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Yacana: (n) The Llama, one of the dark cloud constellations,
or Pachatira, recognized in Mayu. MAN
ROR
yacarca: (n) A diviner by fire. They were greatly
feared by the Inca as well as by the
rest of the people, and wherever he went, the Inca took them with him. IRC
Yacumama: See, yakumama.
yachaj: See, yachaq.
yachachi,
yachachej: (n) Teacher. HOI
yachachiy: (n) A principle, a teaching.
(v) To teach. PSL
yachachiykunawan
tratokunawan: (n)
Doctrine and covenants (sp. trato). PSL
yachai
sami rumi: (n) A shaman's stone that contains the kawsay of a dead shaman, a spirit, or a
soul, or some combination thereof. AYV (See, yachay,
sami, rumi,
khuya, encanto.)
yachakuy: (v) To learn. PSL
yachana:
(n) Schooling. RS Cultural knowledge which the
individual must balance with ricsina. WCE
See, also, yachaq.)
yachana
wasi, yachawasi:
(n) Schoolhouse. RS The boys of the nobility were
sent to a school where they were taught by carefully chosen tutors. Garcilaso tells us about their
educational philosophy in the words of Inca
Roca, “It is not licit to teach the children of low people [the runa] the sciences which pertain to the
noblemen and to nobody else so that, as lowly gentry, they do not rise
and become proud; it is becoming enough that they learn the trade of
their parents, since the science of government does not belong to the
plebe…”
yachanaway, yachay: (v) To learn. RS
yachapu: (n) A
know-it-all. DYE
yachaq, yachaj, yacha: (n) The one who knows; the possessor of
knowledge.
IGMP The one who balances ricsina with yachana,
and muscuna with yuyana. WCE One who knows, master teacher
of the Andes. ANON1
yachay,
yachai: (n) (1) Wisdom, the impersonal application of knowledge. Head,
intuition, seeing. Shamanic yachai is the wisdom of open
spaces. There is nothing out there for you to discover because it is
already known. The power of intellect grounded in experience. AVO
JLH The attribute
of wisdom that involves acquiring knowledge beyond intellectual
understanding. PSPM (See, llank'ay and munay.)
(2) A magical phlegm the novice vegetalista
receives (as an empowerment) at some point in the initiation, either
from the senior shaman or from the spirits. It is then coughed up as
needed during ceremonies, acting as a magnet to attract a virote, which is then sucked out by the
shaman. It also stores a sorceror's
virotes and marupas. As yachay increases,
the vegetalista gains increasing access to the underwater world. AYV (See, also, yausa, mariri.)
(3) The
upper energy center comprised of chakras
six, seven and eight. JLH (adj) Wise, intelligent. PSL

Don
Dimitrio [the teacher] regurgitated during a ceremony what looked like
a small coiled millipiede! When I met [the initiate], he confirmed it
was like a physical thing, and he still feels it inside him. The yachay
received by [another initiate] was passed on to him by smoking a pipe
filled with flowers of a special plant that don Ruperto gathered from
the river, once they naturally fell in water. The dry flowers were
mixed with mapacho (and we don't know
what else) and smoked. This was the way don Ruperto himself got his
second yachay, and passed it on to [initiate], who maintains that the
yachay received directly from the mouth of the maestro is weaker
and less effective than the one that is obtained by smoking the pipe. EMM

yachaynin: (n)
Knowledge. DYE
yachaypak: (adj)
Able to learn. DYE
yachayniyoj: (adj) Wise, intelligent. PSL QP
yachayniyoj
palabra: (n) A
word to the wise (sp). PSL
yacu: See, yaku.
yagé,
yajé: (n) See, ayahuasca.
yagecero: See, ayahuascero.
yagé
del monte: (n) Banisteriopsis
inebrians. Another plant of the same genus as ayahuasca (sp). DYE
Yagé
Woman: (n)
According to Tukano belief, she is directly responsible for providing
the Amazonian tribes with yajé, or ayahuasca.
Impregnated by the sun, when her son was born she rubbed him with
leaves from special plants until he shone bright red. She then took him
to the first men, each of whom claimed to be the father and each taking
a piece of the child. Thus each tribe acquired the plants used to make
the psychedelic brew. MAN
yahuar, yawar, llawar: (n) Blood,
blood lineage. PSL RS
yahuar-piripiri: (n) (Eleutherine bulbosa)
The spirit of this plant is the yahuar-toro
(blood bull); its icaro serves as a cure
for those who suffer mal aire or who
have been harmed by the ayañawi, ch'ullanchaki or maligno. AYV
Yahuar
Huacac: Also known
as Inca Yupanqui, was the legendary seventh Inca
king, probably sometime in the 14th Century. MAN

