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

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.

tabaquero (Span): A type of vegetalista who uses mapacho (a type of tobacco) to heal. AYV

Tahuantinsuyu: See, Tawantinsuyu.

take: See, taqe.

taki: (n) Singing. RS  Song. QP

taki onkoy: (n) A return to the huacas. JLH Collective delirium brought about by singing; in Inca history the Taki Onqoy refers to the national Inca movement of the 1700's that nearly overthrew the Spanish. RS (See, onqoy.)

takiy: (v) To sing. RS

takuriy: (v) To disturb. QP

taksha yakuruna: (n) Literally, little yakuruna, he comes out to feed between midnight and dawn. If he is captured by a vegetalista he must then stay and live here on the earth plane and teach how to hunt in the waters. AYV

tambo (Span), tampu : (n) Lodging, house, temporary storage house. RS A place from which one sets out; govenment posthouses built at intervals of a day’s journey along Inca roads. CSCR (From Quechua, tampu.)

Tambos: (n) Allies of the Inca ancestors. (See, Manco Capac.)

Tambo Mach’ay, Tambomach'ay: (n) Temple of the Waters. There are three ceremonial water fountains at Tambomach'ay. The water found here is clean and crystalline; its source is unknown and it is conducted through an underground channel. Many people call this site Inca's Bath and say that these liturgical fountains are eternal youth fountains or fertility fountains, thus inducing visitors to drink the water (sp.). WAC

Tambo Toco: (n) Place of windows, the mountain in Pacaritambo with three caves, the central one was the one from which the Inca ancestors emerged. The Temple of Three Windows at Machu Picchu mirrors Tambo Toco. MAN There were three caves: Maras Toco, Sutic Toco, and Capac Toco. Out of the first two came the lineages of the Maras and the Tambo, who failed to produce descendants. From the last cave came the Ayar brothers, the beloved children of the Sun. Since their mission was to populate the world, Inti gave each one of them a wife. Thus, Ayar Manco -- the eldest -- had as a wife his own sister Mama Ocllo; Ayar Auca had Mama Huaco; Ayar Ukhu had Mama Raura and Ayar Cachi was paired with Mama Cora. NFL (See, tampu.)

tampu: See, tambo.

tangarana: (n) (1) Triplaris surinamensis or Triplaris peruviana. An Amazonian tree often used in ayahuasca mixes. (2) A dance of the Amazon that represents a couple of young people cutting wood in the jungle when suddenly they are bitten by fierce tangarana ants, the mama of the tree. [To see a video of this dance, click here.]

The tangarana tree, Triplaris surinamensis.

tangarana ant: (n) A fierce ant, the mama of the tangarana tree and is a symbiote of that tree. AWW The tangarana tree’s hollow stems teem with thousands of the black ants. Each ant is more than an inch long. When something bumps against the tree, the ants think it’s an attack on their home and rush to defend it. They will even jump off branches into your canoe to sting you if they think their tree is threatened. PDA The tree produces extra-floral nectaries to feed them. In return, the ants aggressively defend their host tree by clipping off any vine, bromeliad or other unwanted visitor. If a person touches this tree, the small ants stealthily exit through pores in the branches, cover the arm, and wait until a chemical signal is released. When the signal is given, all the ants bite simultaneously. Their bite penetrates the skin and formic acid is sprayed into the wound, so that the pain escalates for hours afterward. The natives refer to the ants as piranhas of the trees. Ingenious at utilizing the Amazon’s biodiversity, the natives have a use for the tangarana as well. Adulterers are tied up to a tangarana tree until they pass out with pain (this usually happens after about twenty minutes of blood-curdling screaming). DAJG

tantakuy: (n) Meeting. (v) To meet, to come together. PSL

tapuna: (n) A question. QP

tapunakuy: (v) To argue. QP

tapuy: (v) To ask a question. QP

taqe, take: (n) (1) Passion. (2) The sharing of abilities and fine energies. (3) A joining that creates and synergizes energetic relationship. (4) The third stage of the Inca concept of relationship. Consummation. JLH RS Fusion. TP To join forces, or join energy bubbles. To bring together in harmony. QNO (See, tinquy and tupay.)

