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

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varayoq: See, warayoq.

vegetal (Span): (n) Another name for ayahuasca. AYV

vegetales que enseñan (Span): (n) Plants that teach. See, plant teachers. MSIN

vegetalista (Span): (n) Indigenous healer who employs plants. By far, in the Peruvian Amazon, most are ayahuasceros. You can only become a good vegetalista by keeping a diet or fasting for years, then you become one that knows the science of the muraya, of the sumiruna, and of the banco, which are the three highest levels in the traditional vegetalista medicine in the Amazon. These differentiated levels are not consistent throughout the Amazon, and are in places used interchangeably. AYV

vicuña: (n) (Vicugna vicugna) is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the altiplano. It is a relative of the llama and the alpaca. Vicuñas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every three years. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña's fur is very soft and warm. It is understood that the Inca raised vicuñas for their wool, and that it was against the law for any but royalty to wear vicuña garments. Both under the rule of the Inca and today, vicuñas have been protected by law. Before being declared endangered in 1974, only about 6,000 animals were left. Today, the vicuña have recovered to about 125,000 individuals and are still considered endangered. WIKI

Vichama: See, Wichama.

vilca, villca: See, willka. ROR

Vilcabamba: (n) [Since there is no “V” or “B”  in Quechua (entering the language from Spanish) it would be in the original Quechua Willkapampa, literally meaning sacred ground or sacred valley.] The last stronghold of the Inca and a spiritual center. The shamans of Vilcabamba are very pure in their medicine. JLH Last stronghold under Manco Capac after his rebellion against the Spanish. (See, Appendix H, willka, and Espiritu Pampa.)

Vilcanota River: See, Willkamayu.

vinagre bully (Span): (n) Medicinal vinegar, sprayed to counteract the power of a visiting shadow. Like rubbing alcohol, it is used to despachar after a ritual cleansing (limpia). GOL  

Viracocha: See, Wiracocha.

virapirico: See, wirapirico.

virola (Amaz): (n) A type of entheogenic snuff. AYV

virote: (n) A magical dart often thrown by a sorcerer with the intention of causing illness or death. Such malevolent darts are made from the thorns of various plants and trees, the beak of certain birds, the fangs of snakes, or the hair of the casha-cushillo. AYV The magic construction of virote with the impeccability of the healer transfers an amount of sober and compassionate energy (dart) into the patient, sticking it on top of a negative imprint. SPP A sharp object that can be made from either thorns like the ones of the huiririma (Astrocaryum jauari), the huicungo (Astrocarium vulgare), and the supay-casha caspi (unidentified); animal bones or teeth (for instance, a piranha tooth), usually employed by brujos to cause harm or to kill. Virotes can be active or passive depending on whether they are meant for offense or defense, respectively. EMM They are phlegms that penetrate the body of the victims. MSIN See, mariri, yachay (def.2), chonta.

virtud (Span): (n) Virtue; spirit-power. GOL

viscacha, vizcacha: (n) Rodents of two genera (Lagidium and Lagostomus) in the family Chinchillidae. They are closely related to chinchillas and look similar to rabbits, apart from their longer tails. They are found in the Andes, the pampas of Argentina, the Peruvian Andes and in the Atacama desert of Chile. WIKI They sit like monks muttering incantations to the sun. WNET

vision (Eng): (n) It is the opening of the sixth sense, or the power to visualize things [during journey or a shamanic session].  The shaman sees real life as if it were a scene on television as well as symbols or lights. It is the unfoldment of oneself across time, distance, and matter, not sight as we commonly refer to it. You do not see with the eyes but you see cerebrally, you see internally. All of the five senses manifest themselves internally -- not in a physical fashion, but within: smell, vision, all of them. Your spirit, your double, your personality has unfolded and you are elsewhere. Your being is not seeing from here. The eyes at that moment are turned off. WOFW (See, Appendix I, seeing, and vision..)

vista (Span): (n) Sight; vision. Ability to see into the spirit world and to perceive objects and events that exist beyond sensory reality. GOL (See, Appendix I, seeing, and vision.)

vista en virtud (Span): (n) The visual manifestation of an encanto. GOL    

vllitatatha (AYM): (v) Open the eyes. ASD

vma (AYM): (n) Water. ASD

vraque (AYM): (n) Ground or Earth. ASD

vruquipatha (AYM): (v) To enter the day before the rising of the Sun. ASD

vrutati pacha (AYM): (n) Time of great ice. ASD

vrutta (AYM): (n) Full Moon. ASD

vtucani layca, vtcani layca (AYM): (n) A professional sorcerer, professor in the art. VLA In a contemporary context, the word carries a malevolent connotation. FPRA