His name means weeps blood.
He was the ruler who wept blood and who kept weeping blood every time
he had some political difficulty. Naturally it is very difficult to say
with any degree of certainty just what was ailing him. Chronicler Salinas y Cordova states that the
Emperor “wept blood when he was born and every time he made sacrifices
to the Sun god.” Father
Bernabe Cobo says that “whenever he was overcome by his enemies, he
would weep blood.” Most other sources agree that he wept blood for the
first time when he was kidnapped by the political enemies of his
father, whereupon he was immediately returned to his home lest the gods
would destroy those who dared put their hands upon him. DYE

Yahuar
Huacac, from a drawing
by Felipe Guaman Poma
de Ayala.
yahuar
raymi: See, raymi yahuar.
yaku, yacu: (n) Water; spirit of
water element. RS
All
bodies of water are feminine. When water falls vertically to the ground
as rain, it is considered masculine. IGMP
yaku-lancha: See, supay-lancha.
Yakumama, Yacumama: (adj) Left,
feminine, magical. (n) A giant anaconda, the mother (spirit) of waters,
mother of rivers. Deity of the river. This mythical being lives
exclusively in the water. RS
Yakumama
means Mother of the Water. This water goddess was portrayed as
a snake. When she came to the earth's surface, she transformed into a
great river. She could also pass to the upper world. In that shape she
was called . MJO She is a huge anaconda
thought to live at the bottom of lakes and rivers. It's the water
counterpart of what the Sach'amama
is on earth. EMM The Yakumama can dive deep
into the water and become a submarine or travel on the surface of the
water as a steamboat. AYV An ancient legend refers to
two mythical serpents who operated on all three levels of the universe.
[See, Hanaqpacha, Kaypacha,
and Ukhupacha.] They both began in the
Ukhupacha. When they reached the Kaypacha, Yakumama crawled and was
converted into the Ucayali River. Upon
reaching the Hanaqpacha, Yakumama turned into lightning and was called
Illapa and was god of the storm, thunder, and rain. The three worlds
were united by these serpent gods of water and fertility. WOFW See, Wayramama
for definition and another picture, mama, purahua.)

Yakumamas.
Detail from a painting by Pablo Amaringo, an ayahuascero, of one
of his visions. Here, the mamas are guarding the gates of a golden city beneath
the waters, into which a muraya is being
led by two mermaids. The mamas are
guarding the city with their tongues, and they capture anyone who tries
to enter
by force. Yakuruna can be seen eating
fish (lower right corner). AYV
yaku
phajchay: (n)
Waterfall. PSL
yaku
puma, yana yaku
lobos: (n) Giant river otter, also called a water jaguar and river
wolf. Black water wolves used by healers as guards of the aquatic hark'anas because they move very quickly
in the water. AYV

