TRANSLATION CHALLENGES IN TORIBIO DE ORTIGUERA’S SIXTEENTH CENTURY TRAVEL ACCOUNT

Abstract

Spanish chronicler Toribio de Ortiguera, who lived in Peru for more than 20 years, was in charge of narrating relevant events that took place in the Amazon region, especially with regard to the course of the Amazon River, in the Expeditions of Orellana and Orsúa. But he does so from the memory of those who took part in these expeditions. In this paper, we comment on our translation of chapter 43 of Ortiguera’s Jornada del río Marañón (1581-1586), which describes the importance of the Marañón River, currently the Amazon River. We seek to focus on translation issues such as toponyms, fauna, flora, and terms from indigenous and Iberian (Portuguese and Spanish) languages and cultures, relying on historical documents, cartography of the time, ancient dictionaries, among others, as it is a text from the sixteenth century.

Keywords
Toribio de Ortiguera; Commented Translation; Chronic; Indigenous Cultures