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

as Practiced in the United States

CAUTION: The inclusion of herbs, symptomatology and treatments for disease within this glossary
is not meant for diagnosis of, nor prescription for treatment of, any medical condition.
This information is included for anthropological and historical study only.


 

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APPENDICES
INDEX


ALPHABET:

A
B
C
Ch, Ch' & Chh
D
E
F & G
H
I
J
K
K' & Kh
L
Ll
M
N & Ñ
O
P
P', Ph
Q
Q', Qh
R
S
T
T' & Th
U
V
W
Y
Z
 

    NAVIGATION TIP:

    Use the Firefox browser with the CoolPreview add on. CoolPreview will give a magnifying glass icon at every link when you put your cursor on the link. Click on the icon and it will open a separate, smaller window with the definition of the term in it. You can either lock the window by clicking the padlock icon in the top bar of the little window, or move your cursor off the window and it will automatically close. This is almost as good as mouseovers.



    paint.tiff                         GLOSSARY NEVER TO BE SOLD

    hacha (AYM): (n) Tears. ASD

    hacha llullu mitha (AYM): (v) To shed tears. ASD

    hachatha (AYM): (v) To weep. ASD

    hachecoc: (n) A shaman who divined by ingesting tobacco and coca leaves. DYE

    hachu: (n) A shaman who made various magical passes with corn and animal droppings. MHP They would make passes with grains of maize and animal excreta. DYE

    hach'u, kuka hach'u, khulla: (n) Wad of chewed coca. ROR

    hach'u p'anpay: (n) The ritual burial of chewed coca. ROR

    hadas:(n) A type of elemental.

    hakakuna: (n) All the sacred rocks.

    hake mallkis: (n) The winged ones, spirits of the ancient ones, the masters who have become mountains and started the Lineage. JLH (See, mallqui.)

    (AYM):(v) To fly. ASD

    hallpakusunchis: (phrase) Let us chew coca together. THLH

    hallpay: (n) Non-ceremonial chewing of coca.  Homecoming, coming to unity, to ayni; bringing conflicting elements in to sacred space. RS JLH KOAK ROR Hallpay carries a way of life with it. To do it properly according to traditional ceremony is to be a Runa, a real person. To chew coca leaves is to affirm the attitudes and values -- the habits of mind and body -- that are characteristic of indigenous Andean culture. (See, lo andino.) THLH

    hamawt'a: (n) Teacher, community leader. (adj) Wise. QP

    hampi, jampi: (v) Drug, medicine. QP Anything with animating, revitalizing and healing properties. Spirit medicine. PSPM Medicinal plants. ACAI See, k'anchay, kawsay, sami.

    hampicamayoc: (n) A medical doctor. TLD

    hampi catu: (n) A vendor of medicinal herbs. DYE See, hampi, above.

    A hampi catu selling medicinal herbs in Pisac.


    hampichiy, hampiy: (n) To heal; to cure. QP RS

    hampikamayoq, hampicamayoq: (n) Literally, remedy keeper. A doctor, a healer. ACA  Medicine man; healer; pharmacist; chemist; doctor. RS

    hampikuna: (n) Healing energies. PSPM See, k'anchay, kawsay, sami.

    hampikuy: (v) To heal oneself. ANON1

    hampina wasi: (n) Hospital. QP (See, hampi, wasi.)

    hampiq, hanpeq: (1) Doctor. (2) The paq'okuna lineage practices. PSPM  A paq'o who specializes in curing. WOFW  An expert in medicinal plants (see, hampi, above). ACAI Healer. QP

    hampiri: (n) Medicine man; healer; physician. RS

    hampiriy: (v) To be saved; to be remedied. RS

    hampiyuq wasi: (n) Pharmacy. QP

    hamppattitha (AYM): (v) Pray. To plead to God.ASD

    hampui: See, hampuy.

    hampumuy: (v) Come! (See, hampuy.) JLH

    hampuy: (v) Command form of the verb to come used by Andean Priests to call the spirit of a person, god, teacher, or a nature being: COME! QNO RS JLH AVO

    hampuy hampuy: (expression) Idiosyncratic phrase blending hamuy (come in!) and hampi (spirit medicine) used at the end of a prayer or oration to anchor in the presence and medicine of the addressed spirits. ANON1

    hamuy: (v) To come. QP

    hanan: (adv) Upper, the above; relationship of verticality with cekes. JLH (adj) Upper; high; elevated; superior. RS (See, hurin.)

    hanan and hurin: (adj/adv) Upper and lower, the two moieties or halves of the Andean duality. Similar in concept to the Chinese yin and yang, the division may be literal or symbolic. Mountains, man, day, sky, sun, and present are hanan (upper). Coast, jungle, woman, earth, water, night, and the past are hurin (lower). The division was based on various criteria, including topography, kinship, and mythology. It could be reversed under certain conditions. CSCR

    Hanan and Hurin Cusco: (n) Literally, Upper and Lower Cusco. The two social divisions of the city. Legend has it, the division was ordered by founding Inca Manco Capac. Having great cosmological significance, the division prevailed until the arrival of the Spanish. MAN (See, Appendix D for a more complete explanation, also, hanan and hurin.)

    hanan uma: (n) Higher mind; an enlightened mind. ANON1

    hanaq: (adj) Upper. (adv) Above. QP A variation of hanan.

