NAVIGATION TIP:
Use the Firefox browser
with the CoolPreviews add on. CoolPreviews 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.
What’s New at the Glossary?
5-12-14
Another software malfunction -- this time my HTML editor. Finally fixed and operating. So, I have posted the PDF's. You can find a list of them at this link to download selectively, or you can use the link on that page to download a zip file of the entire glossary.
4-15-14
A.
This third edition has been a long process and I hope you will agree it
was worth the wait. I have been working on this edition for about a
year. I am posting it while I still have work to do on it: there will
soon be a .pdf of every page you can download; these .pdf's are done
automatically and I don't know if the links work properly (probably
not). In the new final format, the pictures will be removed (with a
link if you want to see it) so that it will be more accessible for
people who do not have a broadband connection. All pages will then
download faster; you won't download images you aren't interested in. I
posted the new edition before it was completely finished, so you will
see changes little by little over the next few whatevers. Appendix M is
unfinished because I haven't written it all yet.
B. There are three main traditions of shamanism within Peru: the
curandero of the Pacific coast, the paq'o of the Andes, and the
vegetalista of the Amazon. Many of the teachers in the United States,
who also travel throughout the world, have trained in more than one
tradition and their own practice reflects much crossover. The glossary
reflects this crossover tendency of the American teachers, thus the
terminology may actually mean something slightly different from one
tradition to another. For example, the vegetalistas sometimes refer to
themselves as curanderos and their craft as curanderismo; another
example is the term hark'ana (paq'o tradition) is spelled arkana
in the vegetalista tradition. This must be kept in mind by those using
this glossary, as well as the truth for most of us that you must study
with a teacher so that you can experience this path. Learning shamanism
by reading books is like trying to understand sex from a book. Both
must also be experienced fully to be fully appreciated. Working with
the third edition and focusing somewhat on the curandero tradition of
the north coast, this has become clear to me and I wish to pass this
caveat along to the student. Language is a living, changing thing. (Try
reading Shakespeare, The Canterbury Tales, or Beowulf in the original to see how much the English language has changed.)
C. I am conflicted between accurate, objective scholarship and my
conscience. Witches and witchcraft have become entangled in the
prejudice of Christianity against such practices. The practitioners of
witchcraft (Wiccans) are peaceful and life affirming. I am loathe to
pass this too-common calumny along where it contains a negative or
black magic connotation. However, the integrity of the glossary demands
an accurate reflection of the culture surrounding the practice of
shamanism in contemporary and historical Incan South America. The
curanderos of the North coast, particularly, have this Catholic
prejudice ingrained in their culture. Please keep this in mind when you
run across mentions of witches and witchcraft vis-a-vis dark magic. And
we can all pray for an end to this unjustifiable hatred. (For more on
this click here.)
D. This edition has been peppered with treats, items I ran across while
researching. Each one is marked within the body of the glossary with a
bow:  . Click on it (no, not this one) and you will go to a recipe, a video or something else unexpected.
E. One of the books I came across is quite rare and contains much
information. It was written by a Peruvian doctor and naturalist who
helped found a botanical medicine facility in Peru. This book, Dioses y Enfermedades
by Dr. Fernando Cabieses, contains so much information that it took
quite a while to get through it. The source is DYE and I hope you find
the information as educational as I did. Dr. Cabieses covered such
subjects as climatology, homosexuality, rituals, factoids about
different Sapas -- like how Wascar and Yahuar Huacac got his name,
Lloqe Yupanqui's sexual difficulties, the complex politics around
Huayna Capac's untimely death and that Atahualpa and Wascar were not
first and second in line to succeed him, and the history of Western
Civilization and cocaine (coca v. Coke®).
F. Another source, designated as REPC was published in 1798. It is a
fascinating document by a Spanish botanist detailing the different
vegetation he came across and how the native peoples used these plants.
I only included healing information, but the book is also replete with
uses of various plants he came across for dyes. You can download a .pdf
here. CAVEAT: the taxonomy of this source is questionable.
G. There is a new format to the glossary which now includes text boxes
highlighting some of the interesting facts and excellent writing I have
come across.
H. Sorry, but I got tired of cross-referencing the zillions of
different names for plants. If you are looking for something in
particular, use the search box.
I. I removed the Links and Correspondence pages.
J. Do not download the glossary or any part of it from any other site.
I found a Second Edition word list on a website that was rated poor
by Web of Trust. Such downloads could have malware, spyware or ads
included. My site will not do that. I trust my hosting service, but if
you find anything untoward on a download, let me know right away.
Please!
K. You can download a complete word list for the 3d Edition here.
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