Agüeybaná was our old warrior king.
He fought to keep the Spaniards from taking this land, his land. Legend has it that he died early in battle from a bullet aimed at the gold guanín he wore on his chest as a status symbol. He died a failure, brought down by the very symbol of his heathen ways, his deification and impersonation of the Sun.
Legend has been enshrined in history books. It makes a powerful image.
Truth rarely does.
Agüeybaná was a family name. It belonged to the ruling family only. Personal names were something else altogether. They were mutable, temporary only.
The Tainos had a custom of exchanging names to cement good relations and family ties. If your name is X and mine is Y, let’s exchange them, and your family will be like mine, and mine shall be like yours. When the Spaniards first came, Agüeybaná the First, uncle and predecessor of the one we are talking about, called for a name exchanging ceremony with the newcomers. The ceremony was called a Guaitiao. He exchanged his own with Ponce de Leon. His nephew and heir, future Agüeybaná II, exchanged his own with Luis de Whatever. (This was read in history books, out of my reach at the moment. And I could not find the proper links to the net. So my research is not impecable today. )
Thereafter his name would have been Luis Agüeybaná.
According to the records, there was a Taino king called Luquillo or Luisillo who kept with the war after Agüeybaná’s death. He was also associated with the “Carib” revolt. At a certain point he brought the European population to less than 50, all huddled together in the city of
Weather. A mere roll of the dice.
Why do I care for this?
We are taught that Agüeybaná died a failure. He, often used as a symbol of our national spirit, was put out of action on the first round. Disregarding the evidence, we are told of his defeat, and the end of his line.
Just like in the Arthurian myth, the King is wounded and dying, and the kingdom dies around him.
There is a link between them. They are one and the same.
By killing our king, in story, if not if fact, they kill Borinken.
In the inner kingdom of a Boricua’s mind, the king has failed. He is wounded and dying; collapsing. And just like in the Arthurian myth, his land dies around him.
The answer?
The passing of the Grail.
A new king must come out of the mists to awaken the land to its glorious past and still more glorious future. The only hope is a hero who will take up the throne, cut the ties to the failed king and build a new kingdom out of old materials.
No one has proved pure of heart, yet.
And still, I wait for Persifal…
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