    Hanaqpacha, Hanan Pacha, Hanaq'pacha, Janan Pacha: (n) Sky; heaven; the upper or superior world, defined by it's abundance of super-refined energy or sami. RS The Heavenly Underworld. Only righteous people could enter it, crossing a bridge made of hair. EFD Multileveled Upper World. IGMP A realm of infinite wisdom, divine light, and universal power. It could be equated to a living akashic space, through which the shaman is able to embody universal wisdom and, through magical flight, deliver insight. PSPM The superior realm, the sphere of super-conscious reality and divine purpose; a realm of higher consciousness and vibration inhabited by sublime energies, master teachers, and non-physical beings; the embodiment or symbol of the Hanaq Pacha is Kuntur, (condor) who blesses us with light and love from the heavens. ANON1 (See, hanaq, hanan.)

    hanaqpacha qhaqya rayo: (n) Rayo del supramundo de illuminacion mistica, or lightning bolt of mystical illumination. Mediated and delivered by siwar q'enti, an encounter with lightning results in an “enlightening vision of the universe,” known as the Tiqsi Muyu surrounded by Amaru, or Tiqsi Muyu Amaru. Having been struck with the lightning bolt, the initiate is exposed to a flash of light, much like an ovum, made up of infinite filaments believed to be individual souls or divine sparks incarnating themselves.  (See, also, Inca Mallku.) PSPM  When lightning strikes, it causes an electrical breakdown of the air to occur (ionization). This is the stepped leader; it creates a pathway for electricity to travel from the clouds to the ground and is met by one of many upward leaders extending from the ground. The interaction of positive and negative equalizes the two energies, creating what is called the return stroke, which produces the flash of light and instantly heats the air to a temperature five times hotter than the surface of the sun and gives birth to thunder. WAWC (sp)


    The hanaqpacha qhaqya rayo (shamanic lightning initiation) has similarities to the physical process of lightning creation. In both we find the following: (1) breakdown of previously existing conditions to create a pathway from the sky to the earth, (2) interaction of opposite energies to create equalization or balance, and (3) combination of opposites to create a powerful expansion of energy greater than the sum of its parts. Additionally, the entry into the body, passage through the body, and exiting of the body corresponds to the three aspects of initiation: the call of the self, the dismemberment of the self, and the reconstruction of the self. PSPM  



    hanaqpacha rumi: (n) Literally, heaven stone. A meteorite, or a stone with a star pattern even if it's not a meteorite. Such stones are excellent for tracking in time. They allow you to taste timelessness. Whenever you work with such stones, observe whether an event has already taken place or will happen. AVO

    hani tucuychañami (AYM): (n) God without beginning and without end. ASD

    hanku haywa: (n) A raw offering. ROR

    Hanp'átu : (n) The name of the Dark Cloud Constellation of the toad. Its terrestrial counterpart is Bufo spinulosus, which tolerates dry altitude very well and breeds principally at the onset of the rainy season. Like Mach'ácuy, this toad burrows in the earth during the cold/dry season to reemerge with the warm/rainy season. The celestial toad rises into the sky in the early morning just after terrestrial toads have emerged from their long period of subterranean hibernation and just at the time of their most intense croaking and mating period. ACES (See, yana phuyu, pachatira.)



    Bufo spinulosus, the animal basis for the Dark Cloud Constellation of Hanp'átu.


    happattitha (AYM): (v) To praise God. ASD

    hapra: (n) He who has lost all vision but whose eyes are apparently intact. DYE

    hapu: (n) Sacred couple, finest form of yanantin; a sacred couple who have both reached full development of the three human powers: mind, heart, and body (yachay, munay, llank'ay). RS The most powerful relationships are either hapu or ranti. Hapu is a relationship of yanatin qualities that together are ten times stronger and propel you. These are autonomous entities in relationship. JLH The harmonious union of two masculine energies. KOAK

    hapu ranti: (n) Right relationship.  (See, hapu, ranti.)

    haravec, haraweq: (n) Minstrel, bard. THIM A poet. DYE

    harawi: (n) Poem, song. QP

    hark'ana, harkana, arkana: (n) A passive defense sung over someone in an ayahuasca session. AYV Barrier; obstacle. RS (See, tinguna.)

    hark'apay: (v) To protect. QP

    hark'ay, arkay: (v) To prevent. QP Obstruct, defend, detain, prevent, intevene in favor of another. TLD To block, to bar. AYV (See, hark'ana.)

    harmine (Eng): (n)  The alkaloid of the ayahuasca vine. AYV

    hasp'ikuy: (v) To itch, to scratch. QP

    hatha (AYM): (n) Lineage. ASD

    hatumpi ccatu: (n) See, despacho.

    hatun, jatun: (adj.) Big; tall; grand; high; large; great. (n) The Universe composed of Pachamama and Pachacamac. RS

    hatun awkicha: (n) Great-grandfather.  ROR

    hatun cocha, hatun qucha: (n) Ocean. (Also, mama cocha.)

    hatun chacana: (n) Hatun chakana literally means great cross or great ladder. The Southern Cross constellation, the main entry point to parallel worlds. For this reason, the main entrances to pre-Inca and Inca monolithic temples are located in the south. It is considered an interdimensional portal one may journey through to the hanaqpacha (see, above). The connection of the east and the west, the horizontal line, is symbolic of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It also refers to the biological lifespan of birth to death. The vertical line from north to south is symbolic of spirit descending into matter, the spiritual evolution of humankind toward our true nature experienced in the absence of time. The cross is universally understood as the plus sign, which refers to the connections made when the four directions are bridged together, showing the higher self together with the lessons of the biological self, merging in the center in the form of the master teacher. PSPM The great cross, the Southern Cross constellation from which consciousness is said to enter into the world, and through which consciousness will return to Creator; also a name for the Andean cross. ANON1 See, huch'uy cruz, below. See, chacana  and Southern Cross for more definition and picture.


    Hatun Chacana.

    Hatun Inti: (n) The Divine Central Sun. God. IGMP

    hatun karpay: (n) (1) The great or high initiation or transmission. JNP (2) The transmission of an entire lineage to an initiate. ANON1 (3) The coronation or crowning of a Sapa Inka. ANON1 See, karpay.

    hatun k'anchay: (n) Lightning. RS (See, chuqui illa.)

    hatun khuya sepka: (n) Literally, container of great affection if one translates sepka as container. See, khuya and sepka. A centerpiece of the mesa. PSPM

    hatun layka: (n) Master shamanWXC

    hatun madrina, hatun padrino: (n) Vertical sponsor, female or male, at a marriage (sp). ROR

    hatun misarumi sepka: (n) Great center power object of the mesa. PSPM

    hatun ñan: (n) Literally, big road. A major Inca road. SIH See, ñan.