taqque atipi (AYM): (adj) All powerful. ASD

taqui: (n) Dance in honor of the sun. ;HOI

tarikuy: (v) To find something lost. QP To find them. RS

tarinakuy: (v) To be among those who seek each other. RS

Taripaca: (n) One of the many names for Wiracocha. MAN

taripachikuy: (v) To let find oneself

taripanakuy: (n) Litigation; dispute. RS

taripaña (AYM): (n) Judgement Day. ASD

taripay: (n) Judgment. Justice. (v) To meet with; to come across; to catch up; to condemn; to judge. To inquire; to investigate. RS

Taripay Pacha: (n) Literally, judgment time. The Age of Meeting Ourselves Again in the Inca prophecies when humanity will have the chance to consciously evolve in an era of harmony. KOAK In Andean Prophecy this word refers to a new golden era in the human experience. It heralds a coming together again of the Andean people, and the recreation of a new and better Inca Empire. QNO A Quechua saying that means time to find yourself. This time is now. IGMP: (See, the words which begin with tari above and below this term, which may serve to “de-Catholicize” the concepts contained in taripay pacha so the traditional meaning is clearer. -- Patt)

taripuy: (v) To recover; to regain. RS

tariqay: (v) To discover. RS

tariy: (v) To find; to meet with a person. RS

Tarpuntaes: (n) A kinship group of Cusco that held certain ritual responsibilities. AEAA

tarpuntay: (n) Literally, one who plants. A priest of the sun. ICC A priest who performs sacrifices. ACA

tarpuy: (v) To plant. QP

tata (AYM): (n) Master. ASD

tata kura: See, tayta kura.

tata-mama: (n) Parents. PSL

Tawantinsuyu: (n) The four regions of the Inca Empire. Tawa = four; suyu = territory. (See, Chinchisuyu, Kontisuyu, Antisuyu, and Kollasuyu for individual flag of the suyu, Appendix D for more information and maps). Each region suyu has its own wiphala of corresponding color: Antisuyu: green, Kontisuyu: yellow; Kollasuyu: white; Chinchisuyu: red. See, also, wiphala.

tayca (AYM): (n) Birth mother, sister of mother. ASD (See, ipa.)

taycani puchani (AYM): (n) Mother and daughter. ASD

taycani yocani (AYM): (n) Mother and son. ASD

Taypyquala: The legendary name of the Sacred Rock on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca. It was considered to be the house of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars. IGMP (See, Appendix B, titicala.)

taytacha: (n) Supreme being, usually masculine energy, male saint. An example would be the Lord of Q’ollorit’i.

Tayta Inti: See, Inti Tayta.

Taytacha Temblores: (n)Literally, Lord of the Earthquakes. This refers to an icon (statue) of the black Christ given to the city of Cusco by Charles V of Spain. It was paraded around Cusco during a terrible earthquake in 1650 and is considered by the people to have the power to stop earthquakes. This is a powerful guide for many paq’os (sp). QNO (2) A celebration held on Easter Monday in Cusco that is a fusion of Andean religions and Christianity. The Cusco Cathedral, where the image is kept, is built on the foundations of the ancient temple dedicated to Illa Ticci Wiracocha. The image of the Lord of Earthquakes is borne aloft in a procession through the streets of the city just as the Incas used to parade the mummies of their chieftains, high priests and supreme rulers. (See, Inti Raymi.) The dominating part of the celebration involves the ñucchu flower (salvia splendens) (sp). SIP

tayta kura, tata kura: (n) Priest. QP Catholic priest. PSL

Taytallá!: (interj) My God! RS

tayta mama, tata mama, taytamama: (n) Parents.RS

Taytanchis Ranti: (n) Equivalent to God on Earth. This term refers to the powers and capacity of the seventh level initiate in the Andean system of psychospiritual development. According to Inca prophecy, the seventh level priests will be capable of resurrecting their own physical bodies after death. QNO

Temple of the Sun: See, Coricancha.