Reaching
2 meters and 30 kilos in adulthood, the yaku puma
was called water wolf by the Spanish.
yakuruna, yacuruna: (n) Mythical
amphibious, humanoid and hairy (ape-like) water denizens, who, along
with mermaids and the pink river
dolphin (bufeo colorado), help the jungle vegetalistas. Yakuruna are reputed to
kidnap people to keep as consorts, taking them to their underwater cities. They use boas stretched between
trees as hammocks, turtles as benches and their shells as sandals,
alligators as canoes, and pink dolphins as horses and messengers. Very
powerful and sovereign in their water environment, they can shapeshift
at will, ascending to the highest clouds to cause storms. Responsible
for tearing up large trees with heavy arms, they are also responsible
for the whirlpools which overturn heavily laden canoes. There are
several types of yakuruna: masha
yakuruna, taksha yakuruna, yana-sacraruna, puka-ninaruna. AYV The yacuruna are very often
associated and even identified with the bufeos
(considered malignant beings). MSIN (See, pictures at jenin-yushinbaon carcel and yakumama.)
yaku
warmi: (n)
Underwater spirit wife of a vegetalista.
(See, warmi.)
yana: (n) (1) Girl-friend;
boy-friend. RS
(2)
An Incan serf. GPA (adj) Black. RS
Dark,
obscure. ACES Sometimes translated as black;
however, in the Quechua conception of light or color classifications,
yana is thought of as dark (or obscure) in opposition
to light, rather than as black opposed to white.
ACES
yanachakuy: (n) (1) Wedding. QP (2) The Andean ritual for
joining together two different energy bubbles. (See, yananchaku,
masichakuy, yanantin, masintin.)
(v) (1) To come together in marriage. (2) To drink the second glass of
alcohol. RS
yana
chunpi: See, chunpi.
Yanahuanga,
Yanahuanca: See, Chaparrí.
yanakuna, yanacona: (n) Literally, the
blacks (yana = black + -kuna, plural suffix). The
servant class in Inca society. The association of the color black was
with people who had no kinship to the Inca
ruler, not with race. The yanakuna were the male equivalent of the akllakuna, although their tasks were mainly
secular. They were not necessarily of low status; some scholars see
them as the beginning of an upwardly mobile middle class. CSCR Slaves; people forced to
compulsory service for the landlord; home servants. RS Servants and artisans. WOFW
yananchaku: (n) Union. RS
yananchanakuy: (v) To meet, reunite. RS
yanantin: (n) Unconscious side.
Relationship of dissimilar energies. Harmonious relationship between
different things; what we usually conceive as opposites the Incas conceive as complements; ie, male and
female, light and dark, right and left. A pair; bride and groom. RS
ROR “Yanantin is
the ring, masintin is the resonance
inside the ring.” Yanantin is also a similar quality or equivalence.
The zero point of this is hapu. JLH What we usually conceive as
opposites the Incas conceive as complements. NND
yanapay: (v) To help, assist. QP
Yana
Phuyu: (n)
Literally, dark cloud. (1) The collective name for the dark
cloud constellations within Mayu. MAN Pachatira are still thought
of as animal constellations. The movement of the dark cloud
constellations across the sky is used to predict zoological cycles on
earth and to time fauna-related activity. This traditional knowledge
was kept by the Misminay. MAR They are listed here in the
order in which they rise along the southeastern horizon (see fig.
below): Mach'ácuay (Serpent), Hanp'átu (Toad), Yutu
(Tinamou), Llama, Uñallamacha (Baby Llama connected to
mother by umbilicus), Atoq (Fox), and Yutu
again. ACES (2) "We've known that it
[dark matter] exists for more than 25 years," says astronomer Virginia
Trimble... How can astronomers be so certain of something they have
never seen? The answer comes from observations of how stars and
galaxies move.... Within spiral galaxies, individual stars and clouds
of gas are orbiting faster than they should if they were only being
affected by the gravity of the galaxy's visible matter. The same is
true for clusters of galaxies: The motions of individual galaxies can't
be explained by the gravity of what astronomers can see. To
explain these observations, astronomers have deduced that galaxies are
surrounded by vast halos of a different, unseen kind of matter. This
so-called dark matter is invisible to us because it does not radiate
energy. But it does have mass, and that means it can supply the extra
gravity necessary to hold galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, together.
Even in the bizarre world of cosmology, it's a strange proposition. WSC1 Mysterious dark matter is
spread around the universe just like regular matter... The studies show
that both forms of matter work in concert to build delicate filaments
(see, ceke)
in space, with dense junctions where galaxies cluster together.... The
resulting structures look something like spider webs... [D]ark matter
and galaxies trace out the same shapes and structures. They become
sculpted into nearly identical sheets and filaments, with vast expanses
of near-nothingness in between. WSC2 Astronomers have deduced that
galaxies are surrounded by vast halos of a different, unseen kind of
matter. [See,
image below of such a halo.] Dark matter is invisible and
non-reflective, it cannot be seen directly. The technique astronomers
used to find the ring pictured below is called gravitational lensing.
No one has ever seen dark matter. LAT1 Dark cloud constellations are
located in that portion of the Milky Way where one sees the densest
clustering of stars and the greatest surface brightness and where the
fixed clouds of interstellar dust (Pachatira)
which cut through the Milky Way therefore appear in sharper contrast. ACES