    The hatun ñan running through Huayna Capac's (see, below) estate clearly shows a ramp. SIH

    hatun paq'o: (n) Great healer who sources from the luminous body.  JLH

    hatun p'unchaw: (n) Holiday; feast day; solemnity. RS (See, Punchao.)

    Hatun Qeros: (n) High Q'ero. This town serves as the ceremonial center of the Q'ero Nation. RS

    hatun qucha: See, hatun cocha, above. RS

    hatun quyllur: (n) Planet. RS (See, qoyllur.)

    hatun rumi: (n) Boulder. RS

    hatun runa: (n) Literally, the great people, were the Inca commoners. They were of lower rank than the Panacas and lesser royalty, making up the majority of the population.  They were organized into tens of thousands of ayllus. Higher ranking ayllus of hatun runa were the Curacas, holding hereditary lordships and serving as imperial agents. The empire redistributed large groups of hatun runa as mitimaes resulting in economic and social stabilization. MAN

    hatun sasi: See, sasi.

    hatun sonqo: (n) Literally, great heart. The dwelling space for the universal love vibration; big hearted; free-hearted. PSPM Universal heart of compassion/unconditional love. ANON1

    hatun yaku: (n) River. RS

    Hatun Wiracocha , Atun Wiracocha: (n) One of the many names given to Wiracocha, this one by the people of Urcos. MAN

    hauira (AYM): (n) River. ASD

    hauira cata (AYM): (n) Mother of the river. ASD

    hayllalla, hayaya, jallalla: (interjection) Well-being, salvation. [Translates as salud! in Spanish. PGO] Triumph of the heart. JLH (See, haylli.)

    haylli: (n) religious, heroic or agricultural song; triumph; shout and or song of triumph; joy and glory; ovation. RS TLD The Inca were said to triumph over the earth by plowing it so it might yield crops. ACA

    haylliy, hayllikuy: (v) To shout in triumph. TLD

    hayaya: See, hayllalla.

    haywa, hayway: (n) A ritual offering, sacrifice. ROR QP

    haywarisqa, haywasqa: (n) (1) A Quechua term for despacho. NND An offering to the spirits that can contain more than 200 ingredients. RS An offering. TLD (2) An ancient ritual that is designed to show the apu how much the people appreciate their herds and also how well they have taken care of them since the previous year. For the Andean herders, the survival and well being of their flocks are the very essence upon which their lives depend. The haywarisqa is a classic rite of intensification through which the future well-being of the herders' alpaca flocks is addressed. WPMC

    droppedImage.pict

    haywariky aklly: (n) A very sacred form of haywarkuy. WCH

    haywariy: (v) To hand in, to put into the hands of another. WIKID
    haywarkuy, haywakuy, haywarikuy: (n) (1) A festival every August known as payment to Mother Earth, in which coca leaves, food and beverages are offered. QP (2) The offering made by the shamans to the spirit. WCH A type of ritual offering that uses focused, reverent intention to return the gifts we have received back to the source they originated from.  A despacho. PSPM Ritual offering/feeding, referred to in Spanish as despacho or pago (payment) or simply ofrenda (offering); usually an offering made to Pachamama or to the Apukuna of one's region, but also often made to a particular personal Apu or upon the occasion of a birth, a death, the consecration of a new house, or for healing of oneself or of a client of a shaman-priest; over 300 distinct kinds of haywarik'uykuna (plural) exist, most of which contain at least six of each of the four primary elements involved: animal (feeding the tirakuna), plant (feeding the awkikuna), mineral (feeding the mallqumallkiikuna), and human-made (feeding the machula aulanchiskuna); the primary ritual of the Q'ero traditions (also, see, haywarisqa, above). ANON1
    hayway: (v) To give, to offer. TLD (n) A sacrifice. RS
    head binding (Eng): (n) The binding of the head of a newborn was usually done privately and without ceremony by the mother. A small board was placed on the forehead and another on the nape of the neck, tying them both; and every day they tightened the boards closer and they did not remove them until the child was three years old. This, and other methods, produced marked deformities which varied in shape and manner, depending upon the tribe and region. This artificial shaping of the skull, which varied with different tribal traditions, served at that time as a means of identification of the members of a social group. Although this practice does not necessarily produce serious mental disturbances, the most disproportionate head was the prettiest and sometimes this became competitive. Some children would die and others were permanently crippled from the effects. Some of the skulls recovered from ancient graves are so markedly distorted, that one wonders what effect this may have had on the higher functions of the brain. DYE


    hechicería (Span): (n)
    Sorcery. CEES
    hechicería marupa (Span): (n) Marupa sorcery; the manipulation of certain animals -- insects, snakes, scorpions, bats, rays, toads, etc. -- which the sorcerer keeps in his mariri and which he uses to do harm. The victim might feel an urge to go to a certain place where she will meet the marupa , which will attack her. AYV
    hechicero (Span): (n) A sorcerer. CEES
    hechecoc: (n) Shamans who divined disease after eating varying amounts of snuff and coca. MHP
    hechizo (Span): (n) Magic, spell, charm, sorcery, enchantment. (adj) Artificial, fake. SEES
    hermaphrodite: (n) A hermaphrodite (Greek: ερμαφρόδιτος) is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes. WIKI The ambisexual deity was represented in ancient Peru in several local mythologies. Small idols cast in bronze showing both sexes are frequently found in the graves of the Inca culture; and one of the ancient legends of the central highlands tells about Chaupi-ñamca, the wife of a magic healer, who always gave birth to hermaphrodites. DYE See, sexual activity for more information and other links.

