Glossary of Terminology
of the Shamanic & Ceremonial Traditions
of the Inca Medicine Lineage

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machacausa: (n) The snake louse, a mariri used in marupa sorcery as well as by healers to convey messages. AYV

Mach’ácuay: (n) The Dark Cloud Constellation of the serpent. Its earthly counterpart is probably Tachymenis peruviana, the only indigenous snake above 12,000 feet. However, the historical literature mentions that inhabitants of the Inca empire living in the Amazon brought huge reptiles (amarus) to the Inca as tribute. Mach’ácuay is observed at the beginning of the rainy season. Because the snake is equated with the rainbow, there is a coincidence of reptilian behavior with the water cycle and the heavenly cycle. It is believed that rainbows arise from a spring and the other end descends into a spring; the rainbow appears and disappears with the rain. The rainbow is seen as a two-headed snake. Snakes come out of the earth during rain so they do not drown and return when the rain ends. The periodicity of the celestial serpent’s rising out of the earth and reentering it during the night brackets the rainy season. There is synchronicity between Mach’ácuay, k’uychi, and terrestrial serpents in the Andes. ACES (See, yana phuyu, pachatira.)

Mach’áquay (Tachymenis peruviana)

machasqa, machaq: (adj) Drunk. (n) Drinker. QP

machay: (v) To get drunk. QP

mach’ay: (n) Sacred caves from which it was believed the ancestors came and in which the mummies (mallquis) of the dead were placed.  MAN ROR (See, Cajatambo.)

mach’aqway, mach’acuay: (n) Snake. ROR

machu: (adj) Ancient, old. (n) Old man. An ancient spirit, either malevolent or benevolent. ROR RS

Machukuna: (n) Old Ones; quasi-demonic survivors of a previous race. THLH

Machula Aulanchis: (n) The Old Grandfathers; the benevolent aspect of the Machukuna (sp). A more general and less personal category of ancestor; they have been dead much longer and lack individuality, like the bones mixed together in the communal pile of the cemetery. THLH

Machu Picchu: (n) Literally, old peak, the name of one of the most sacred of the Inca sites. It is home of the talking heads and represents the cosmos on Earth. JLH Built by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, it served as a royal estate and sacred site until just before the arrival of the Spanish and remained hidden and forgotten until rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham. It contains several sites of archeological importance, including the inti watana and the Temple of the Three Windows. MAN (See, Tambo Toco.)

Video above from National Geo's "Lost Temples" series.


Video about controversy over Machu Picchu artifacts.

machu wayra: (n) Literally, wind of the old ones. an ambivalent sickening/fertilizing wind that blows over a cemetery, yet is good for the potatoes. THLH

maestro (Span): (n) A great sorcerer. THIM A teacher of shamanism or vegetalismo.

mak’alinakuy: (v) To hug each other. QP

mak’alliy: (v) To hug. QP

mal aire, mal viento (Span): (n) Literally, evil air, often associated with the spirit of a dead person and can produce illness. The aires are the owners of and command the spaces where they live and can occupy trees, rainbows (k’uychi), thunder, caves and springs (paqarina). They can cause soul loss, pregnancy, fever, etc. The vegetalistas believe the air is alive and conscious. AYV

mal aire de agua (Span): (n) An illness caused by an evil breeze from the water. AYV

mal aire de difunto (Span): (n) Literally, bad air of the deceased, an illness produced by the spirit of a deceased person. AYV (See, Chai Cullkimama.)

maligno (Span): (n) An evil spirit which usually hovers over quiet spots of riverbanks in the summer and may be recognized by the high pitched whistle it gives out. AYV

mallki: See, mallqui.

mallku: (n) Spirit of the condor; leader of a group of condors. ROR (2) Male shamans of the fifth level. (See, Inca mallku.) (2) Tree. QNO

mallqui, mallki: (n) (1) Mummy of an ancestor. The care and veneration of the lineage ayllu mallquis was central to Incan religious practice. Usually stored in caves seen as sacred, at festivals they were dressed in rich clothing, put on display and offered food and drink. MAN Their souls were thought to keep in touch with the living, so the Inca dead were well tended. NGEO3 It was customary for the dead to retain their personal possessions. In the case of royal mummies, that meant keeping their own palaces; their heirs were expected to build themselves new ones. There the preserved corpses would sit in state, cared for by their clan (panaca). To maintain the illusion that normal life continued, the mummies would pay social calls on one another, and on important ceremonial occasions, would be brought out to attend the festivities in Cusco’s main square. IAWS (2) Forest. QP Tree; shrub; bush; plant; also ancestor. RS (See, falsa cabeza, mummy bundle.)