(Def.
1) The Yana Phuyu as viewed from Misminay. ACES


[IMAGE LEFT] (Def. 2) A ring of dark matter.
This ripple of dark matter was formed by the collision of galaxy
clusters. (Hubble). [IMAGE RIGHT] (Def. 2) Although shaped like
a kidney, the dark cloud known as Barnard 68 appears to beat like a
heart, pulsing once every 250,000 years.
Yana
Puma: (n) (1) The
black jaguar. (2) The black jaguar that
mythically lives both on earth and in water and is considered by
Amazonians to be a bridge between the two elements. It is destructive
and voracious. Its icaro is used for mal aire and to put an hark'ana on the newly born to ensure
strength, to make it easy for pregnant women to give birth, and as a
defense when one is attacked by a sorcerer
during a trance. She can make people sleep in order to devour them. AYV

Yanapuma, the black jaguar.
yana-saqraruna: (n) Literally, black
evil people. This type of yakuruna
is so named because he is a practitioner of black magic. His sole
purpose is to kill, and he take great pleasure in causing riverbanks to
collapse. The yana-saqraruna is an ally of the sorcerers. He lives in the deepest,
darkest caves of the underwater world
and uses a red conch as a fan to cast his evil spells. AYV
(See, saqra.)
yanaymi: (n) My equivalent one. JLH
yana
yaku lobos: See, yaku puma.
yangunturo: (n) Priodontes maximus.
The giant armadillo of the Amazon, also called Carachupa Mama. AYVThe Giant Armadillo can grow
up to 5 feet in length and weigh up to 130 lbs. The Giant Armadillo
population covers a wide area. Although most are found in the Amazon
Basin its territory stretches from North Eastern Venezuela and South to
parts of Northern Argentina. Its habitat is varied and they have been
found in floodplains, tropical and subtropical rainforests, dry
woodlands and even up to 1500 feet above sea level. A large population
of termites and ants is a prerequisite for Giant Armadillos inhabiting
an area. It is thought that they live in an area of about 2 square
miles. Once a Giant Armadillo encounters a termite mound it will
completely consume all its inhabitants. It is thought that Giant
Armadillos can swim but generally they stick to dry land. They are
usually loners only meeting up with others to mate. They are nocturnal
and spend the daytime in burrows which they dig with their strong legs
and extra long claws. The Giant Armadillo can stand on its hind legs
and reach into the higher parts of termite mounds if it has to. Usually
when they have destroyed a termite mound they bury themselves beneath
it and stay there for some time before moving on. The Giant Armadillo
has a bony shell which covers most of its body, its head and other
extremities can be hidden underneath the shell when attacked by a
predator. They also have a very big central claw.
IPT

A
yangunturo, or giant armadillo.

A
Venezuelan bank note honoring the yangunturo.
yankallan: (adj) Free, no cost. QP
yapanapukuna:(n) All the holy mountains. JLH
yas: See, borrachero.
yatichatha (AYM): (n) Teach. ASD
yatichiri (AYM): (n) Teacher. ASD
yatiña
(AYM): (n) Science. ASD
yatiri: (n) Medicine woman from the Island of the Moon
in Lake Titicaca. They are known to
melt lead and drop it into cold water, divining
forms and invoking Koa. JLH
Special Aymaran diviners who ascertain the future through the medium of
coca. A yatiri may locate lost
or stolen property, divine the outcome of a marriage or trading
venture, discover infidelity, or tell whether a sick person will live
or die. Much attention is also paid to dreams. WOFW (See, Appendix B for map of Lake Titicaca, yatichatha, yatichiri,
yatiña.)
yausa:
See, yachay.
Yauyos: (n) One of the legendary
lineage ayllus of Cajatambo. MAN
yawar: See, yahuar.
yawarchay: (v) To bleed. QP
yaya: (n) Priest, God. QP
yawning (Eng): (n)
Once a mesa [def. #5] has begun, yawning is
a sign of daño. GOL
Yaya-Mama: (n) Literally, Father-Mother.
A religious tradition which endured for centuries (ca. 800 B.C. to ca.
300 A.D.) and that unified the diverse peoples living around Lake Titicaca for the first time. It
is named after a tall carved stone monument from a site at the Northern
end of the lake. Because it displays stylized male and female figures
on opposite faces (see image below), this monument is called the
Yaya-Mama stela. The beliefs were perpetuated by the Tiwanako cultures and later repeated by
the Inca. The longevity of Yaya-Mama aesthetic forms reflect the depth
and power of the ancient beliefs and practices. TAI (See, lo
andino.)