    Mochica ceramic recovered from a grave showing a
    hermaphrodite self-amputating the male organ with a tumi.
    DYE


    hierbas (Span): (n) Herbs, grass, pasture. SEES

    hierbatero (-a) (Span): (n) Herbalist (male or female); a shaman who works with spirit forces of the natural world, of mountains and lakes. GOL    

    High Quechua: See, Qhapaq Simi.

    higuerella del pais, higuerilla mexicana (Span): (n) Ricinus communis. Employed by the natives as a superative for external swellings. REPC Widespread throughout tropical regions (and widely grown elsewhere as an ornamental plant), castor seed is the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety of uses. The seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides. The seed contains ricin, a toxin, which is also present in lower concentrations throughout the plant. The name Ricinus is a Latin word for tick; the seed is so named because it has markings and a bump at the end that resemble certain ticks. The common name castor oil probably comes from its use as a replacement for castoreum, a perfume base made from the dried perineal glands of the beaver (castor in Latin). It has another common name, palm of Christ, or Palma Christi, that derives from castor oil's reputed ability to heal wounds and cure ailments. Castor oil has many uses in medicine and other applications. An alcoholic extract of the leaf was shown, in lab rats, to protect the liver from damage from certain poisons. Methanolic extracts of the leaves of Ricinus communis were used in antimicrobial testing against eight pathogenic bacteria in rats and showed antimicrobial properties. The extract was not toxic. The pericarp of castor bean showed central nervous system effects in mice at low doses. At high doses mice quickly died.  A water extract of the root bark showed analgesic activity in rats.  Antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties were found in ethanolic extract of Ricinus communis root bark. WIKI

          

    The castor bean plant, with female flowers (left) and male flowers (right). WIKI


    hihuatha (AYM): (v) To die. ASD

    hila ñayra huahua: (n) Firstborn son. ASD (Note: huahua -- or wawa -- is Quechua for baby.)

    hiporúru, iporuru (Amaz): (n) (Alchornea castaneifolia (Willd.) Juss) A plant whose leaves are macerated in alcohol to form a tonic that expels weakness of the blood and heart, overcomes diabetes, and returns sexual vigor to old men.  THIM

    Hiporúru.


    hiska hauiri (AYM): (n) Brook or small river. ASD

    hiwaya rumi: (n) A punishment which consisted of letting a heavy rock fall upon the chest of the victim from a height of two yards. According to Guaman Poma, this frequently “caused death, but others were half-dead and were cured and recovered, although some remained badly crippled.” DYE

    hojé: See, ojé.

    hombre tragadero (Span): (n) Literally, swallowing man. An evil spirit that swallows people up. GOL

    hoocha: See, hucha.

    huaca, wak'a: (n) (1) Power. A huaca was both a localization of power and the power itself resident in an object, a mountain, a grave, an ancestral mummy, a ceremonial city, a shrine, a sacred tree, cave, spring, or lake of origination, a river or standing stone, the statue of a deity, a revered square or a bit of ground where festivals were held or where a great man lived. Coca, the narcotic leaf from the montaña, was huaca. WOFW The sacred energy of people, places and objects. IEBJ Divine power. GOL The power which enabled skilled artisans to produce curious pieces of goldwork or fine tapestry or rich dyes or the like was also huaca. WOFW (2) Sacred site. Empowered place, shrine. Idol.  HOI There was a logic to prestige categories of Kollana, Payan and Kayao that divided the system of shrines around Inca Cusco. WEA On the coast, huaca is applied to ancient temple mounds. (3) Nature. A number of gods of nature, found in the shape of rocks, mountains, trees, lakes, etc. GM Incan spirit being, the exaltation of a natural object such as a rock or place of importance. EOG Anything that incited religious wonder. Other focuses of devotion were large or oddly shaped stones. IAWS (4) The stars. It is significant that the Peruvian Indians saw the heavens in the same terms as the earth, radiating holy influences. Stars and stones differed not at all in the intensity of their respective powers. One real difference, however, can be perceived on closer inspection between the stellar and the chthonic, namely that the stellar huacas served more as repositories for the basic ideas and categories in creation, as blueprints and sources of all forms and shapes, whereas stone and earth possessed in a higher degree the vital element that infused these forms. No stone huaca, for instance, was thought to be the progenitor of all mankind; it was rather the ancestor of a particular tribe, more specific and less ideal. No star, on the contrary, was known as the ancestor of any specific tribe of men. EOTI (5) Ceke energy. The primary elements of energetic regulation for the ceke system. ANON1 (adj) Precious. Impregnated with a magical or religious power by virtue of its symbolic shape or its origin.SVI (See, huaco, huaquero.)



    The huaca manifest in the earth and in stone had a special significance, for it was the very flesh of the Mother. For the ancient Peruvians, men evolved from the living rock, and the concept of huaca embodied the capacity for infinite self multiplication, the very secret of nature. WOFW



    huacacamayoc, huacamayoc: (n) A huaca (see, huaca, above) guardian or keeper. TKI Each huaca had a guardian or caretaker who also effected cures. The guardian would invoke the gods with a mocha and sacrifices would be poured, aspirated or burned at the site of the huaca. The Indians would confess their sins and the confessors would rub their heads with a small rock called the pardon stone or with a rope twisted of black and white threads, both to purify the patient and to capture the illness in the object. GOL  A specialist in shrines and sacred objects. ACAI

    huacapú: (n) Minquartia guinensis, The Indian tribes in the Amazon sometimes use huacapú bark as a fish poison. They pound the bark until it is bruised and then put it into small streams and ponds where it stuns the fish and they can be easily collected on the top of the water. The bark is also often used as a malaria remedy, as well as for tuberculosis, hepatitis, and rheumatism. The outer bark is considered "too strong a medicine" therefore, more often, the inner bark is used when preparing remedies for humans. Huacapú bark is prepared as a decoction and used as a respected remedy for herpes, lung cancer, hepatitis, malaria, rheumatism and tuberculosis. It is also used for intestinal worms and parasites, muscular pain, and externally for skin irritations,. It is also used for leishmaniasis (a tropical parasitic disease carried by sand flies), and used externally on lacerations and wounds. A common remedy for rheumatism is to macerate 200 grams of huacapú bark in a liter of alcohol for 7-10 days (a tincture). It is taken in tablespoon dosages each day for 15 days. It is also a plant teacher and used in ayahuasca mixtures. RFD See, palero.