Mallqui with
falsa cabeza

mama: (n) General name for a female spirit or deity.  All plants, animals, lakes, rivers, mountains, and meteorological phenomena possess such a spirit. The suffix -mama, added to the name of any animal, is used to designate a gigantic prototype of the species or closely associated with them. Disturbing these animals is dangerous and detrimental to the environment. For instance, if a great anaconda believed to be the mother of a lake is killed, the lake will dry up. Important food plants, psychotropic plants, plants used in medicine and poisons for hunting and fishing are considered to have especially strong mamas. AYV

Mama Allpa: (n) A fertility goddess depicted with multiple breasts. EFD A harvest and earth goddess. Her many breasts were indicative of fertility and the nourishing powers of the earth. WMO

mamacha: (n) Female saint. QP

Mama Coca: (n) The early Spanish observer Francisco de Toledo, ca. 1570 related a myth of coca's origin as follows: “Cocamama was first a beautiful woman whose body was evil so they killed her, dividing her in two. From these halves a tree was born, named Cocamama. Anyone eating these leaves, eats her. We carry her in a bag, which we cannot open until we have had intercourse with a woman in memory of her. This tree has many branches, so we call it coca.” (1882, Memorias Antiguas Historales de Peru.) PUE She is the symbol of our spiritual food. IGMP (See, Mama Sara, mama.)

Mama Cocha, Mama Qocha: (n) (1) Sea; ocean. RS (2) Sea Mother was the sea and fish goddess, protectress of sailors and fishermen. Her husband was Wiracocha. EFD (See, mama.)

Mama Cunas: See, Mama Kuna.

Mama Igneos: Also known as Lady Candelaria and Lady of the Three Fires (combustion, electricity and solar). She is the mama of the Origin of the Fire (sp). IGMP

Mama Killa, Mama Quilla: (n) The moon, as an expression of the divine feminine. KOAK As wife to the Sun God, the Inca revered her as a near-deity. THIM Mother Moon or Golden Mother was a marriage, festival and moon goddess and daughter of Wiracocha and Mama Cocha, as well as wife and sister of Inti. By Inti, she was the mother of Manco Capac, Pachakamak, Con and Mama Ocllo. The Empress of the Incan Empire represented here on Earth. EFD She oversaw marriages, feast days and the calendar. She had her own shrine in the Coricancha. It was decorated with sheets of beaten silver and served by its own priestesses. The Chimu of Ecuador had long venerated the moon as their principal deity and were less than pleased when she was forced to take on a secondary role to Inti by the might of the Inca. IAWS (See, mama.)

The temple to Killa, the moon goddess, at Machu Picchu.

Mama Kuna, Mama Cuna: (n) Matrons of the Sun who oversaw the akllas, they were themselves the class of aklla known as Guayrur Aklla.  HOI

Mamamtúa (Amaz): The Mother of all human beings. AYV (See, Pachamama)

mamanchispa q’apaynin: (n) A phrase meaning our mother’s fragrance. It is another name for the coca leaf. Hallpay was invented, according to folklore, when Our Mother lost her child. Wandering aimlessly in her grief, she absentmindedly plucked some coca leaves, chewed on them, and discovered that this eased her pain. Andean people have chewed coca ever since, for life is hard, especially in the puna. Coca helps alleviate life’s pain and draws people together in mutual support. THLH

mamani: (n) Hawk. PSL RS

Mama Ocllo: Wife and sister of Manco Capac, legendary founder of the Inca lineage and founder of Cusco.

Mama Oello: A mistransliteration of Mama Ocllo.

Mama Pacha: (n) Earth mother goddess. Pachakamak, the primordial creative spirit, emerged from her. WMO (See, Pachamama.)

mama q’epe: (n) A bundle of ritual paraphernalia wrapped in a colorful cloth. ROR (See, q’epe.)

