The ancient greeks,the incas and the altomesayoq

Anthropologist Alberto Villoldo reports the comments of his informant (and mentor), Prof. Antonio Morales, regarding the great civilizations who had developed North of the equator, as been characterized by a “descending God”, where “the divine comes from the heavens and descends to the Earth” (Villoldo 1995:172).

The Greeks were amid those ancient civilizations who had this marked “descending” character attributed to their divinity. The Incas – unique great culture developing South of the Equator – conversely, had an “ascending” god-force, raising, like the golden maize stalks in the garden of the Koricancha Temple, from mother earth to heaven. Still, we believe there are oversimplifications in this pattern of reconstruction, which do not take into account the many, complex overly-articulated aspects of ancient Greek perception of the divinity, the different phases and stages where these religious ideas were manifested and expressed in -sometimes – conflictual forms, which make any “descending” statement tout-court a bit of an issue in terms of reflecting the actual way these different visions of the world were perceived and channelled in cultic and ritual practices by our Greek ancestors.

This is not the place for a treaty on ancient Greek religion, therefore we shall dwell only on those aspects of this ancient Greek sense of divinity – those archaic cults linked to the earth-goddess, and then prophecy and divination as they were practiced in the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, and to a specific cult of Zeus, worshipped as “Kataibates” – which lend themselves to be seen with a more sympathetic eye to the explorer of Inca shamanism.

By all means, a few millennia before the Incas, Ghe’ – Gaia, the primordial Earth Mother – was worshipped by the ancient Greeks. One of the attributes of the later, Olympian deity of Apollo was Pythios, and – as the myth goes – Python was the dragon-snake, son of Gaia, who guarded the ancient oracle at Delphi. Here, the Pythia, priestess of the Oracle, divined in trance, uttering inexplicable, enigmatic prophetic announcements, intoxicated by the vapours coming from a rocky chasm in a special area of the sanctuary. Her words were later interpreted by a special class of priests, devoted to the de-codification of the prophetic response. Python was the guardian of this chasm, from where the inebriating vapours ascended from the depths of the earth. The power of prophecy was – in primordial times – originating directly from Ghe’, the Earth Mother. It came, ascending from the earth. In later times, Apollo, a later, solar Olympian deity, stole the role of this primordial divinity, killed Python and took over in the cult at Delphi, becoming himself the god of prophecy.

The Incas worshipped Viracocha, their creator god, Inti, the Sun, Quilla, the Moon goddess, and had in the cosmological temple of Koricancha – in Cusco – a whole section dedicated to Venus, the Pleiades and all the stars. Here, Garcilaso de la Vega informs us, there was a room “dedicated to lightning, and to thunder, which they were both expressed by the single name, illapa. [...] This room was entirely covered with gold, but neither thunder not lightning were represented there [...]. The fourth room was devoted to the rainbow, which they said descended from the Sun [...]. It was entirely covered with gold and the rainbow was painted, in beautiful colours, across the entire surface of one of the walls. They called the rainbow cuichu and revered it very specially. [...] The fifth room and last room was reserved for the high priest and his assistants, who were of royal blood. [...] The name of the high priest was uilac-umu [...] This means “he who speaks of divine matters” [..]“.

Cusco was for the Incas what Delphi was for the Greeks: an esoteric centre of the world.

So far, we have seen an ascending Greek goddess, Ghe’, and had a glimpse of the special status that Cuichu, the rainbow descending from the sun, had for the Incas. Far from mirroring the complexity of the dimension of religious cults and vision of the world in either culture, the statements of Prof. Morales – as reported by Villoldo – do not seem to pay full justice to the reality of facts. There is no clear-cut view of Inca shamanism, religion and cultic practices versus ancient Greek civilization and, escaping poetic and simplified views, more than antithetical and opposite visions of the world we are strongly bound to believe that there is much more ground to dwell on similarities instead.

We do not know in what form the uillac-umu, the high priest of the Incas who spoke of divine matter may have – if at all – survived in contemporary Andean religion and cults. But we know that the Q’eros, who repute themselves direct descendants of the Incas, distinguish (alongside other indigenous communities of the high Andes) between two different types of different shamans: the Altomesayoq (or Alto mesayoq), a higher shaman – invested by the the power of prophecy and seeing – elected by the Apu (“Lord”, Sacred Mountain Spirit) and stroke by lightening (up to) three times, and the Pampamesayoq (or Pampa mesayoq) – a “normal” shaman, of lower status than the Altomesayoq. Both are called Paqos (or pakos).

The lightning cults of ancient Greece, where individuals and areas struck by lightning benefited in certain cases of an exceptional sacred status, and the election process of the Andean Altomesayoq bear a close intrinsic resemblance: both benefit from a special sacred condition and elective affinities.

In ancient Greece, one of the epithets with which the figure of Zeus was worshipped (as we know from Aischylos, as early as 467-458 BC) was that of Kataibates – the god “who descends” as a thunderbolt, or (as later sources translate the epithet) he “who makes to descend” the thunderbolts, denoting in either case the fall of the striking lightening from heaven to earth.