    The leaves, flowers and fruit of huacapú.


    huaccananay: (n) Meloncholy as an illness. DYE

    Huaca Wilka, Guaca Bilca: (n) To the Spanish, this was a demon who corrupted the people of Cusco who would have otherwise believed in the one true Christian God. MAN However, it seems to simply mean a local deity. (See, huaca and wilka.)

    Huaca el Dragon: (n) A funerary compound northwest of Chan Chan; it bears well-preserved Chimu (a pre-Incan civilization) images, including staff-bearing figures and double-headed rainbow serpents. MAN Also known as Huaca del Arco Iris (Span. for rainbow.”) WILT

    droppedImage.pict

    huaco, guaco: (n) The generic name given in Peru mostly to earthen vessels and other finely made pottery artworks found in pre-columbian sites such as burial locations, sanctuaries, temples and other ancient ruins. Huacos are not mere earthenware but notable pottery specimens linked to ceremonial, religious, artistic or aesthetic uses in central andean pre-columbian civilizations. The word huaco derives from the term huaca. WIKI

    huactacayani: (n) The loss of consciousness following cranial trauma. DYE

    huachancana: (n) One of the euphorbia plants, also known as spurges (from Middle English espurge meaning purgative). WIKI  A root used as a purgative. Taken in the form of an infusion, the patient would sit in warm sunlight until overcome by sickness and vertigo, coupled with a tickling sensation all over his body. Soon a violent evacuation from both ends occurred during which parasites or poisons were gotten rid of. After a while the sickness wore off and the patient felt himself to be bursting with rude health and extremely hungry. ACA

    huacha-utek: (n) A raving, dangerous madman. DYE

    huachuma , wachuma, achuma, gigantón, huando hermoso, cardo, símora, cimorra: (n) Indigenous name of the San Pedro cactus (trichocereus peruvianis or trichocereus pachanoi) used ceremonially as an entheogenic. The association with Saint Peter is interesting because he is the keeper of the keys to heaven. CSCR It is medicinal, a diuretic. It is utilized in general for cases of healing and witchcraft. It is used for both white and black magic, It is always recommended that after taking huachuma one must follow a diet. It is always represented with the saints, with the power of animals, of strong personages or beings, or serious beings, of beings that have supernatural power. The symbolism is to locate in all the regions of the territory the elemental thought and potentiality of man. It cares for the house as if it were a dog. In the night it appears to strangers who want to enter as a man in white, wearing a hat. Or else it whistles with a peculiar sound so that anyone who enters who is not of the household comes out at top speed, like a bullet. WOFW Huachuma was in use at the very beginning of Andean civilization;  it was the materia prima of the shamans of that time. In Peru, the central Andes region, and neighboring desert areas, the cactus has been used ritually for at least two thousand years. No one knows precisely how an Indian sacred plant received the name of a Catholic saint (Saint Peter). The cactus probably was associated with rain cults and pagan rain gods. Since San Pedro is the patron saint of rain, it seems likely that the cactus obtained its name as a result (perhaps in an attempt to save it from the pharmacratic Inquisition). In addition, Saint Peter is the keeper of the keys to heaven. EPP   There are huachumas of twelve, eight, seven, six, five and of four ribs. One with four is very difficult to find, but he who finds a four-ribbed huachuma can cure all sicknesses and maladies. Four-ribbed huachuma is the mystical huachuma: it was used in time immemorial, and is depicted in Mochica pictography, in the sculpture of Chavin de Huántar, in the Sierra, and in the north coast region, where its application to curing is essential up to the present. WPH It was used extensively in several pan- Andean cultures' rituals. ANON1

          droppedImage.pict                   droppedImage.pict

    A ceramic pot from the Chimú culture of Peru. The owl-faced female

    holding huachuma on this vessel is an herbalist and shaman.
    The owl is associated with these women.
    BOA



    The hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus is experienced as the catalyst that enables the curandero to transcend the limitations placed on ordinary mortals: to activate all his senses; to project his spirit,or soul; to ascend and descend into the supernatural realms; to identify and do battle with the sources of illness . . .  and misfortune; to  confront and vanquish ferocious animals and demons of disease and sorcerers who direct them; to “jump over” barriers of time, space and matter; to divine the past, present and future -- in short, to attain vision, to see. WOFW


    huachuma curanderismo: (n) A form of shamanic practice, primarily found along the Northern Coast of Peru, which is founded upon and revolves around the ritual use of a consecrated healing altar and the entheogenic use of plant spirit medicine (i.e., the San Pedro cactus [huachuma, see, above]. PSPM The entire curing ceremony approximates the blooming cycle of the nocturnal huachuma. ETH See, curanderismo.

    huachumero: (n) A San Pedro shaman. BOA (See, huachuma.)

    droppedImage.pict

    huaira: See, wayra.

    huairacaspi: (Cedrelinga catenaeformis) Also called el tornillo. It is good for chronic diarrhea, hepatitis, arthritis, broken bones, and cold in the body. As a teacher plant it is good for disorientation, and sense of being lost. After drinking you need to take a shower as it makes you sweat out all the toxins. AWC The kapukiri produced by the huairacaspi is the most frightening form of the disease. The person feels as if he is walking in slow motion, as if in the air. It generates pain in the ears, and the skin turns grey, as if burned. It acts quickly, and the persons dies after three to five days, with heavy vomiting. AYV

                   

    Leaves of huairacaspi.       Trunks of huairacaspi marked for logging.


    huaira-cucha: (n) According to the practice of the vegetalistas, a huairo-cucha is a being from a distant galaxy with skin as white as paper. Probably related to Wiracocha, a term used by some tribes to refer to white people. AYV (See, wayra.)

