LIMA, behind scenes

Did you know that?
#HistoryWithHaku ☀🌎💡

The origin of the word “lima” is the result of the misrepresentation of a Quechua (Inca language) word. Quechua was the predominant language throughout the pacific coast and the Andes of South America back in the 16th century due to the conquest of all this territory by Incas. Therefore, every region had a distinctive dialect, hence many words could sound different in each area. This is how the word “rimac”, as it was pronounced in the Andes became “limaq” in the coast.

“Rimac or limaq” mean “the one who speaks” or “speaker”. The city was named Limaq because of a pre-Inca oracle that had the capability to talk to people who looked for responses about their life. When the Spaniards arrived to the area that was called “Limaq” by indigenas (1534), they decided to found there the capital of the conquest as it was a beautiful and fertile valley, in addition to the closeness of the sea.

Spaniards founded the city as “Lima, the city of the kings” in 1535, and this how the colonial period of Peru started.

Bibliography: Rodolfo Cerrón-Palomino, Linguistic from Catholic University of Peru.