Temple of the Three Windows: (n) At Machu Picchu, a wall with windows which mirrors the three caves at Tambo Toco. MAN

third attention: (n) (1) A term from nagualismo defining the largest portion of our consciousness which is immeasurable and which engages undefinable aspects of the awareness of the physical body and the luminous body. TEG (2) The interface of the active first and second attentions, each working harmoniously with the other, creates a state of consciousness outside of time known as flow or guyana yoga. This is the razor’s edge, using the intellect to go beyond the intellect. PGO DCGB TEG (See, first attention, second attention.)

Third Sun: (n) This age was inhabited by the Purun Runa. Civilization was increasing in complexity. the population of the world increased, and people found it necessary to migrate from the Andes into the lowlands. They lived in towns, each with its own king, and there was conflict between towns and regions. How this era ended is not specified in the chronicles. MAN (See, pachacuti.)

Three Inca Laws: Today, the common statement of the Inca Laws is ama llulla, ama qilla, ama suwa. (Don't lie, don't be lazy, don't steal.) Ancestrally, however, they are (1) tukuy munayniyoc, (2) tukuy llank’ayniyoc, and (3) tukuy yachayniyoc. True Inca laws are positive, not negative. Human laws are created from fear by the mind. The ancestral Inca Laws come from the Divine Love of the Cosmos. IGMP

thunder ayahuasca: See, ayahuasca trueno.

tibemama (Amaz): (n) (Pandion haliaetus) The osprey, a bird used in the science of the vegetalista. AYV

tibe negro: (n) Any of several species of black birds used by marupa sorcerers as a mariri (sp). AYV (See, sarara, suisui.)

Tiki: See, Kontiki.

tinguna: (n) (1) Electromagnetic emanations which may adopt any form -- such as plants, animals, or spirit helpers -- and which vegetalistas control with their songs. They are particularly useful as an active defense from supernatural attack. (See, hark'ana.) (2) The song that brings forth the electromagnetic emanations. The word probably comes from tinquy. AYV

tinkapu: (n) An offering of alcohol. ACES

tink’a: (n) A flick of drops of a beverage as a libation and toast to deities. ROR

Tinku: (n) Every year, at the beginning of May, the country folk from the north of Potosi meet for the Tinku. The purpose of these festivities is to honor Pachamana. The most famous Tinku happens in Macha, where some 3000 villagers meet. For two to three days, they dance, sing, drink in excess and fight. First, each community, accompanied by charangos and zampoñas meets in the streets. Women stand in the middle of a circle and as they start the huayños (very high traditional songs), the men turn in a circle around the women stamping the ground rhythmically with their feet. On the second day, fighting takes the place of the dancing. In these fights, two men fight, surrounded by a circle of spectators. These often very violent fights can be judged in different ways. From a traditional point of view, Tinku is a ceremonial rite which unites more than separates. They fight to live, not to the death. From the physical confrontation of two persons arises life, which represents fertility and reproduction. The blood of the fighter is seen as a sacrifice to Pachamama to fertilize, obtain favors and the promise of good future crops. From a pragmatic point of view, Tinku is a space for social regulation, as it allows communities to solve disputes (personal rivalries or quarrels about land.) WBT The ritual was once widespread throughout the Andean world, predating the arrival of the conquistadors. Anthropologists say it now tenuously exists just in this isolated pocket of Bolivia. IHT (See, tinquy.)

tinquy, tinku, tinkuy: (n) (1) To meet up with; the first encounter energetically. The first stage of the Inca concept of relationship. Finding oneself in a particular place, ready for a potential hostile encounter. (2) A confluence of streams. (See, Tinku, take and tupay.) ROR KOAK AVO QP AYV

tinya: (n) A small drum, (Span., caja). ROR

tiqsi,teqsi, ticci, tixsi: (n) Fundament; base; origin; foundation. (2) Dirt; dregs; sediment. RS

Tiqsi Muyu, Teqse Muyu, Texemuyo, Tixsi Muyu: (n) Energy of the universe, the web of all creation. Earth, universe, space, time. QP Planet earth; world. RS (See, Kontiki.)

titi: (n) Mother/sister jaguar.

