of the Santa region, which therefore corresponds to Casma:

After leaving the government, I do not approve of anything. Before, I mourn the extortions and bad treatments and violent deaths that the Spanish have committed against these Indians, caused by their cruelty; without looking at his nobility and the great virtue of his nation.

Fra



Casma deserves a weekend visit to enjoy the landscape, dunes, beaches, sea and observe an archaeological group out of series. A full-time day can meet your expectations. In two, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of the Casmeños and savor tasty dishes with the fruits of the area. If you have more time, you can enjoy a quiet spa and paradisiacal beaches with soft white sand. All this a five hour drive from Lima.

The climate is excellent all year round, they call it The City of the Eternal Sun, precisely because the sun's rays make their presence felt almost all year round, it also has a healthy warm climate, especially to restore health.

Thanks to its important archaeological monuments, it is also known as the Cradle of the ancient Sechín culture. In 1996, Casma was included in the Educating Cities Program of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture. Currently it is a province with modern buildings and streets, with green areas and great agricultural, fishing, commercial and tourist activity.





Casma is located 375 kilometers north of Lima, in the coastal zone of the Chavín Region, department of Ancash, between 9 ° 28´ 25´´ South Latitude 78 ° 18´ 15´´ and West Longitude of Greenwich.



It limits to the north with the province of Santa, to the east with the provinces of Yungay and Huaraz, to the south with the province of Huarmey and to the west with the Pacific Ocean.



Its climate is warm, dry, mild, its temperature varies between a minimum of 13 ° and a maximum of 31 °, due to the fact that there is a chain of hills along the coast between Puerto Casma and La Gramita, whose altitude reaches 1 144 meters in the Lomas de Mongón, which divert and attenuate the strong winds that come from the sea. Between these hills and the city of Casma there are sandbanks that are an average of 9 kilometers apart, which upon receiving the sun's rays heat and dry the air that blows gently over the city.



During the 1993 Census, the province had a total population of 36,400 people, distributed in its four districts: Casma, Comandante Noel, Buenavista Alta and Yaután



Its altitude above sea level (with reference to the Plaza de Armas) is 30.9 meters



Only two seasons are marked for Casma: summer, which seems to last from September to May (with an average of 24º C in the shade); and winter, which falls between the months of June to August (average temperature of 15ºC).







The fighting cocks

One of the Casmeño traditions is the razor cockfights that bring together men and women in various arenas. There are renowned sheds in this city, with descendants of birds of lineage. During the popular festivals in the province it is customary to hold tournaments of this deep-rooted hobby.



Myths and legends

All these extraordinary legends or stories have been collected orally and demonstrate the talent and creativity of our ancestors. It also teaches us the valuable resource of the legend to discover our origin, here are some of them:



THE SMOOTH STONE

Near the ruins of Sechín there is a very smooth and polished stone that, when reflected by the sun's rays, illuminate the contours with bright light, phenomena that have originated the following legend:

It is said that in a very distant time, a cacique of the region, wanted to build a bridge over one of the arms of the river. To carry out such a colossal work, he promised in marriage to his beautiful daughter to the brave man, who before dawn on the third day after the fixed date, would bring a stone so large, as to serve as a bridge alone.

A handsome young man offered to accomplish such a feat, driven by the passion he felt for the chief's daughter, he climbed up to the height and, choosing a colossal stone, began to roll it, but time beat him and, finding himself near the river, the sun appeared.

The stone is left where the deadline was met and the reflection of the star king is like a mysterious sign that reminds that the act that the brave boy wanted to carry out led by a superhuman passion.

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