Zeus Kataibates was worshipped for many centuries in different regions of Greece, and the ground adjoining the altars of the god was at times regarded as an ábaton, or inviolable sacred place, innermost sanctuary or shrine. We know that there were lightning ábata, called enelýsia, holy grounds of the god, which were essentially spots struck by lightning and reputed to be the living place of Zeus Kataibates.

The closest Andean equivalent to the Greek enelýsia may be seen in the spot hit by Illapa (deity of thunder, lighting and rainstorms), where the future Altomesayoq – the “shaman of the high table” – will find the sacred stones that will become part of his or her own mesa (sacred space with medicine objects) and will be the aid in the direct communication with the Apu.

The most striking parallel between the specially elected and higher condition of the Altomesayoq and the ancient Greek world (at least from the 5th century B.C.) is probably offered by the status of the Dioblés, the “Zeus-struck man”. The god descended as a lightning flash and the one on whom he fell was considered Diόbletos – “struck by Zeus” – and held in an especially sacred status. In ancient Greece, the divinity of the god was conveyed on the individual struck by the lightning – i.e. by Zeus Kataibates – who was made immortal, or imperishable.

In the Andes there is a special relation between lightning and the make of a high shaman. The Altomesayoq, who can communicate directly with the Apus and Illapa – receives his or her shamanic powers after been struck by lightening. The initiatory process develops essentially along three phases, which are all deeply remnant of traditional shamanic initiations: at the outset Illapa strikes (one to three times) and kills the chosen person, then his or her scattered body parts are put back together, and finally the person is brought back to life. When the candidate future Altomesayoq re-awakes from the shock and regains consciousness, he or she must look for special stones that the Illapa left on the ground when it stroke. Nobody must see – or interfere with – the future Altomesayoq (who may otherwise die).

These stones – called Khuyas stones – are invested of special powers and sacredness, and will become part of the mesa of the Altomesayoq. These will be the intermediary in the direct communication that the high shaman establishes with the Apu and Illapa.

References
Cook, A. B. Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion, Cambridge University Press, 1925Garcilaso de la Vega, The Royal Commentaries of the Yncas, translated by Maria Jolas, Lima 2002

Offerings to Pachamama: The truth behind them

by the Colca Specialist

Offerings to Pachamama: the truth behind them

Despacho.- An offering comprised of a variety of natural items, called recados (ritual items) ,arranged ritually on white paper,prayed over and infused with sami or energy, and then folded into a bundle to be burned or buried. Although there are approximately 250 different kinds of despachos, the two most commonly made are to honor Pachamama or literally Mother Earth and the Apus or spirits of the mountain.

That is a definition of a despacho. This practice is still alive in the peruvian andes specially in Colca valley and Colca Canyon area where you can still find the keepers of the ancient knowledge.

Ayni or reciprocity is a word that should be kept in mind in case you would like to learn about the inca traditions.

With the help of philosophy we can try to understand the way of thinking of our ancestors. For our ancestors everything is alive. The concepts of life and death our ancestors had were totally different from those the spanish conquerors brought to these lands. In order to understand it is necessary to see “with andean eyes” as we say.

We have different kinds of reciprocity for example: reciprocity from man towards the Creator, reciprocity among human beings, reciprocity among plants in the agriculture and reciprocity among animals which we called in the modern days simbiosis.

According to philosophers our ancestors were an animist culture but the animism they had was totally different. They didn´t feel apart. They believed that everything was alive and they felt part of a living universe in which all elements in this universe were linked.

Despacho ritual are a way of expressing reciprocity towards the cosmic mother Pachamama which is represented by the Earth in our world, the one who provides us a home to live, the one who nurtures us with fruits, water etc like a mother without asking for anything back.

A Despacho is a way to say thank you for all the things received but of course a despacho is much more then that. Despachos can be used for healing purposes,for protection and for making your dreams come true too. As we said at the beginning there are many kinds of despachos for specific purposes.

In the Inca period we didn´t have shamans but Inca priests. The word “shaman” comes from north american indians vocabulary and means “medicine man” .
A shaman performs a ceremonial according to what he/she feels. A priest performs a ceremonial in an specific order and that is totally different.

I recommend you to read the book “keepers of the ancient knowledge” written by Joan Parisi Wilcox . The book is really good because it provides us the occidental people good information about the cosmovision of the Qero natives from Cusco.

The author has done several interviews which are transripted in the book and that is good because as investigators we can use it as a tool to understand the different ceremonial performed in the peruvian andes.

The Ceremonial of despachos is one of the most powerful ceremonials in the andean world. Of course here in Colca Canyon there are very powerful ceremonials that are still in practice in which some of them implicate necrophagia.

Catholic religion is the most important religion in Peru, but in the peruvian andes specifically in Colca Canyon and Colca Valley areas, we have a mix of the catholic and the pagan religion of our ancestors.

People go to hear the mass on Sunday, but in the specific dates, they are going to be on the top of the mountains performing the ancient ceremonials.
In Colca valley and Colca Canyon it is different. Ceremonials are not open to tourists or curious visitors.