Titicaca: Lake Titicaca should actually have been called Lake Titicala (Puma rock), but a transliteration error to Spanish resulted in the last part of the name being as it is. OWJ It means gray puma in Aymara. One of the legends of the lake is that a couple were sailing in a reed boat and came upon many dead gray pumas floating on the water, so the couple named the lake after the pumas. Another legend says that the Inca brought pumas to the island to guard the sacred rock, Taypyquala. The pumas liked the rock so much they would sit on it all day. Soon, the people began to call it titiquala (gray puma). The Island of the Sun, where the rock was located, was called Titiquala Island, and soon the lake took on the name. IGMP (See, Lake Titicaca, Appendix B, qaqa).

Titicala, Titikala: (n) Located on the Island of the Sun, a significant ritual center of the Tiwanako culture was adjacent to the Titicala. TAI A large stone that nature roughly shaped like a wildcat. In Quechua, it was known as Titikala, the place of the puma. The lake was given the same name. WP (See, Titicaca.)

Tiwanako, Tiahuanaco, Tiwanaku: (n) An ancient cultural center of the Aymara people. It is believed the two pyramids were used for lunar (Puma) and solar (Akapana) ceremonies. The male and female energies were used in a balanced flow. The Puma Pyramid was placed near the edge of Lake Titicaca. The Tiwanako ruins reveal a dock and quay facility, as evidence of Tiwanako once being a port city. In present times it is 10 miles from Lake Titicaca, which has dropped 100 feet in depth since Tiwanako was a powerful city. (See, Wiracochas and Appendix G [under construction].)

Artist’s sketch of Tiwanako as it might have looked, showing the Puma and
Akapana Temples.

Wonderful video of Tiwanaku and the Akapana Temple. It shows one
of the advanced agricultural techniques used by the Tiwanaku people
that has been rediscovered and put into use by their inheritors.
[This video will be moved to an appendix in the future.]

tobacco: See, mapacho.

tocapo: (n) The iconography in the little illa stones. JLH (See, image at illa.)

Tocapo Wiracocha: (n) The name of the youngest son of Wiracocha.

toé (Amaz): (n) (Brugmansia Solanaceae) A member of the nightshade family, this plant is also known as angels trumpet and tree datura. It is an anticholinergic deleriant and is used by itself or as part of an ayahuasca brew. AYV (See, Brugmansia suaveolens.) [WARNING: all daturas are toxic.]

toero (Amaz): (n) A vegetalista who uses various species of Brugmansia. (See, toé.)

tonal (Mex): (n) (1) Consensual or ordinary reality. (2) The tonal is the counterpart of the nagual. The tonal is the social person and the organizer of the individual’s world. Perhaps the best way to describe its monumental work is to say that on its shoulders rests the task of setting the chaos of the world in order. TOP (3) One of the two aspects of the shaman’s relationship between man and beast. (See, nagual, def. 3) Tonal describes the animal familiar spirits associated with most individuals from shortly after their birth. IAWS

tonal axis (Mex/Eng): (n) North-South on a medicine wheel. AVO

topa, tupa: (adj) Royal. AEAA (n) Something noble; something worthy RS

Topa Cusihualpa Wascar Inca: The full name of Wascar (the 12th Inca). GPA

Topa Yupanqui, Topa Inca Yupanqui: Almost certainly another name for Tupac Inca Yupanqui.

tornillo, el: See, huairacaspi..

toro-vilca: (n) A black bull with twelve horns thought to be responsible for erosion of river banks. Vilca is also spelled willka, and is a type of tree whose bark contains much tannin. AYV RS

torus (Latin):(1) (geom) A geometric solid, the surface of which is in the shape of a donut. (2) A representation of the Adam Kadmon, a graphic concept that the human body (spine, energy field, torus knot at waist) mirrors the planetary body (equator, revolutionary axis and electromagnetic field). WMOP (3) A stone of this shape used to travel to the Hanaqpacha (through the hole) AVO. (See, apacheta, nierika.)

