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

NAVIGATION TIP:

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Acamani: The name of the mountain on which the “magicians,” the Kollahuayas made their home.

Aca pacha vraque (AYM): (n) Earth or ground upon which walk the living. ASD

accorasi: (n) A small gold plaque called, a symbol of prestige among the Inca, which is secured to the Ilautu by a round bead made of spondylus seashell (see, mullu). MAAM (See, image at llautu.)

Aceropunta (Span): (n) Literally, sword tip. An esoteric steamship that can only be seen under a very strong mareación, when it is called by a well-sung icaro. It comes from a great distance, producing an electrifying sound. Its mission is to travel around the world, paying visits to all who call it for help. It has seven different forms of appearance: battleship, submarine that emerges from the depths, speedboat with four stories, big ship like those of the Vikings, aircraft carrier, trimaran, and airship. In each of these forms the bow tip of the ship is made of dazzling white steel. Its crew consists of, e.g., doctors, great murayas and bancos (shamans specializing in high alchemy.) AYV (See, alquimia palística.)

achuma: See, huachuma.

acufa aputiri cala (AYM): (n) Magnet stone. ASD

acurun (Amaz): See, supay-lancha.

achachi (AYM): (n) Grandfather, elder male. ASD

achachillas: (n) Mountains. JLH

achalaw!: (interj) How beautiful! RS

achi mama: (n) Godmother.

achiote: (n) (Bixa orellana L.) A plant whose seed that, when ground, forms a red powder. Often used in cooking, it is also a magical plant. Its color defends against dangerous animals, humans and malevolent spirits, making the user invulnerable to attack from enemies visible and invisible. THIM

achiq: (adj) Light; clear; clean. (n) Light; glow RS

achiqyachiy: (v) To clarify. RS

achiqyay: (v) To shine; to dawn; to clear up; to get light RS

achi tayta: (n) Godfather  RS

achi wawa: (n) Godchild RS

achuni-casha: (n) (Rheedia macrophylla) A plant only males can use as a powerful aphrodisiac. It can also be used for sorcery and love magic. Its mama is the ch’ullan chaki. AYV

achupalla: (n) A spiny terrestrial bromiliad (Puya  parviflora) found mainly in high, unforested areas whose seeds are added to a wiska despacho to disintegrate and explode disruptive energies. JLH

Adam Kadmon: (n) Divine symbolism of the human body and its relation to the cosmology of the Universe. (See, torus.)      

afiro (AYM): (n) Snake. ASD

aflihiy, aflijiy: (v) To grieve; to worry (sp).  [From Span. afligir: to afflict, to sadden.] RS

agradisiy:(v) To thank (sp). RS

ahijada, ahijado: (n) Goddaughter, godson. (sp)  ROR

Ai Apaec: (n) Fanged deity (creator) of the Moche and later Chimú. Earlier fanged being images on Chavin pottery may have been his prototype.  MAN Moche people regarded him as their principal divinity. DRB

ajo macho (Span): Green male garlic, stronger than regular garlic, used in wiska despachos; snakes don’t like it. JLH

ajosacha, sacha ajo: (n) Wild garlic. An important plant teacher in the initiation of Amazonian shamans. Mental strength, acuity of mind, saladera, for ridding spells, self healing. Originally used to enhance hunting skills by covering up human smell, it enhances the senses. The plant part that is harvested is the leaf. SCU (Mansoa alliacea). Used in ritual baths for good luck in love or business (sp). AYV

ajosquiro, ajos chiro (Span): (n) (Gallizia corazema.) Few people ingest this tree because the diet it requires is very rigid and severe. It is used as a defense against enemies. Those who ingest it become very hot and always want to bathe. The kapukiri produced by this tree makes the person become very nervous and feeling as if a worm was biting him/her. AYV

The ajosquiro tree, from a painting by vegetalista
Pablo Amaringo. AYV

aka k'ichki: (n) Constipation. RS

Akapana Temple: A temple at the core of Tiwanako believed to have been used for Sun ceremonies. MAN

aka siki: (n) Literally, a shitter. A bastard. RS

akayta mikuy supiyta pitay: (expr) Eat my shit and smoke my fart! RS

aklla, aclla: (n) Chosen woman trained to serve Inti and be the consort of the Inca ruler. Chosen at age eight, they were housed in the akllawasi (Temple of the Virgins of the Sun) in Cusco and watched over by elderly women known as Mama Kuna (the Guayrur Aklla). MAN Specially chosen to be sacrificed so as to keep the sacred fires burning. DRB In times of dire emergencies they willingly sacrificed their lives to appease the gods. WPO (See, qhapaq hucha and yanakuna.)