Because of tourism and new age, many visitors, writers and investigators are looking for this knowledge, and the main reason they come is to see at least a little of what we had before. But when they come they find a circus of people who are playing the inca game and that is really disgusting because we know it is fake.

As an specialist in aboriginal cults, it saddens me the way visitors are cheated by mediocre travel agencies, who are just thinking about making money with our traditions. The famous qero natives from Cusco whose reputation is well-know all around the world as keepers of the ancient knowledge they are victims of exploitation.

There are many travels agencies that organise mystical and spiritual trips in the Andes, all of them talk about the spirituality but when you find out you discover the reality which is totally different from the one shown.

The owner of the travel agency which is almost always a grand master has a beautiful 5 star hotel and a very modern travel agency, built with the money obtained through donations and payments of their services.

When you go to the house of the qero natives who are working for the travel agencies you end crying, and if you talk to them and thanks to God I speak quechua too, you can be told about all the abuses done by these merchants of spirituality. The inca descendants are being exploited by the travel agencies who offer these services and that is not correct.

Another thing that is really disgusting, are those hotels whose owners are foreigners who are grandmasters in inca religion. When you hear and participate in their lessons there is a lot confusion because you start with inca mediation, which is done with hindu music ,then you start hearing about kundalini yoga which is performed with chinese or japanese music and at the end, you are part of a new age salad. Spirituality is important but please stop cheating tourists and don´t mix things.

Many of these gringo grandmasters organise meetings in foreign countries and the natives are taken there for ceremonials. After everything is done, the ones who make the money are the owner of the travel agency and the translator. The natives just received a small quantity of the money. They have to be thankful with the exploiters that gave them the opportunity to travel abroad.

The musicians are a problem too. All of them are children and descendants of an inca or their grandpas were inca priests, the most curious and funny thing is that their names and surnames are spanish. At least they should change their names to make it real.

Their main characteristics: long hair,andean music and red ponchos. Where you can find them? Everywhere, specially in the streets, plazas or in discoteques looking for a victim to cheat. Specially girls who are looking for a direction in their lifes.

Here, in Colca the keepers of our traditions live far from the village on the mountains. They breed alpacas and lamas and when somebody needs their help after the ceremonial when you want to pay they say: Your will.

They don´t have a scale of prices in US DOLLARS OR EUROS. A keeper of our traditions is not going to be found inside a noisy discotheque dancing trance or electric music. They appreciate much the silence of the mountains and they don´t like to be disturbed.

Besides they don´t have propaganda in internet neither web pages advertising their abilities as healers. The ones who do that are travel agencies who are very far from the real inca spirituality beacuse they ignore Ayni or RECIPROCITY.

If you are a spiritual seeker avoid those web pages who offer you a salad of arabian, chinese, mexican, hinduist and inca spirituality. If I am interested in hinduism it would be better for me to go to India and to learn it there.

The pictures taken shown a ceremonial in Colca Valley with a real elder or karpay as the people called them here. The elders are protected by the people and when a strange person asks for them sometimes they are going to misguide you saying that they don´t know where they live. But if you continue looking you will find them.

It is good to carry goods for them such as oil, sugar, bread, salt etc as payment because sometimes where they live, they don´t have these things available.
If you are looking for the real stuff start reading and looking for information. Check the experiences written in the travellers blogs and find out. Write the names of the places and look for books where you can find the names of the towns where the real masters live and enjoy the experience of your life: the real experience of love or munay.

The following pictures will give you an ide about the despacho ceremonials.

by the Colca Specialist

We are now in the little shop of mama avelina, she is a specialist in recados and despachos. She has all the things needed for paqos or keepers of the ancient knowledge.

Corn is very important during ceremonials. The colors can vary according to the ceremonial performed.

Tha lama fetus has a very deep mening in the andean world and it´s associated to constellations.
Why the elders during the ceremonial put a lama fetus during the ceremonial?

Our friend mama avelina posing for a picture with our friend from Holland. As you see this is not a touristic place and it is located in an area only andeans know very well.

Scenes of a basic ceremonial which is very powerful. A ritual to Pachamama is performed.
La abuelita,the grandma doesn´t speak spanish and she is one of the elders that can be found in Colca Canyon! Our friend is performing Samay ,the act of giving vital energy and intentions to the despacho or offering. The visitor here was introduced previously to the elder.As elders they like to be in peace and they heal only their people.This elder is real . No travel agencies involved. Just spirit seekers will find them on the mountains.

The despacho is burning and the abuelita is offering respect to the apus or spirits of the mountain. This elder is consider as a blessing for the natives because besides from being a healer she is also a koka qawaq,the one who can see through coca leaves.No lies,no tricks.

The readings are very clear and all obscure things will appear to those who are looking for truth.

Well,I hope you enjoy the pictures my friends, nest time I will have another interesting article for you! If anybody is interested in the knowledge of our ancestors please write us to our email: The Colca Specialist planet_x_adventures@hotmail.com. Thank you very much for your kind attention!