    Huallallo Carhuincho: (n) Principal god of the native peoples of the Huarochirí region.  A fire-breathing, volcanic god, he is featured in pre-Incan creation myths. Believed to be a cannibal, he decreed that couples could only have two children, one of whom had to be sacrificed to him for a meal. At the beginning of the Huarochirí Manuscript, he was challenged and defeated by Pariacaca, fleeing to the country to the north known as Antis (Antisuyu). MAN

    Huaman Lipa: (n) (1) Falcon that protects ceremonies, midnight falcon, visionary.  (2) One of the sacred mountains. The mountain of the Q'ero.  JLH

    Huana Cauri, Huanakawri: (n) One of the sacred mountains, located near Quirirmanta. It is from this place the Inca ancestors first viewed the Cusco Valley. MAN The cradle of the Inca state where the golden rod thrown by Manco Capac sank effortlessly into the ground. Historic chroniclers say that the first temple of the Inca Empire was located on the hill called Huanacauri, in the Southern part of Cuzco. CDN Leaving this place [Tambo Toco] they [Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo] came to a hill at a distance of two leagues, a little more or less, from Cuzco. Ascending the hill they saw a rainbow, which the natives call huanacauri. Holding it to be a fortunate sign, Manco Ccapac said: "Take this for a sign that the world will not be destroyed by water. (See, Uñu Pachacuti.) We shall arrive and from hence we shall select where we shall found our city." HOI

    huanaco: See, guanaco.

    huanarpo hembra: See, huanarpo macho, below.

    huanarpo macho (sp), higos del duende (Span): (n) Jatropha macrantha. The natives assert that an infusion of the root of this milky plant is a strong aphrodisiac. They also claim that an infusion of the huanarpo hembra is its antidote. There is no difference between these two plants, except that the former has red flowers, the latter white ones. REPC

            
    Huanarpo macho, root (left) and flowers.


    Huanaypata: (n) Final stopping place of the Inca ancestors where the center of Cusco was established and Ayar Auca turned into a huanca.  (See, Manco Capac.) MAN

    huanca, wanka: (n) (1) Golden staff, planted in ground. A vertical anchor to Pachamama in the form of a stone stele or rod. Column (stone); pillar. Statue. (2) Rite of fertility, creation. (3) Sacred song. RS (4) A type of huaca that was an especially large and prominent boulder believed to incorporate the essence of ancestors of one or more local ayllus. MAN Narrow, pointed stones placed in the center of a community or on a nearby peak and recognized as the mentor of the tribe to which the community belonged. Often these tribal guardians were grouped in divine families that differed according to locality. The stones embodied the spirits of the clan ancestors who protected the crops and the people caring for them. WOFW   (See, Señor de Huanca.)

    huancahui (Amaz): (n) [Pronunciation variation of Huana Cauri.] The laughing falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans). This bird is a predator of snakes. It's icaro is good for stunning a snake and defeating it, leaving its bite without effect. AYV

    paint1.tiff

    huando hermoso: See, huachuma, above.

    huaní (Amaz): (n) (1) A steel bow and a little crystal arrow which are kept in the armpit. (2) A type of sorcery performed with the huaní. The sorcerer puts the bow in his mouth and blows the dart into his victim, which pierces him and then returns to the armpit of the sorcerer. The victim will feel very tired and go to sleep. When he wakes up he will begin to vomit blood until he dies. No vegetalista can cure this kind of sorcery. Only God can save the victim. AYV

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    Huaní. Detail from a painting by vegetalista Pablo Amaringo from one
    of his ayahuasca visions.
    AYV


    huanti: (n) Syphilis, which left its marks on ancient Peruvian bones. The antiquity of this disease in the New World and its possible incorporation from America to Europe has originated a great scientific and literary controversy. Most authors favor the American origin of this disease on the theory that the spread to Europe was via the sailors who returned with Columbus from La Hispaniola (Santo Domingo). However, there is equally reliable data showing that this disease was present in Europe before Columbus. Thus, we think that syphilis has been spread throughout the world since time immemorial. What seems most probable is that the sailors of Christopher Columbus brought with them to Europe a special strain of spirochaeta (the microorganism causing syphilis) which, tolerated by the Indians, was violently harmful to the white race. They certainly imported a new disease, although it could be argued that they did not import a new species of germ. DYE



    If it is true that Spain “civilized” America, this latter certainly “syphilized” Spain. DYE



    huantuc: See, brugmansia suaveolens.

    huañukayani: See, ayarayani.

    huaquero: (n) Looter of sacred site (sp). CSCR A person that digs in ancient pre-columbian ruins illegally in order to get valuable pieces of artwork, usually destroying the structure (sp). WIKI (See, huaca.)

    huarachicuy, huarachicu, waracikoy, huarachico: (n) Literally, breeches ceremony. A coming of age ritual at which the teenage male attained adulthood and was given his permanent name. ACA (See, quicuchicuy.) HOI Puberty rites for the boys were somewhat harsher [than for the girls]. The ceremony was called huarachicuy and was performed yearly with all the boys of a given community during the great festival of Qhapaq Raymi. Fasting, athletic and war games, and a cruelly competitive race towards one of the neighboring hilltops preceded the perforation of the earlobes (see, orejones) and the imposing of the huaras (thus huara-chicuy), a special type of breech cloth which was the symbol of adulthood. The puberty rites were an occasion also for social mobility. It was the time when girls from the lower classes were usually chosen by the authorities -- on the basis of their beauty and gentleness -- to enlarge the numbers of the akllas who were to be trained at the akllawasi and become the wives and concubines of those whom the Inca rulers wanted to reward for their good behavior in the community. And the huarachicuy gave also occasion for the selection of young men of great physical prowess and endurance, as well as acute mental alertness and courage so necessary for the leading classes. The son of a poor field laborer of a region near Cusco who at the huarachicuy took the name of Rumiñahui, later became one of the most famous Inca generals. DYE The huarachikuy served as a religious ceremony for the initiation of young males from the Tawantinsuyu, when priests would offer animal sacrifices to the gods. GVO See, also, other important childhood rites: ayuscay, rutuchicuy, quicuchicuy.