    Adam Kadmon

(represents the world)

The earth plane above is
        the kaypacha.

torus knot: (n) It can be made on a torus tube which looks like a donut or a sphere that turns in from one side and comes out the other in a perpetual motion. Also known as a Gordian knot. WMOP

            Torus knot

torus tube: (n) The torus tube contains many mathematical formulas and equations. Science began using this model as a geometric/mathematical model of the universe. [Think inner tube to visualize. The emphasis is on the empty space inside (tube) vs. the solid outer shell (torus).]

totora: (n) The reeds that grow at Lake Titicaca with which the Uros people construct their islands, huts and boats. The reeds swell in the rain, thus keeping the huts water-tight. Making for excellent insulation, the reeds are even used as mattresses. The Uros even eat the roots of the plant. IGMP (See, Uros for picture.)

transubstantiation (Eng): (n) The changing of one substance into another, i.e., the Christian Eucarist in which the wafer and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. Many transubstantiation myths exist in the Amazon regarding the entheogenic plants that make up the ayahuasca brew, as well as food plants, being transubstantiations of human beings. AYV

trato: (n) (Span.) Covenant. PSL

tratochay: (v) To make a covenant (sp.). PSL

trawu: (n) Alcohol, liquor. QP

trial marriage (Eng): (n) An Andean custom where a couple lives together for one to three years before the final commitment for life. After the final commitment, over ninety percent of these couples remain together. If a young man is interested, he takes a small mirror and reflects the sunlight to the girl as she tends animals in the fields. This is often done from one mountainside to another. If affections continue and become serious, the couple enters into the trial marriage by living in the young man’s community. If the relationship falls out of harmony, the elders of the community confront the couple and suggest they separate. If a baby results, the maternal grandparents raise it. The young man and woman, now separated, are free to seek another union. This has been a successful custom in the highlands for centuries and persists despite opposition from the Catholic Church. IGMP

trophy heads: (n) A common motif element in pre-Incan art of South America, especially the Chavin and Tiwanako cultures. The tunic in the illustration below has a nonrectancular shape that conforms to the outline of the design. The imagery features an anthropomorphic head with fangs and elaborate facial markings. From its nose and crown hangs a grimacing trophy head with flowing locks of real human hair [which is hanging upside down]. TAI The depiction of trophy heads is most prevalent in Nazca art. Whether or not the heads were obtained during violent wars or ritualistic ones, it seems clear that they were a significant part of the religion, specifically in relation to fertility, and agricultural success. The presence of a severed human head is undeniably intimidating and powerful. While warriors may have used trophy heads to display their ability and power, there is little doubt that the primary use was a form of gifts to the gods. Trophy heads were incorporated into the notion that gifts to the gods would result in more fertile land, more food, and happier people. There could be no greater sacrifice than the gift of a person, and the Nazca presented the sacrificed human in the form of a trophy head. SWCC The taking of heads for ritual use has a long history in the central Andes beginning in the Pre-Ceramic Period (prior to 1800 B.C.) and continuing through Inca times. Almost every major culture in the long sequence for this area practiced this tradition, although each of these cultures had its own unique ceremonies and different ritual context in conjunction with head-taking. One of the most distinctive features of the Nazca Culture is the frequent depiction of severed human heads in the ceramic and textile art. Referred to in the literature as "trophy heads," these objects can be displayed either as single elements, held in the hands or attached to the belts of warriors or shamans, or associated with a wide range of "mythical creatures" who represent spiritual forces in the society. (See, weeping god for another depiction. The trophy heads are hanging from the elbows, a common motif.)

Tsugki (Shuar): The mythical first shaman whose home is at the bottom of whirlpools and rapids of great rivers and is the ultimate source of shamanic power. AYV

ttaqquerijaquitha (AYM): (v) To be close to the death. ASD

tucuna: (n) Conversion. RS Transformation. Crucial in understanding relationships among animate essences of inanimate substances and spiritual essences in interaction with soul substances. WCE

tukay: (v) To play music. QP

tukuy: (adj) Complete, fully developed. NND All, every, each, any, total. RS (n) All; everyone; everybody; everything. (v) (1) To be able to; to happen. (2) To stop; to end; to complete. (3) To consume; to spend. RS

tukuy gustuwan: (adv) With pleasure (sp). RS

tukuy hampeq: (n) A healer of the fifth level, a level not yet manifested; part of the Andean prophecies. KOAK One having the fully developed or complete healing power; refers to the fifth level of psycho-spiritual development and the healing abilities of the Inca Mallku. RS

tukuy llank’ayniyoc: (n) It is in this state of consciousness that we manifest, or co-create, the abundance of love from the Cosmos into this world of experience. Work is experienced as ultimate service to the Divine. You express your power through your service to yourself, your family and the community. IGMP (See, Three Inca Laws, tukuy munayniyoc, tukuy yachayniyoc, llank’ay.)

