Pseudo-Qechua

So, quick housekeeping, Those Below is live!!!!  It was successfully posted to Amazon on October 11, 2018, ASIN: B07JBJ5QYM.  My wife and I are working diligently to formate for print, at which time we plan to launch on Barnes and Noble (nook first then physical publishing) with the ultimate goal of getting the book into stores!   We are also looking at Apple iBook.  We will update you guys on dates as soon as possible.

Housekeeping done, I wanted to talk today about some of the names and words that I use throughout Those Below.  In structuring the book the way that I did, basing things heavily on the Inca empire, I tried to incorporate as much Quechua, or Pseudo-Quechua as I could.  Quechua as a language is very difficult to use as it was heavily influenced, altered, and almost eradicated by the Spanish.  The spoken language itself varies widely from country to country along the former Inca Empire, with two main dialects; Quechua (Bolivia and Peru) and Quichua (Ecuador).  The written language is even more convoluted as there is no standardized form of the language and no universal standards for spelling, translation, or conjugation.  I have a dictionary from my travels which I frequently reference, and the internet helps with at least two additional dictionaries, but there are times where one word will yield several distinct translations.  In any event here are some of the common names and words that I use and their translations;

Achachila – Patriarch

Misi – Cat

Qhush’qunca – Jealously

Amaru – Serpent

Armana – Forgotten

Ukuchu – Mouse

Ukuchu Wasillay – Mouse Hole

Machaqway (Mantaqway) – Legless reptile

Additionally, I use several terms that I adapted from Quechua but tweak either their spelling or meaning for the sake of the story.  The most notable of these are Inti and Wiru.  Inti means sun and was in many ways worshiped as a deity.  I changed it to cover a broader range of nature spirits and ideal forms, which in truth is not much of a change for the original.  The other Wiru was originally Viru and refers to several deities within a certain cult in the Inca empire.  Those who worshipped the Viru worshiped three major gods: Pacha Viru, the father or father sky, Pacha Mamma, the mother or mother earth, and Vira Qucha, the son of thunder and offspring of the other two.  When Pissarro encountered the Inca he claimed to be Vira Qucha to ease his conquest of the country.  The Catholic missionaries likewise appropriated the whole group, incorporating them as God the Father, The Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ.  For my purposes, I used Wiru as the religion of the Mascau, which I based off of the Nasca culture, as both the religion and culture group historically predated the Inca Empire and I needed a group to predate the Kingdom in the book.