Asturian-American Migration Forum

cuntapeiru: pronounced koon-tah-PAY-roo, variants at cuntaperu (koon-ta-PEH-roo) or contaperu (kone-tah-PAY-roo). Storyteller, narrator, bard. A person who tells stories, anecdotes or fictitious tales. One who gives an account of events or experiences either in speech or in writing.

At the beginning of the 20th century, an Asturian-language writer in Cangas del Narcea used the nickname of cuntapeiru to publish in the local press.

A cuntapeiru can sometimes also be a person known to spread trivial news or peddle with rumors. Synonyms for this last meaning at rumor-monger, charlatan, equivocator, fabler, fabulist, fibber, liar.

Usage examples:
No Café Centro de La Puela d’Ayande, a 23H30: gran rebudixo de mazcaras, onde nun faltaran las xanas, la filandoira la guaxa ya’l cuntapeiru… [At the Café Centro of La Puela d’Ayande, at 23:30, there will be a wild costume party. Do not miss the fairies, the wool spinners, the evil old lady and the storyteller…]
Ia mas cuntapeiru que nun hai outru. [He is such a bull-shitter; there is no one quite like him.]
El cuntapeiru esti nun diz mas que mentiras. [This rumor monger says nothing but lies.]

Is, that's an odd-looking word!

Do you know if cuntapeiru is a compound word? It looks like it might contain "cuntar" [contar; tell], but I'm having trouble figuring out the second half. I doubt that it's related to "peirón" [puta, fulana; whore, hooker].

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¡Is, qué curiosa esa palabra es!

¿Sabes si cuntapeiru es una palabra compuesta? Parece posible que contenga "cuntar" [contar; tell], pero no tengo éxito en descubrir la parte segunda. Dudo que es relacionado con "peirón" [puta, fulana; whore, hooker].

I don't think it's a compound word, Art. Sanchez Vicente's dictionary lists
cuntaperu and defines its meaning as "Chismoso, que anda con embustes y difamaciones." The "ei" rather than "e" spelling is characteristic of western asturianu.

Ah, that could be, Bob. There's another similar word, "cuntapín" which means "cuentu, rellatu" [cuento, relato; tale, story].

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Ah, tal vez tengas razón, Bob. Hay otra palabra parecida, "cuntapín", que significa "cuentu, rellatu" [cuento, relato; tale, story].

Yes, cuntapeiru is the West Asturian variant for cuntaperu or contaperu.

I wasn't familiar with the word until our forum member, Cuntapeiru, asked us about hotel accomodations in New York. He later explained that there was a famous writer/storyteller in Cangas/Narcea who used that pen name in the 20th century.

This past October I also overheard my friend Oscarin from La Puela (Ayande/Allande) use cuntapeiru to announce another filandon in November.

Storytellers, especially where there is a strong oral tradition, often have a near-holy status. In rural Iran, for example, poets tend to draw crowds when reciting in public. It's considered high art.