Piura department hides many enigmas for the historians and experts, which are a real challenge to establish historical conclusions. The territory of this northern department, full of carob-trees, donkeys and stifling heat, presents vestiges that no doubt, they belong to very remote times, up to the point of having induced some experts to think that in this part of the country, one might find the most ancient phase of the man of the coast.
The "tallanes" or "yungas" were the first settlers of Piura. They came from the higland during a non specified epoch and there lived in "behetrías", that were populations without organization or without a chief, there were submitted by the "mochicas" or "chimús", that allowed them to preserve their organization and language. There is presumed that when the "mochicas" were harassed by the "Quechuas", the "Tallanes" achieved a sort of autonomy. Centuries later, they were conquered during the government of Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui, approximately forty years before the arrival of the Spanish.
There exist two theses that try to explain the origins of the Tallanes: Julio C. Tello affirms that the culture went down the highlands to the coast. Max Uhle holds that the cultural flow came to the coast for sea route, from Central America and then it ascended to the highlands It seems that the "Tallanes", came from the Peruvian highlands and nothing they have to be with the maritime immigrations.
Garcilaso of The Vega, says that Huancabamba was very big and was very populated by different nations that were speaking different languages and were governed independently. They were fighting among them and were surrendering to conquered to the hardest punishments.
In the same situation, the "ayahuancas" (Ayabaca) had to fight hard with the Incas who conquered them. After a long and hard war, in which the Incas lost more than eight thousand men, these villages decided to give up. But once incorporated into the empire, they turned into progressive provinces dedicated to the agriculture.
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| Narihualá Ruins |
When Pizarro came with his soldiers and started the conquest of the Tawantinsuyo. His first contacts were natives of Tumbes. In his third trip they were hostile and forced the conquerors to look for more propitious places to avoid surprises of the Indigenous people.
Pizarro realized that Tumbes was not an appropriate place to establish his operational headquarters, at the head of his men, he decided to continue traveling in the southern part in search of the ideal place to be established. They find it in Tangarará's valley on the banks of the river Chira. There they founded the first Spanish city in Peru. They called it "San Miguel".
They have linked diverse versions on the motives of this denomination, indicating that it was because it was founded the day of San Miguel, but others affirm that Pizarro wanted to be grateful for a miracle to him or that it was the "mercedario" Monk Michael de Orenes. But as well as there are some versions of the origins of the name of the city, also there is one about the real date of foundation of San Miguel. It’s believe that the ceremony of foundation would have been celebrated the day in which the festivity of the archangel is celebrated.