Mama Quilla: See, Mama Killa.

Mamarit’i: (n) the female counterpart of the apu. The princess of a snow-capped sacred mountain. (See, ñust’a, paqarina, itu apu.)

Mama Sara, Zaramama: (n) Peruvian goddess of grain. Her name means grain mother and she was occasionally incarnated in her own fields in the form of strangely shaped ears of corn or ears that joined in multiple growths. Sometimes these goddess images were made even more like Mama Sara by being dressed as human women in a robe and shawl with a silver clasp. Sometimes, she came to earth in cornstalks which were hung by her worshippers on willow trees; festive dances were held around the willows, then the cornstalks were burned, assuring a plentiful supply of corn. WPO She is the symbol of our physical food. IGMP (See, Mama Coca, mama.)

mana: (adv) Negation, no, not. RS

mana allin: (adj) Bad. QP

mana allin yuyayniyuq: (adj) Stupid. QP

manan imapas: (n) Nothing. QP

manan niy: (v) To deny. QP

mana puñuy atipay: (n) Insomnia. QP

mana samayniyuq: (n) Breathlessness. QP

Mancca Pacha (AYM): (n) The Ukhupacha. Mancca means to eat, therefore, this is named for the aspect of Pachamama that eats our heavy energies. IGMP (See, mikhuy.) Manco Capac: (1) The name of the first Inca king, founder of Cusco. Son of Inti, husband/brother of Mama Ocllo. Also known as Ayar Manco. MAN God of fire and progenitor of the Incas. GM He and his brothers (Ayar Anca, Ayar Cachi and Ayar Uchu) and sisters (Mama Ocllo, Mama Huaco, Mama Raua and Mama Cura) lived near Cusco and united their people to conquer the tribes of the Cusco Valley. With his sister-wife, Mama Ocllo, Manco Capac had a son named Sinchi Roca (who is believed to be historical). WIC Legendary name of the first Inca sent from Hatun Inti. The name derives from Mallku, meaning the leader who flies, and Qhapaq, meaning the one who has the power. IGMP At the end of his life, he was turned into stone. IAWS (2) The last Incan Emperor was also named Manco Capac. He was the son of Huayna Capac, and was crowned in 1534 by Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador. He was allowed to rule only as a puppet of the Spanish Empire, however, until he escaped and raised and army, attacking Cusco in 1536. The unsuccessful siege lasted ten months and destroyed the city. Manco Capac then launched a guerilla campaign until being murdered in 1544. (See, Appendix H.) WIC

manchakuy, mancharikuy: (v) To be afraid. PSL

manchari: (n) Fright, one of the reasons for soul loss. AYV

mancharichikuyniyuq: (adj) Awesome. Imposing.RS

mancharisqa: (adj) Fearful and frightened. TGOP

manchay: (n) Danger. QP

manguaré (Amaz): (n) A drum made of a hollow log used as a jungle telegraph and to invoke deities and wake up the spirits of the ancestors.  THIM

manqhue chuyma (AYM): (n) The interior of the heart or thoughts. ASD

manqu wasi: (n) Temple. QP

manta: (n) Blanket. RS

mañakuq: (n) Prayer. QP

mañakuy: (v) To ask for something, to pray. QP

mañaqa: (n) Offer. Offer of marriage. RS

mapacho: (n) Nicotiana rustica, a strong jungle tobacco used ceremonially by tabaqueros and other vegetalistas. The vegetalista places tobacco as an offering to the ayahuasca spirit before cutting it. AYV The food of the mariri: if not nourished with mapacho smoke the mariri can come out of the mouth of the vegetalista, exposing him to the danger of having it cut off by a brujo, and thus remain unprotected. EMM

map’a: (adj) Awful. QP

maqchhiy: (v) To wash (general, not personal). QP (See, t’aqsay and armakuy.)

