Peruvian & Bolivian Shamanic Wisdom
Aspects of shamanism can be found in many ancient
systems of healing, ancient religions and eastern philosophies around
the world. Many representatives from these cultures have been asking us
to remember who we are and to where we belong for many decades now. The
Shamans of the Andes have always been aware that as human beings we are
spiritual entities who share our physical world with other spiritual
beings that may have other appearances and varied expressions of energy,
wisdom, strength and power. The Shamans live with the understanding and
knowledge as a communion of love, trust, respect and reciprocity.
In a lot of countries in the world today , particularly in Australia,
younger generations are marrying into other genetic and cultural
backgrounds. We are becoming a wonderful mixture of races and cultures
and our DNA is changing to represent this. Instead of creating wars of
difference, we should be celebrating our one-ness, our
interrelationship, our communion with all that we are. Many people
throughout the world are now gathering to carry out ceremonies of
connection, for world peace, acceptance of difference, mixing of
cultures, healing of Pachamama and all human beings.
The Seven Concepts
1. The Importance of Places of Power
The majestic mountains [apus] of the Andes are considered one of the two most important electromagnetic centres of our planet where, over thousands of years, extraordinary civilisations developed. The traditional peoples understood that it is necessary to walk with wisdom on Pachamama and understood their world as divided into cyclical periods of time. Religious centres and outdoor altars devoted to those most powerful places were decorated with incredible sculptures as maps to other dimensions:
- the Snake [Amaru Katari];
- the Condor, or the Solar Puma [Lake Titicaca];
- the development of a civilisation of the sons of the Sun at Tiwanaku [which is a temple or place of transformation of at he Condor-Man and Wiracocha man who went to the higher levels through the Sun Door, all wise predecessors of the Inka culture].
2. The Importance of Water
Water symbolises the eternity of life for the Andean people. The Inkas believed they were born of Lago Titicaca. It is believed that the alpaca and llama came from the sea with the humans. Sacred waters, such as on the Isla del Sol are said to be healing. By placing sacred water on the chakras, the energy centres of the body are opened. Ancient memories are able to surface and the meditation on these memories allow us to let go of personal issues that no longer benefit us. Immersion in water, particularly hot mineral springs, is also used as a healing method, to cleanse and purify the body. In August Quechua farmers around the Inka valley [Urubamba River] carry out rituals and send special offerings to Pachamama to ensure the rains come to fertilise the earth and for new growth of crops.
3. The Importance of Sound
It has been said that strange things happen when music is played in the strong Andean energy. The music is connected to the spiritual world and its pure energy can transform something in the heart and reconnect us to Nature. The vibration of sounds carry messages from the ancient ones to our hearts. In parts of the jungle near Iquitos, healers cure with vocal sounds, using tones to heal. The sick are cured with Icaros [songs of power] and instrumental music. It is also believed that the builders of the ancient cities, such as Machu Picchu, made mathematically perfect constructions by using the combined sounds of their ancient musical instruments. The vibration of these sounds enabled them to transport and carve the stones. Music has always played an important role, playing at sunrise and sunset, for worshipping and celebrating Nature, war, astronomy, life and death.
4. The Importance of Prophecies
The Quechua regard history as a sequence of worlds, past [Underworld], present [Middleworld] and future [Upperworld] with each being connected in the same way. Each separated period of time between them is called Pachakutekk. The Quechua speak of the coming of the era of Pachakutekk when great changes will occur. It is a warning from Pachamama about how failure to practice the ancient traditions is affecting the earth and its environment. In the near future, material pursuits and money will become worthless. Pachakutekk will begin a new era where there will be light, peace, love and caring of our planet.
5. The Importance of Ceremonies
Many other cultures speak of similar prophecies and we are witnesses
to the dramatic changes of our earth, seasons, rain patterns, etc. All
cultures tell us of the interrelationship of all creation. Ceremonies
hold the traditions together. When rituals are no longer practiced then
we are reminded of the prophecies of what we need to do to restore
harmony for our planet and our-self.
