Most of the types of corn developed in ancient Peru were cultivated in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, located in the province of Urubamba, in Cusco.
Andean Gods
Among the gods, Mama Sara, Mother Corn or of the food, was the most important along with coca and potato. There are many legends about Sara; they tell of a young woman of extraordinary beauty whom the sorcerer Kuru fell in love with, but she feared and rejected him.
Sara, feeling cornered by Kuru, asked her god, Inti, the sun, for help. Suddenly she felt a sweet sensation; her body transformed, becoming very slender, and her arms raised toward the sky, turning into the long leaves of a corn plant.
Thus, golden plants appeared throughout the valley, resisting the strong winds.
Corn in Cuzco
From that moment, corn is called Sara and is produced in the Sacred Valley of Cuzco, where the best corn in the world is harvested. Only women can gather it because Sara was a virgin young woman, and men cannot touch it, or the successive harvests will be lost.
In Cuzco, the celebration of the Inti Raymi festival continues to be held to thank the sun god for giving humans this precious food, corn.
According to another legend about the origin of corn, in the sky, the children of the God of War fought fiercely among themselves, producing thunder and lightning; until they grew tired and stopped, longing for some peace and rest.
The God of War, feeling betrayed, was furious and punished them by sending them to earth, transformed into wild plants, with leaves in the shape of spears and fruits laden with thorns.
Later, the Sun God, touching the ears of corn, turned them into food for men.
