A long time ago, the land that is now known as the provinces of Azuay and Cañar in Ecuador, were populated by the Cañaris.

The story goes that a tremendous flood overtook the Earth, and only two survivors remained: two brothers who managed to climb to the top of Cerro Fasayñan and take refuge in a cave.

Day and night the rains continued, and the flood grew higher, but it never reached the summit and the brothers remained safe.

At last, after many days, it stopped raining and a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky.

The two brothers found themselves alone in a completely new world — deserted and silent. They were very hungry, but there was nothing to eat, so they left the cave in search of food.

After hours of walking without finding anything to eat, they returned to the cave, and upon entering, were delighted to discover delicious delicacies waiting for them on top of a stone. Without hesitation, they devoured th food, and only when they finished, did they begin to wonder who served it to them.

The same thing happened for several days. They'd leave in search of food, only to return empty handed and find a feast waiting for them.

Finally they could take it no longer and their curiousity got the best of them. They had to know who was feeding them each day.

So the next morning, they left the cave as usual, but instead of leaving in search of food, they hid behind a tree and waited.

Hours later they were astonished to discover that two beautiful guacamaya birds of bright colors, with the face of women, brought food on their wings and prepared the table.

The brothers caught the guacamayas, which turned into two beautiful women. The brothers and the women married, and the two couples repopulated the land of Cañaris.

Since then, the guacamayas are sacred birds for the indigenous people of this region.