LegendTraditional story: not a proven historical fact.
The raft of the flood
Legend says the altiplano was a fertile valley until people disobeyed the Apus and climbed to the summit of the Sacred Fire. As punishment the Apus let loose hundreds of pumas, and Inti wept for forty days and forty nights until the valley flooded. Only one couple survived, aboard a totora-reed raft. That is why the reed is seen as a gift from Mama Qota: permission is still asked of the lake before cutting it, and raft and island builders treat it with the respect owed to what saves lives.