Actresses portraying akllas.                                Akllas, from a drawing by Felipe

                                                                                  Guaman Poma de Ayala

aklla chaupi cataquin: See, aklla.

akllawasi: (n) House of the Selected Women. So named by the Incas for the abode of the maidens who conducted rituals to worship Inti. THIM (See, akllas and wasi.)

akllay: (v) To choose. QP

akulli: (n) Portion of coca to chew. RS

There is a bump on the right

cheek of this ceremonial doll

(also pictured at llautu) that

is the akulli, the bolus of

coca. MAAM

akulliy: (v) To chew coca. RS (n) The act of choosing and chewing coca leaves in a ceremonial way, the act of the kurak.  KOAKIt was a practice related to religious rituals and was thus reserved exclusively for the Incan elite. MAAM

akulliy hura: (n) About 10:00 am; time of break from morning's work to chew coca (sp). RS

akupana: (n) Sunset. QP See, Akapana Temple.

akurma: (n) (bot) Horsetail (medical plant with thin, green, hard stalks used for healing internal and external inflammations). RS

akuy: (intr.v) To grow coca.  RS

alabado: (n) Prayer (sp). RS

alakhpacha (AYM): (n) Sky place of the saints. ASD

alakhpacha thaqui (AYM): (n) Path of the sky. ASD

alawaru: (n) A musical phrase used to indicate stages of a ritual sequence, derived from alabado (sp). ROR

Alcavicca:  Pre-Incan lord of the Valley of Cusco who links Lake Titicaca, the place of origin mythically of Wiracocha, and Cusco. Wiracocha wandered from Lake Titicaca through the Cusco Valley to Cusco, where he summoned Alcavicca from the earth and made him the ruler of the Alcavicca people.  When Wiracocha left the valley, he ordered the Inca to rise out of the earth upon his departure.  This act gave the Inca divine precedent for their conquest of other cultures. MAN

alchemy (Greek): (n) A medieval form of science that aimed to discover ways of finding a universal solvent, the elixer of life, and turning base metals into gold. This is seen by many philosophers as metaphoric for attaining higher states of consciousness. PGO

alferados, alferes (unk): (n) There are a lot of festivals and it is a custom that someone is organizing and paying for the party (food and drinks for all), caring for the religious image, sponsoring musicians and serving the food and chicha. The organizing couple is called los alferados or alferes. ABMP

Los Alferados of a festival in a

village called Juncal.

alittiri chuymani (AYM): (adj) Humble. ASD

alma (Span.): (n) Spirit; soul RS

alpaca: (n) The alpaca is a domesticated guanaco bred specifically for its wool, and it is thus much hairier than its llama kin. WAZ

Alpacas

alquimia palística (Span): (n) Plant alchemy. AYV (See, ciencia vegetalista.)

Altarani: See, Gateway of Aramu Muru.

Altiplano (Span): Literally, high plane. The Andean regions of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. FOD The High Plateau is the biggest natural altar on the planet. It is the fulcrum of the coast, jungle, and mountains. IGMP

altomesayoc, altumisayuq: (n) Shamanic level, has the power to summon the spirit of the mountain; high shaman; high priest; an Andean priest of the third level; diviner of the highest level (sp). KOAK RS The altomesayoc meets her wayqi. JLH

alunsillu (Span): (n) Medical plant used against internal irritations.  RS

allchi, allchhi (AYM): (n) Grandson or granddaughter. ASD PSL

allin: (adj) Good; fine; ok; nice; healthy; right; sensible; useful. RS

allinaqni hutama (AYM): (phrase) Literally, in good time come. Please come back when things are better. ASD

allinchay: (v) To fix, make good. PSL

allin mama: (n) Godmother. RS

allin tayta: (n) Godfather.  RS

allin tukuy: (v) To recover; to convalesce; to cure; to become healthy; to reconcile; to become better. RS

allinyachiy: (v) To heal; to make good. RS

allinyanakapuy: (v) To make peace; to reconcile. RS

allinyay: (n) Relief.  RS (v) To recover; to convalesce; to cure; to become healthy; to reconcile; to improve. RS

allin yuyay: (n) Conscience. RS (See, yuya.)

alliq: (adv) Right; right (side). RS

allpa: (n) Earth; dust; ground; soil; terrain; dirt; spirit of earth. RS

allpa-huichcan: (n) Literally, dirt cell. A mythical round tomb or pyramid. The people who dwell in these tombs are expert in psychic perception and assist the vegetalista. AYV (See, allpa)

allpa mama: (n) Earth mother; the womb of our world. RS (See, mama.)

allpa pacha: (n) (ast) Planet earth. RS

allpa-pishco (Amaz): (n) Literally, bird of the earth. Vegetalistas use this bird to make astral and planetary trips. AYV

Allpa-pishco, seen in the background enduring
great temperatures. In the foreground is the
yura-aya, with four antennae. AYV

allqoruna: (n) Literally, dog man. A pejorative often used to refer to the White man; inhuman, thief, liar.  THIM

allquchakuy: (v) To lose control over oneself. RS

allyuni: (n) A relative. RMFA  (See, ayllu.)

Allyuni Inti: (n) Relative of Inti. RMFA

amahuaña, amahuani (AYM): (n) Love (probably sp.). ASD

amahuata (AYM): (adj/n) Dear(est). ASD (See, amahuaña.)