    huara huara (AYM): (n) Star. ASD

    Huari: (n) The principal deity of the Guari ayllu of Cajatambo. MAN The word means god of force or thick water. A god named Huari, one of the first giant-ancestors and founder of ancient communities, was invoked by Indian shamans during curing rituals. WOFW Deity associated with the underworld, with caves and darkness, with water, and with fecundity. GOL      

    huarmay sonqo: (adj) Immature intellectually. DYE

    huarmi: See, warmi.

    huarmi-yoco, yoco: (n) Paullinia yoco Schultes et Killip ex Schultesyoco. Yoco is undoubtedly the most curious caffeine-rich plant that people have bent to their use. A forest liana of the westernmost Amazon, it is the only species the bark of which is employed in the preparation of a stimulant drink. The liana is the most important non-food plant in the life of numerous tribes of Indians; when a local supply of the wild source is exhausted, the natives find it necessary to abandon their home-site and relocate in another area where the plant is found in greater abundance. It appears that the liana is rarely or never cultivated, probably because it is extremely slow growing. EPP It is used as a daily morning stimulant. Indians never go on hunting expeditions or journeys without taking a supply of pieces of the vine. A milky latex that contains a very high level of caffeine flows through the bark. Yoco bark is drunk only in the form of a cold-water extract. The vine (epidermis, bark) is scraped, and the bark pieces and the caffeine-rich latex yield a mass that is then pressed in cold water. The effects are a powerful stimulation with tingling in the fingers. A general sensation of well-being and clear wakefulness manifests within a few minutes of consuming the drink. The appetite is profoundly and persistently suppressed. Most yoco users drink two jicaras [a type of gourd used as a drinking vessel] in the morning right after rising and do not eat until the late afternoon. Yoco bark contains 2.730/0 caffeine. No other active constituents have been detected. The buds have also been found to contain caffeine. PTC

    Huarmi-yoco.


    Huarochirí Manuscript: (n) Post-conquest Inca document composed circa 1608 detailing pre-conquest religious belief among the hatun runa in the Inca empire, most likely compiled along with the Idolotrías at the instigation of Francisco de Avila, the Extirpator of Idolatries. MAN

    paint3.tiff


    huasi-ukulluco: (n) The little house lizard, a mariri used in marupa sorcery as well as by healers to convey messages. AYV (See, wasi.)

    huasca:, waska: (n) (1) Luminous fiber extending from the luminous body connecting it to nature. (See, definition and image at ceke.) (2) Rope; whip; cord. RS

    Huascar: See, Wascar.

    Huascarán: (n) The name of Peru's tallest mountain at 22,205 feet (6768 meters). Respecting the origin of its name, more than one theory exist: In the map of Ancash made by the explorer Antonio Raimondi (1873), the mountain appears with the name Huascán, which would mean attractive or tempting. Raimondi also sustains that near the mountain existed a ranch called Hacienda Huascarán, though he doesn't state if the place was baptized following the mountain's name or vice-versa. Others attribute the origin of the name to the Inca Huascar [Waskar]. WAH

    droppedImage.pict

    huata: (n) Year. AEAA

    huatanruna: (n) Literally, people that tie. Snake people who spiritually dismember the vegetalista. AYV (See, dismemberment for an image)

    huauque: See, wayqi.

    huayabo, guayabo, sahuintu, guava: (n) Psidium guajava.  In Peru, it was already in cultivation by the eighth century B.C.E. In many traditional medicine systems, the leaves are used as an analgesic, a neuroleptic, and an agent for treating diarrhea (including that caused by cholera). However, folk medical knowledge of the beneficial effects of the leaves as a diarrhea medicine (which have been pharmacologically confirmed) is not as widespread as one might assume. In Belize, a tea made from the leaves is gargled to treat mouth sores and bleeding gums. A decoction of nine leaves and nine young fruits (boiled for twenty minutes) is drunk three times daily before meals in cases of diarrhea, dysentery, upset stomach, and colds. In South America, teas made from the leaves are drunk to treat digestive disorders. In Chile and Peru, the leaves are chewed to strengthen the teeth. In Panama, the leaves are chewed for toothaches. The Fang of central Africa use the leaves to make an anthelmintic juice. In Samoa, the leaves are used as a cough medicine and as an antidote for all types of poisonings. Animal experiments using a leaf extract demonstrated a distinct morphinelike effect as a result of inhibition of acetylcholine release; this effect was likely produced by the quercetin contained in the leaves. The active constituent does not appear to bind to the opioid receptors and is not addictive. Toxic effects and overdoses are unknown. A hot-water extract of dried leaves has antibacterial effects upon Sarcina lutea, Staphylococcus aureus, and Mycobacterium phlei. An aqueous extract of the fresh leaves has fungicidal effects. Guava leaves are sometimes found as ingredients in tea mixtures (stomach teas) sold in pharmacies. PTC The leaves and fruit possess styptic properties. Some people chew the leaves to comfort and strengthen the teeth. REPC

    The huayabo [apple guava], flower, leaves, fruit.