The Quechua celebrate their interconnectedness with Nature all the time.
Ceremonies generally fit into an annual cycle according to the
agricultural season, All prayers, offerings, dances, songs and feasts
help to keep Pachamama in balance and restore harmony on earth.
Healers from all over Peru and Bolivia conduct healing ceremonies at
special sites to balance peoples’ energy fields.
6.The Importance of Individual Reconnection
Because of the interconnectedness, as human beings help to heal
Pachamama we will begin to heal our-self. If we work on our-self we heal
others. We come back to living in the moment, to living simply each day,
connected to Pachamama, breathing with Pachamama as one breath, moving
in rhythm to Pachamama’s pulsating heartbeat, sharing Her secrets with
Her other children, the birds, animals, plants, and the spirits of all
things.
How do we do this? In the workshops, retreats, ceremonies and journeys,
we explore practical ways of communing with Nature, through:
- Discussions about the Huachuma tradition of Shamanism
- Breathing meditations – saying ‘yes’ to life
- Icaros [songs of power]: song of the Snake, Song of the
Moon
- Visiting places of power for ceremonies and rituals: how
can we live in a more balanced environment?
- Working on our physical body: discussing diet, ancient postures,
stimulating the glands and energy points, and movements to energise
the body
- Dreams and self-understanding, intention versus willpower
- The four elements or directions and the purpose of the Mesa: how
do they relate to our daily life?
- The Dance of the Universe as a celebration of life and a demonstration of our intention.
7. The Importance of Community
Active participation in communal life is essential to each
individual. Religious ceremonies and celebrations, working the land,
honoring their duties and obligations to all members are vital.
Generally these days, if people living in the agricultural communities
are not blood or marriage-related, they can still live there as
ayllumasis, as companions of the community. All members are referred to
as uncle or aunt, and the elderly called grandfather or grandmother. The
children are regarded as cousins.
In the fertile valleys the communities grow maize, vegetables and fruit.
In the higher altitudes the communities work together to farm a variety
of potatoes, grains and broad beans. Land at the highest altitudes is
used for communal pastures for herds that provide the community with
meat and wool.
For the Quechua there is no separate, individual self, they speak of
‘we’, illustrating the sense of connection and community. When something
is accomplished within the community, everybody celebrates. If someone
does something wrong, everyone accepts the blame. Quechua people are
generous and hospitable. No matter how little they have, they will share
their food and drink, offer help and tools, and offer blankets if
required.
Gifts and giving go beyond people to include the Pachamama, the
mountains, the rocks, springs, plants, animals, ancestors – everything.
Observe any group of campesinos working in
the land. Watch the way they go to work, early in the morning, and you
will see happiness. You will hear them singing, whistling and telling
jokes. They are transmitting the love they feel for Pachamama.
The Quechua campesinos are the remnants of a highly developed
civilisation. They went back to their roots, to normal practices they
were used to. They are intelligent people who are dedicated to
preserving this planet because they revere Pachamama and because they
love having contact with the earth in their daily life.
Many have chosen to live far away in isolated places where they are
happiest and without the influence of this modern lifestyle that has
eroded their traditions.
The Quechua are simple people who want happiness and freedom. For them,
life is simply like it is. They have some needs and we can help them,
but let’s not spoil their way of life. Let’s not change them. Let them
live as they are, let’s learn from them, we always do it the other way
around and force them to learn from us.
Aurelio Aguirre [cited by Cumes & Valencia, 1999, p.45]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Cumes, C. & Valencia, R. L. [1995]. Pachamam’s Children.
Llewellyn Publications, USA.
D’Ambrosio, Edith. [2003]. Peru Mystical & Ecological Tours, Lima, Peru.
Samara, T. [1996-2000]. Maestro, Shaman and Ceremonial Leader of the
Huachuma Tradition, Various teaching in Workshops and Retreats.