The
Yaya-Mama stela which gave the religion its name. TAI
yclesia (AYM): (n) Church/sacred
place (sp). From Spanish iglesia.ASD
ychurichuc: See, ichuri.
yellow
ayahuasca: See, cielo ayahuasca.
Ynti: See, Inti.
yerba
del moro hembra, and yerba
del moro macho (Span): (n) Achyranthes obovata and Achryranthes
rigida, respectively. Both specimens are employed in decoction to
lessen bleeding. Crushed with salt, they are applied to lessen bloody
hemorrhages and heal ulcers: the poultice is changed every 24 hours.
The natives heal bruises and cuts of the feet caused by by splinters
when shoes are not worn. REPC
yoc, yoq: (n) The power subscribed to and that flows through
the shaman. JLH
-yoc,
-yoq: (suff) With;
possessing; having; having as property. RS
yocalla (AYM) : (n) Young man. ASD
yoq: See, yoc.
yoco, yoko: See, huarmi-yoco.
yonque: (n) Cane
alcohol. GOL
yoqsi: See, lloqsi.
yuca: (n) Manihot
esculenta, also called manioc, tapioca (predominantly in India) and
manioc root,. Native to South America, it is extensively cultivated as
an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible
starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates and gluten free.
It differs from the similarly spelled yucca. Cassava, when dried to a
powdery (or pearly) extract, is called tapioca. Cassava root is a good
source of carbohydrates, but a poor source of protein. Cassava is
classified as sweet or bitter. Like other roots and tubers, cassava
contains antinutritional factors and toxins. It must be properly
prepared before consumption. Improper preparation of cassava can
leave enough residual cyanice to cause acute cyanide intoxication and
goiters, and may even cause ataxia or partial paralysis. [emphasis
mine] Cassava must be cooked properly to detoxify it before it is
eaten. A safe processing method used by the pre-Columbian indigenous
people of the Americas is to mix the cassava flour with water into a
thick paste and then let it stand in the shade for five hours in a thin
layer spread over a basket. In that time, about 83% of the cyanogenic
glycosides are broken down; the resulting hydrogen cyanide escapes to
the atmosphere, making the flour safe for consumption the same evening.
Cassava root has been promoted as a treatment for bladder and prostate
cancer. WIKI 

Yuca, or cassava, is native to South
America.
Now grown all over the world,
it is the source of tapioca. Larco
Museum
yumbo
(Ecua): (n) A fierce native of the jungle. Villagers dress as Indians
and “attack” the loa and the patron of a
festival by throwing sugar and candy, trying to hit their faces and
draw blood. TAV
yunka,
yunga: (n) (1) Jungle, forest. PSL Coastal valley; jungle;
forest. RS (2) Named
after the low valleys of the Pacific coast, the yunka were people
adapted to hot and either dry or humid climates, biologically fit not
only to withstand high temperatures and dehydration or dampness, but
possessing a long-standing, inbred immunity to malaria and many other
tropical diseases common to those areas. DYE See,
climatology, quechua (def. 2), colla.
yupana: (n)
Literally, counting tool. The yupana is a device used by the
Incas, presumably as a type of calculator. According to Spanish priest
José de Acosta (1590), “In order to carry out a very difficult
computation for which an able computer would require pen and paper,
these Indians make use of their [maize] kernels. They place one here,
three somewhere else and eight. They move one kernel here and there and
the fact is that they are able to complete their computation without
making the smallest mistake. As a matter of fact, they are better at
practical arithmetic than we are with pen and ink. Whether this is not
ingenious and whether these people are wild animals let those judge who
will! What I consider as certain is that in what they undertake to do
they are superior to us.” Researchers believe that such calculators
were based on Fibonacci
numbers to minimize the number of necessary grains per field. WIKI Click here to download an article regarding the
mathematics of this device. See, also, quipu and Appendix C.