    Huaya, Manuel: The commander of the Aceropunta. He was a great shaman with dominion over the yaku-lancha, yakuruna, mermaids and other subaquatic beings. Living about 350 years ago, he was either Shipibo or Piro. He wears different clothes depending on the person who invokes him. AYV

    Huayna Capac, Wayna Capac: (n) The 12th Inca emperor who ruled from 1493-1526. He died suddenly from smallpox along with his heir apparent, Ninán Cuyúnchic, leaving the country to face a ruinous civil war between his remaining sons, Atahualpa and Wascar, that left the empire weakened and open to the Spanish conquest. MAN Other accounts give the history as Huayna Capac survived and divided the empire between Wascar and Atahualpa.  FAE Omens of doom started circulating throughout the empire. The Sapa Inca's wise men prophesied evil because an eagle fell out of the sky and died after being attacked by buzzards during the Feast of the Sun. PBS Huayna Capac died at Quito at the age of 80 years. He left more than 50 sons. He succeeded [to the throne] at the age of 20, and reigned 60 years. He was valiant though cruel. HOI



    This quotation illustrates how Huayna Capac foretold the end of the Inca Empire: "Our father the Sun disclosed to us a long time ago that we should be twelve Incas, his own sons, to reign on this earth; and that then, new, hitherto unknown people would arrive; that they would obtain victory and subject all our kingdoms to their Empire, as well as many other lands. I think that the people who came recently by sea to our own shores are the ones referred to. They are strong, powerful men, who will outstrip you in everything. The reign of the twelve Incas ends with me. I can therefore certify to you that these people will return shortly after I have left you, and that they will accomplish what our father the Sun predicted; they will conquer our Empire, and they will become its only lords. . . . Dwell in peace; my father the Sun is calling me, I shall go now to rest at his side." (from Garcilaso de la Vega) DYE



    paint5.tiff


    huayño: (n) Very high traditional song. WBT The huayño originates mainly in the area round southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia. WDPO

    huayruru: (n) See, wayruru. ROR

    huayusa: See, guayusa.

    huccuc-uncuy: See, uta.

    hucha, jucha, hoocha: (n) (1) Heavy, dense, black energy.  KOAK AVO Heavy or dense energy generated by resistance to life in the form of stress-related attachments. Resistance is typically fear-based. Its energy constricts. Fear hinders the natural flow of energy through the luminous body. When this occurs, hucha accumulates. Often mislabeled as bad or negative energy, hucha only becomes troublesome when experienced in overabundance Released hucha becomes food for Pachamama, who then composts it and turns it into food that sustains life. Hucha is thus important to humanity. PSPM(2) In common usage, it means guilt; fault; sin; crime. RS Hucha means sin, business (or affair) or plea; hucha is sin only when preceded by a noun in the genitive case, such as runaphuchan (a man's sin).  When referring to gods or kings, it can only mean business, not in the sense of commerce but in the sense of affairs and secrets. SIMA Heavy energy. Mistranslated by the Spanish as sin. QNO  (See, sami, qhapaq hucha.)

    huchachay: (v) To accuse, to make guilty. PSL

    huchallikuy: (v) To sin, literally, to carry sin. PSL

    hucha mikhushanqu: (exp) Possible translation, eat a meal of hucha. Sanku = meal. PGO  See, hucha mikhuy, below.

    hucha mikhuy, hucha mikuy: (n) The eating and digestion of heavy energy with the spiritual stomach; this is the central spiritual practice of the Andean priest. [See, paq'o.] RS The act of eating and digesting hucha with the spiritual --  or energetic -- stomach, one's qosqo, a technique central to Andean shaman-priests' healing practices. ANON1 Compare, mikhushanqu.

    huchasapa: (adj) Guilty. PSL

    huchata pampachay: (v) To forgive sin. PSL

    huchayuq: (n) Sinner; guilty one. PSL

    huch'uy, uchuy: (adj) Small; short; low; little. RS

    huch'uy cruz, hatun chakana: (n) The Andean cross; literally, little cross. (sp). PSPM See, hatun chakana, above.

    huicungo:(n) Astrocaryum vulgare. The spines of this palm are the favorite and most potent darts shot into the human body by malevolent spirits to cause sickness and misfortune. AYV See, virote.

    droppedImage.pict

    huighan, huighnan, huigen: (n) Schinus polygamus. Also known as the Chilean pepper tree. The trunk exudes a resin which, applied to the temples and behind the ears, lessens toothache and pains in the chest. Chileans prepare from the fruit an excellent chicha with diuretic properties which is thought to be effective against dropsy [old term for edema]. Even though the drink is not agreeable, the Indians take it at all meals. Its taste and smell suggest black pepper. REPC

    Leaves and berries of huighan.


    huilca, huillca, huilco: See, wilka.

    huinioch rumi: (n) Growing rock, refers to the living energy and changing nature of rock. QNO

    huiririma: (n) Astrocaryum jauari, a jungle plant used to create virotes. EMM

    droppedImage.pict Huiririma spines.

    Huitaca: See, Chia.  

    huito: (n) (Genipa americana) Medicinal fruit which is a curative of respiratory diseases. THIM Used as a cosmetic by jungle tribes, it is also a potent insect repellent. DYE (See, caballo piripiri.)

    droppedImage.pict


    huizo oni (Panoan): (n) Ayahuasca dark in color, one of three kinds of ayahuasca distinguished by the Shipibo according to color. AYV (See, oni.)

    huk k'ata kay: (n) Literally, being only one. Unity. WODO

    humihua: (n) A narrow-necked container for water used in ceremony.  SAI

    hunguráhui: (n) An oil distilled from the fruit of a palm tree of the same name which is said to grow hair on bald heads. THIM

    hup'a: (adj) Deaf. QP

    huqnirayay: (v) To change into something, to become. QP

    hurin, urin: (n) Space in which space/time come together and life happens; relationship of horizontality with cekes. JLH (adj) Lower; inferior. (adv) Below; down; south. RS (See, hanan.)  

    Hurin Cusco:  See, Hanan and Hurin Cusco.

    Hurin Pacha: (n) A rarely referred to but existing notion of a lower world, as opposed to the more common Ukhupacha; it should be noted that this concept is quite unusual in Andean cosmology. ANON1



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First Edition (c) 2007 Patt O'Neill. All rights reserved. This site was originally published 6-13-07
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