Maras Toco: (n) The salty cave at Tambo Toco. NFL The cave, as represented as a chamber in the Ukhupacha, where one goes to view the deeds and misdeeds of the client, as well as his/her soul contracts and personal past. JLH (See, Tambo Toco, Sutic Toco and Capac Toco.)

mareación (Span): (n) (1) The visionary effect of ayahuasca. (2) Such a vision. AYV

maripuri: (n) The spider, a mariri used in marupa sorcery as well as by healers to convey messages. AYV

mariri: (n) (1) Healing stones. JLH (2) Magical phlegm; an enchantment. Icaros are a form of mariri. The magical phlegm could be one more element of a postulated shamanistic complex of vast temporal and geographical amplitude -- perhaps of Amazonian origin -- including the use of psychotropic plants, the jaguar-transformation motif, and representations of anacondas and other forest animals. AYV (See, runauturuncu.) The magical phlegm of a vegetalista, a rather mysterious substance that can be regurgitated at will, which work as spiritual and energetical defence. It is the ultimate defensive weapon of a curandero. In essence the mariri is used for protection from virotes: when a curandero feels he is under attack from a virote, he immediately calls up his mariri. Like the icaros, the mariris can be received either from the plants or from a maestro. When inherited from another maestro, the mariri is physically passed on from mouth to mouth, via the hands. It can be either used as a defense, to return the attack of an opponent, or to heal. EMM (See, yachay, mapacho.)

markachana: (n) A small cave in a ceremonial corral used to burn an offering. Also called q’oyana. ROR

Markawasi: (n) A small plateau (about two miles long by a little over half a mile wide) in the Andes, towering above the town of San Pedro de Casta (50 miles northeast of Lima), at an elevation of over 12,000 feet supporting reputed ancient monumental stone sculptures. Here, some claimed, were to be found the remains of a lost culture that dates back thousands of years, if not tens of thousands of years or more. Supposedly they created monumental carvings from the granodiorite cliffs, boulders, and outcroppings on the top of the plateau – carvings of an anthropomorphic and zoomorphic nature, including peoples of many different races and animals found not just in the immediate vicinity, but from other continents as well. If these reports were true, this would indicate a pre-Columbian culture that had transoceanic ties, and just perhaps it represented a branch of the primordial global lost civilization of which many writers and philosophers have speculated over the centuries. RSN

Stone heads at Markawasi.

marmicuña (AYM): (n) Husband and wife. ASD

marupa (Amaz): (n) An animal sent by a sorcerer to inflict harm. AYV (See, hechicería marupa.)

marupa machaco (Amaz): (n) A mythic, multi-colored serpent whose icaro is sung by vegetalistas who swallow the virotes they extract that are made from poisonous snakes, fish quills, or wasp and scorpion stingers. AYV

masha-yakuruna (Amaz): (n) A yakuruna ally of the murayas, he teaches them how to rescue people lost in the watery depths. AYV

masi: (adj) Equal. (n) Comrade; colleague; friend; fellow; peer. RS

masichakuy: (n) The act of joining two similar energy bubbles. (See, yanachakuy, yanantin, masintin). RS

masintin: (n) A relationship of two similar things. Harmonious relationship between similar things; homologous. ”Yanantin is the ring, masantin is the resonance inside the ring.” Masintin is also a dissimilar quality that is complementary. The zero point of this is ranti. JLH RS

maskhay: (v) To look for. TLD

maskaypacha: (n) Looking for the essence of the cosmos. (1) The Inca's headband. IGMP RS (2) Insignia on a head-piece. TLD (See, llautu, accorasi.)

mast'ay, mastai: (v) (1) Make oneself available to. To reveal oneself. (2) To spread out, to extend. PSL
(n) An aperture.

mastana: (n) A blanket used as a covering for the mesa. OMQ (See, lliklla, unkhuña.)

matecllu: (n) A water plant whose leaf juice was used to clear the eyes. A poultice made fromt he bruised leaves was very effective in correcting some forms of blindness and relieving eye pain. ACA

Mauqallqta: (n) The name of the modern town near the sites of Pacaritambo and Tambo Toco. MAN

maycha: (n) (1) Medicinal high-altitude plant also used to start fires for offerings. (2) A pejorative reference to a healer of dubious ability. ROR

mayco (AYM): (n) King. ASD

maycoña (AYM): (n) Kingdom. ASD

Mayta Capac: The name of the legendary fourth Inca emperor of the later 12th Century. MAN

Mayu:(n) (1) River. ROR JLH RS (2) The Milky Way, a celestial river, whose movements were observed by the Inca from the Coricancha in Cusco. In Inca cosmology, the moveme