Yupana
in a display case. WIKI
yupaycatha (AYM): (v) To honor. ASD
yupaychana: (n) Punch'ay, sabbath. QP
yupaychay: (v) To honor, to worship. PSL
yupaychay
wasi: (n) Church,
temple. QP (See, wasi.)
yura-aya:
(n) Literally, plant (or bush) spirit. This creature has four
horns as antennae that pick up all kinds of supernatural bodies. (See, picture at allpa-pishco.) AYV
yurag: (n) Plant spirit.
yuritha (AYM): (n) Birth. ASD
yuruhuacta: (n) Solanum
luteoalbum. The
natives of Peru apply the leaves upside down to bring ulcers and sores
to a head. When applied under side down, the leaves are believed also
to heal sores. REPC

Yuruhuacta
leaves (left, EOL)
and flower (right).
Yutu,
Yutu-Yutu: (n) The tinamou (a partridge-like bird), Eudromia elegans
– one of the pachatira, or dark cloud
constellations. MAN One of the Yana Phuyu. The Yutu of Quechua astronomy
is equivalent to the Western constellation of the Coalsack (one of the
few dark spots recognized and named in Western astronomy). The
partridge-like yutus resemble a game bird with short legs, compact body
and small head with slender neck. They lay eggs of all the colors of
the rainbow. In Mayu, which is considered
the equivalent of of a nocturnal rainbow, Yutu is located at the top of
the arc. ACES

A yutu,
or tinamou. One of the most ancient living groups of bird,
they are most closely related to the flightless ratites and first
appear in the fossil record in the Miocene epoch. They are
generally sedentary, ground dwelling and, though not flightless,
when possible avoid flight in favour of hiding or running away from
danger.
yuya:
(n) Wisdom, primary meaning. Acquisition of knowledge through
observation and knowing. One of the major organizing principle(s). (See, saiwa,
munay, nuna,
chekak, ch'ulla, kallari,
kawsay.) JLH
A
root word common to concepts like soul, thinking, imagination,
remembrance, decision, learning and many others related to
psychological functions which not only gives us an idea of the richness
of Quechua, but also of the knowledge which the Incas
had about these functions. DYE See, words
below beginning with yuya.

All
the derivatives of the root yuya always related to the
activities of the mind. Only occasionally one sees the root uma
– which signifies head – in reference to concepts which present
knowledge ascribed to this area of the human organism. DYE

yuyacuni: (v) To
decide. DYE
yuyachiq, yuyacheq: (n) Reminder;
remembrance. RS
yuyachiy, yuyachina: (v) To remind. RS
yuyana: (n) Memory, idea;
supposition. RS Learning, which the
individual must balance with muscuna. WCE Imagination. DYE
(See, also, yachaq.)
yuyani: (v) To
think. DYE
yuyaq, yuyac, yuyak: (adj)
Thoughtful. Judicious. DYE (n) (1)
Adult; elder and wise adult. RS A thinker. DYE
(2) Soul. DYE [The word
for soul here is also the word root for other words about
mental functioning. In English, the Greek word psyche is a word
used the same way. Psyche originally meant spirit or soul, but
is now used (some would say politically redefined) as the function of
the brain. -- Patt]
yuyarayani: (v) To
memorize. DYE
yuyarini: (v) To
meditate. DYE
yuyariy: (v) To remember. QP
yuyay: (n) Thought, memory. (v) To
think, to remember. PSL
yuyaychini: (v) To
remember. DYE
yuyaynin: (n)
Thought, intelligence. DYE
yuyay
pantay: (n) Mental
confusion. QP
yuyayquy: (n) Advice. QP
yuyayukuy: (v) To realize. QP
yuyaychay: (v) To counsel. QP
yuyaychaj: (n) Counselor. PSL