Ama llulla, ama qilla, ama suwa: (expression) Don't lie, don't be lazy, don't steal. The common expression of the Three Inca Laws. RS One variation adds “Don’t be dirty.” PBS2

amapanki: (n) (bot) A plant used to contain any damage by bathing ten Tuesdays and Fridays in water boiled with it. RS

amaru: (n) Snake; viper. RS Halluciations of snakes are very common in ayahuasca sessions. Three large snakes -- Wayramama, Sach’amama and Yakumama -- preside over the sky, jungle and water realms of the Amazon shamans. They provide knowledge and understanding to those who know how to properly contact them. The mamas of the ayahuasca and chacruna vines are snakes. Certain higher order beings appear as fire snakes to the vegetalista. When the neophyte receives his yachay (def. 2), it comes in the form of a snake [among other possible forms] which enters the mouth, travels to the chest and grows. The snake in an ayahuasca vision transmits its cunning and sensitive hearing. The repetitive pattern on the snake is symbolic of the link between the individual and his ancestors and descendants. AYV The term is important in Quechua meteorology because it is used for rainbows, which are believed to be giant serpents. ACES (See, k’uychi.)

Amaru: (n) symbol of knowledge and learning in Inca times; the organizing principle of the Ukhupacha. The regeneration of life, birthing process. The creative force of everything. Also a symbol for water, wisdom, revolution and revolt. RS JLH ROR

Amaru Mach’ay: (n) Literally, cave of the serpent. A natural cave near Cusco that has been intricately carved with various symbols.

Amaru Topa Inca: See, Tupac Amaru.

amarun: (n) A term used in the Amazon for the anaconda. AYV (See, amaru.) The ultimate source of power, the hydrosphere, as embodied by the anaconda (amarun), which may break all bonds of hegemony but contains within itself the genesis of destruction and reemergence of chaos. WCE

amauta, amawta: (n) Great teacher. JLH Sage; learned person. RS Inca court poet-philosophers responsible for keeping history alive through oral remembrance. As the Inca empire expanded, the amautas were tasked with incorporating the myths, lengends and religious tenets of the conquered people.  After the Spanish conquest, the amautas were a rich source for the Spanish chroniclers. MAN (adj) Wise. RS

amaychura: (n) Cachexia, a medical condition of general ill health with emaciation due to chronic disease, such as cancer. RS  

amparo (Span.): (n) Protection for magicians against powerful demons and spells, and malevolent spirits, especially when the magicians are engaged in curing people of sicknesses caused by spells.

Ampato: A mountain in the southern Peruvian Andes near Arequipa. Archaeological artifacts such as mummified human remains, bags of coca leaves, and clothing found at various sites on the mountain, suggest that its environs were regularly used for human sacrifice to Inti or Wiracocha. MAN (See, qhapaq hucha.)

The woman of Ampato, a qhapaq hucha sacrifice.

amuqlli unquy: (n) Tonsilitis. RS  

amuta: (n) Thought; reason. RS

amutay: (n) Science; reasoning; reflection. RS  

anaconda: (n) A large aquatic constrictor snake, the embodiment of the Yakumama. There is a myth of the Canelo Quichua of Ecuador in which yaku puma cut into pieces the penis of a young man which had become too long after copulating with a green frog. Yaku puma threw the segments into every stream, big river, lagoon, and lake, where they remain as anacondas. AYV

anan: See, hanan.

Ancestors (Eng.): (n) As conceived by the Australian Aborigines, in the Dreamtime, aboriginal Ancestors rose from below the earth to form various parts of nature including animal species, bodies of water, and the sky. Aborigines believe some of the Ancestors metamorphosed into nature (as in rock formations or rivers), where they remain spiritually alive. WIPC The Aborigines believe that sometime in the distant past the Ancestors woke up and that was the beginning of the existence of the Earth. The Ancestors were superhuman beings sleeping under the surface of Earth. Once they appeared on the Earth, the sun began to shine. They freed humans and breathed life into them. Life started. The Ancestors performed many marvelous deeds; composed stories and set a code of behavior. After these acts they returned to the rocks. Some of them took the shape of trees, rocks or animals. WGMX

anchanchu: (n) Goblin. RS

Ancochinchay: (n) A star that protects many kinds of animals not protected by other stars. AEAA (See, Chocachinchay, Urcuchillay.)

anchayay: (v) To get worse (health). RS

anga: (n) Bird spirit.

angash-machohuallpa: (n) Literally, brave blue cock, which appears when an initiate breaks the rigorous diet necessary to become an efficient vegetalista, since the meat of a hen is very bad when on a diet. If a sick person, who has been treated with icaros and blows by a curandero, eats hen’s meat, the sickness returns with a greater force and he may even die if not treated in time (sp). AYV

anguila (Span): Electric eel.

anima, animu, animus (Latin): (n) Universal energy, subtle energy of man. RS