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Editorial published in Insight Magazine, January 2009
Spiritual Journeys and Rites of Passage
The peoples of Peru and Bolivia have for years understood the
importance of treating our planet with care and respect, and have
established a strong connection with Pachamama [Mother Earth] - a living
organism that provides us with all that we need.
Spanish is the main language and most Andean people speak Aymara around
the Lake Titicaca [Lago Titicaca] area, or Quechua in the highlands.
Frequent prayers and offerings [of food, alcohol, flowers, stones, etc]
are made to the sacred mountains, rocks, springs and to Pachamama.
Apukuna are the divine lords of the sacred mountains who have been
worshipped since pre-Inkan times.
Ayni, to the Quechua people, means being able to live with the world in
a special way: sharing the land with the animals, plants and insects as
if they are our brothers and sisters, a neighbour is a friend we have
always known, and no-one lives in isolation: we are inseparable from
Nature. Ayni suggests we are all interconnected and interdependent.
Initiations and ceremonies differ from the people of the jungle and
those of the Andes, with ceremony holding the traditions together. If
rituals are no longer practiced, then prophecy is told to remind us of
what must be done to restore harmony on earth. Andean Shamans [priests
or curanderos] may work in different ways. Herbalists, trained in the
medicinal use of plants, generally live and work with their community.
Other Shamans may obtain more knowledge and serve the village before
serving an entire region. These Shamans conduct healing and divination
ceremonies, are able to communicate directly with the spirits of the
mountains and must follow the instructions the receive. It is said that
a misuse of power for personal gain will result in the Shamans losing
everything they have attained.
Ceremonies in the countryside are different from the healing ceremonies
in the city. Styles and techniques of the Shamans are varied, and they
may use tobacco, alcohol, oils, herbs and particular medicines in their
healing sessions. A simple healing ceremony may start with the medicine
man laying out a ceremonial cloth, with prayers and offerings made to
the ancient spirits and Pachamama. The medicine man will gain permission
and ask for guidance in the protection of the ceremony and people
attending.
Sacred herbs, such as San Pedro [a cactus] and Ayahuasca [from a plant
called banisteriopsis caapi], also called “the vine of the dead”, have
been used in ceremonies for thousands of years to assist people in
stepping out of an ordinary reality into other realms. The Shaman may
sing a variety of haunting ancient melodies, while offerings are made
with the sound of a rattle. Negative aspects of our lives can be
transformed in knowledge, which in time becomes wisdom.
Spiritual tours are being offered travelling through Peru and Bolivia.
We start in Lima, the capital of Peru, and work our way to Macchu
Picchu, then on to Lake Titicaca, crossing the border from Peru into
Bolivia, and completing the tour in La Paz, the highest city in the
world and the capital of Bolivia. It is an opportunity for you to
experience the natural beauty of the Andes, meet village Shamans for
healing ceremonies and visit ancient sites. In 2009 I will be taking 4
tours [early and late March, early and late September].
In April 2009 I am being joined by two friends, Lincoln Stoller and
Reema Datta, to offer two retreats in Iquitos, the Peruvian side of the
Amazon. Our interests are spiritual and transformative, and centre on
deep state work pioneered by indigenous cultures. These retreats will
include cleansing night ceremonies, conducted by a traditionally trained
Ayahuascero and herb therapist, Percy Garcia, who has been training with
his grandfather since 10 years of age.
My business, Huachuma Consultancy, was established in 1998 with the sole
purpose of helping people to improve their quality of life. I have a
degree in Psychology and several years training in Shamanism in various
countries, including Peru, Bolivia, Portugal and England. A range of
programs and workshops are offered, and can be modified to suit specific
needs. Individual counselling sessions are also available by
appointment.
For further info visit: please email me at
muriel@seekingselfhapiness.com.au or email me at
murielturner@yahoo.com or
ring me in Australia on +61 422 817 490.
