The Story:
In Act 2, Pedro and the girl, "Song of the Moon", are together on the mountain. They discuss religion and philosophy, and the girl asks whether it is true that the Christian God commands the soldiers to kill the Inca. He tells her that the Bishop can explain it.
In Act 2, Pedro and the girl, "Song of the Moon", are together on the mountain. They discuss religion and philosophy, and the girl asks whether it is true that the Christian God commands the soldiers to kill the Inca. He tells her that the Bishop can explain it.
Click here to listen to an excerpt. (2.75MB, 4 min 0 sec.)
Pedro: The Bishop will explain it. It's all in here! (Shows his Bible) Someday when you hear the stories you will be convinced too. They are very beautiful. Girl: We have some beautiful stories too. Pedro: Oh, tell me one! Oh tell me one! Girl: A young man was called into the army. Left his wife and young son at home. She was very sad. As if to console her, a white butterfly entered the house, and she felt better for his visit. It returned the next day, and every day thereafter. One day her son asked "Mother, what is this white butterfly?" "It is my lover." The time came when her husband was finished with his army duty and returned home. The boy met him and told him that his mother was working in the fields. The father then asked the boy if they had missed him, and what they had done each day. The child told him about their time at home, and then he said "and every day mother's lover came to see her." The father was fillled with anger, and when the woman returned he killed her. Later that day, as the boy and he were sitting together sadly, the butterfly came again. "Look, father!" cried the boy. "Here is mother's lover, here to see her again." And you Spaniards, do you ever kill your wives? Pedro: Never, Never! |
She then tells Pedro about the Inca celebrations and how girls are honored when they are chosen to die on the mountain. She says that every girl hopes to be chosen.
Click here to listen to an excerpt. (884KB, 1 min 15 sec.)
Pedro: Do you hope to be chosen? To die on the mountain? Girl: I don’t know. I want to help my people, and many are killed by the soldiers anyway. But it is not up to me; the priests decide who will go. God tells them whom to select. Isn’t it better to live with God forever than to be a slave to the Spanish? Yes! I would be happy to go! Pedro: I was hoping we could go to Spain. I thought you wanted to go to Spain with me. |
Act 2 ends with a conversation between the Bishop and Millie, the accountant's wife. She is even more religious than the Bishop, and we learn that even though she has read the Bible 32 times, she knows little else – including where England is.