tukuy munayniyoc: (n) We are all one in the Divine Pacha’s consciousness of love. An attitude of acceptance and appreciation toward your fellow man, as well as the Cosmos. Focus on the positive, and avoid holding on to anger and resentment. IGMP Universal, impersonal, unconditional love. JLH (See, Three Inca Laws, tukuy llank’ayniyoc, tukuy yachayniyoc, munay.)

tukuy sunquwan: (adv) Literally, with all the heart. Attentively. RS

tukuy yachayniyoc: (n) If you refine your intuition to inner knowing with the love of munay and the service of llank’ay, you will experience the wisdom of yachay. This inner knowing from the authentic self will take you to higher levels of consciousness within yourself and all creation. There is a sense of inner peace and joy regardless of what events are occuring. IGMP (See, Three Inca Laws, tukuy llank’ayniyoc, tukuy munayniyoc, yachay.)

tumi: (n) A ritual knife of very ancient pre-Incan design.

tunchis (Amaz): (n) Spirits of the deceased. AYV

tupac, tupaq: (n) (1) A challenge. (2) The one who challenges. NND

Tupac Amaru: The last claimant to the Inca throne after the Conquest.  He led a revolt against the Spanish and was captured and beheaded, thus making him the leading contender to be the basis of the legend of the Inkarrí. MAN

Tupac Cusi Hualpa: See, Topa Cusihualpa Wascar Inca.

Tupac Inca Yupanqui: The name of the eleventh Inca king and son of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. MAN

Tupac Katari: The leader of the Aymara in the same rebellion against the colonial government in 1779-1780 in which Tupac Amaru led the Inca. IGMP

tupananchiscama: (expression) Until we meet again. This meaning includes meeting again on this level or on different levels of being. This is preferable to goodbye, which indicates an ending. IGMP (See, tupay below.)

tupaq: See, tupac.

tupay: (v) To meet up with. QP To grind or rasp. SIMA (n) (1) Shamanic confrontation. (2) The second stage of the Inca concept of relationship. (3) Conflict. QNO (See, take and tinquy.)

tupayauri: (n) A word combined from the Quechua word for royal (topa) and the Aymara word for copper (yauri), it was a wooden staff with a copper knife affixed to the top. The staff carried by Manco Capac when he went off with his brothers and sisters in search of a site to found his city. As they traveled he probed the ground with the staff, testing for arable land. At the cusco cara urumi he hurled the staff into the marshy ground and it disappeared. There he founded the capital city of the future Inca Empire -- Cusco. By this action, Manco Capac performed the godlike task of establishing the depth of waters, the irreducible task of any god who would claim the legitimate right to rule a new age. He did so by probing at the interface between this world and the world below, at a spring open all the way down to the sweetwater ocean of the underworld abyss beneath the celestial earth. In doing so, he replicated the foundation of the world at Titicaca. Manco Capac established the axis mundi of a new age by driving the tupayauri into the earth. It is the talisman of Inca invincibility. Pachacuti Inca was knocked unconscious in a battle with the Chancas, their archenemies. A voice from heaven asks him why he does not have the tupayauri. Rousing himself, he takes the staff in hand and rallies his men to victory. SIMA

Guaman Poma de Ayala’s drawing of
Manco Capac holding the tupayauri in his
right hand.

tura: (n) Male friend of a woman. QP

tusuy: (n) Dance. (v) To dance. PSL

tuta: (n) Evening, night. QP

tuta mikhuy: (n) Dinner. QP

tutallamanta: (n) Morning. QP

tutamanta mikhuna: (n) Breakfast. QP

tutaraq: (n) Early in the morning. QP

tutayay: (v) To get dark. QP

tuyuyo: (n) Jabiru mycteria, the wood stork or jabiru stork, makes its next in the lupuna tree and is the visible mama, or guardian, of the tree. AYV

The tuyuyo.