Once, back in the eighteenth century, a detachment of Brazilians crossed the green valley of the Rio Grande do Sul. The need for workers forced them to set out; they needed Indians and they decided to enslave the tribes that lived in the area, and therefore they set off on the road, stocking up with everything they needed, and first of all, weapons.
The lookouts warned the Minuano Indians that the whites were approaching. They jumped on their hot horses, armed themselves with spears, boleaders, and arrows and left their camp. Seeing the whites, the Indians resorted to their usual method - they hid behind the horses, so that the enemies could not see them. Frozen, they waited for the right moment to pounce on their enemies.
The Brazilians then still knew nothing about the customs and military tricks of the Indians and, seeing a herd of grazing horses in the distance, calmly headed towards it. When the Brazilians were nearby, the Indians instantly jumped on their horses and attacked the enemies, showering them with a hail of arrows. The Brazilians used firearms. But a second attack by Indians armed with spears sent the enslavers into disorderly flight. One wounded young man remained on the battlefield. A girl from the Minuano tribe approached him, delighted by the bravery of the young warrior. The Brazilian knew what awaited him. He asked the girl when he would be sacrificed to the pagan gods, but she replied that he had nothing to fear, since she would help him. She encouraged the young man whom she liked and whose fate could not but evoke pity in her.
The prisoner was taken to the tribe's camp and allowed to walk freely around the camp until his wounds healed, then he could make a sacrifice to the gods.
The young man decided to make a guitar. And then one day, having prepared everything he needed, he sat down under a tree and got to work. He began by hewing a thick board of cork oak, then gave it the desired shape. He cut a hole in the top board to make the strings sound better. He glued his instrument with sombare juice, and made strings from the fibers of this plant.
The girl had already become deeply attached to the stranger and spent all her free time with him. When he made the guitar, she sang to him the melodious songs of her tribe.
Less than a month had passed before preparations for the sacrifice began in the main square of the village. The prisoner was tied to a tree, and the whole tribe began to sing and dance around him. From time to time they passed gourd vessels with fragrant honey wine from hand to hand. Then there was dead silence. The leader of the tribe ordered the prisoner to be untied and brought to him. Looking into the eyes of the white youth, the leader spoke:
“Let this defeat serve as a lesson to your brothers.” And let them not disturb us in the future. Anyone who comes here for slaves will be trampled under their hooves by our horses. And you will pay for your insolence with death!
Then the doomed man was asked what his last wish was. He was very surprised by this question and, being a very smart man, realized that he had hope for salvation. And knowing how powerfully music affects the souls of Indians, he asked to bring him a guitar. He said that before his death he wanted to play and sing his native song. His girlfriend brought a guitar, and the Indians waited with curiosity what would happen next. Filled with hope, the young man struck a few sonorous chords and began to sing. The stern faces of the Indians were transformed, they listened to the young man with delight and said:
- Gau-she! Gau-she!
And in their language it means: a person who sings a sad song. Admired by the wonderful singing, the Indians asked the leader to cancel the sacrifice. So it happened that the white man stayed to live with the Minuano Indians. He married his Indian girlfriend. And from this wonderful union of a white man with an Indian woman come all the gauchos, the brave and talented people.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru