Heart of the Sun
Expedition to Cochamocco
INTO THE HEART OF THE ANDES
Apus Yananti
Our 2001 Journey
On our third day of trekking through some of the most beautiful country in the world, we cross Q'atacocha pass to behold the great Apu of the Cochamocco village - Señor Apu Waman Lippa. When we made this journey July 2001, there had been unexpected snow the day before we arrived, making the summit both amazingly gorgeous and a bit hard going. Ordinarily it never snows or rains in July. As you can see, it was spectacular and the llamas carrying our gear were enjoying it as much as we. Our group had just come up steadily from a small village, Anacasi, where several walking trails cross in these remote valleys. Ahead of us was a trek down into the valley of Cochamocco - a walk of about 3 hours. There we were greeted by a circle of the men, including Don Pasqual who had come with us from Cusco with his wife, Doña Dominga. He had hurried on ahead to prepare the village for our arrival. We were offered 6 varieties of tasty hot potatoes wrapped in mesa cloths as a welcome.
The valley is completely surreal, as if we had walked into the alpine version of Shangri-la. As you can see in our title photo, the low clouds roll in from the jungle which is beyond the far chain of mountains in that picture. Llama and alpaca herds graze on the steep hillsides along with a few sheep. We were taking a walk in the village on one occasion (an aerobic venture by any measure) when we were suddenly overtaken by the clouds. Cloaked in invisibility, we made our way along the village paths until the clouds suddenly receded and reality returned.
Let's face it, we have too few opportunities in life to experience these magical wonders of nature. The Q'eros experience them every day.
In all of the lands of Q'ero, five villages spread out in these high mountains, there are around 700 men, women and children. This is what is left of the Incas. They live in simple one-room stone dwellings which have thatched roofs and all-important hearths fueled with dried brush and dung. Their homes are windowless for added warmth and resistance to the elements. During the day, we found the older children tending the herds while the younger ones stayed close to mom. We found women weaving, sorting potatoes, washing clothes in the stream and gathering fuel. The men tended the larger projects, like rebuilding a bridge, keeping up corrals and so forth.
Here was a beautiful young family, the son of Don Pasqual and Doña Dominga, his wife and two children. The women's traditional dress is typical of the region. However, aside from the Q'eros, you will seldom see men in the traditional dress - black woven pants to just below the knee. The Q'ero men might have on a western type shirt and sweater with a poncho as outwear. The women wear the layers of wrapped black woven skirts with colorful borders, layers of sweaters and a traditional weaving pinned around their shoulders. Men and women both wear felt hats. The men will have a colorful woven hat beneath it. Children are miniatures of the adults without the felt hats!
We spent our first full day in community celebration with the people of the village. Our pack horses had been loaded with many sacks of grain, dried milk, and other food for the village. This was our Ayni to the village for the privilege of staying amongst them and of having known and worked with their shamans for many years. To my way of thinking, it is a humble offering of energy exchange (the meaning of ayni, to keep energy in balance) for the sacrifices they have made to secure the passage of the truth into the future that is NOW. All of us brought gifts to pass out to the children, women and men as well. It was a great give-away. Some of us were still game for a walk through the village to see the houses of the shamans who have been our teachers.
On our last day in Cochamocco, we were taken to a sacred place high in the mountains below Señor Apu Waman Lippa. We sat in circle at their high altar, participating in ceremony with the six shamans of the village. Three despachos were prepared; one for Señor Apu Waman Lippa - prepared by Don Benito, one for the Ñusta (the feminine spirit of the mountain) - prepared by Doña Juliana and Doña Dominga (with help from Doña Melchora), and a third for Pachamama prepared, as always, by Don Pasqual. There are hundreds of despachos in the Andes for different healings - all ways to balance the energies. When we are in ceremonies with the Q'eros we are receiving major cleansing and shifting of our assemblage points - our luminous fields.
My experience working with the paqos (shamans) of Cochamocco has taught me about the movement of subtle energy in the light matrix of Universal filaments - God to the shaman - The All That Is. Don Pasqual has a high degree of Mastery in this skill - it is really mastery of the Sixth Dimension, Energy (Light). He is a high magician (ylloq'e) in this regard, and yet, if you were to take him at face value, you would judge him to be a poor Indian who speaks very little. That is because many of us do not understand the silent language and we cannot comprehend invisibility. I suggest you read The Brotherhood of the Magi to learn more about the filaments and those who touch the infinite. Though Don Pasqual is not a model for Don Eduardo in that book, he is such a ylloq'e.
In these ceremonies, which are not at all solemn occasions, we put our intent in the kint'u, an offering of coca leaves. These are then arranged as part of the despacho, along with a myriad of herbs, little candies, llama wool, wine, string and whatever the particular despacho calls for. We bring the despacho packages from the bruja market in Cusco along with a huge bag of coca leaves - another gift for the villagers.
Having sat in circle with the Q'eros on all of my many journeys to Peru, I can tell you that it is a festive occasion but one of great mystery. We are not fully conscious of how they are moving the energy in our fields though some of us get quite a jolt from the limpia (cleansing) that accompanies the ceremony. But oftentimes, especially for first-timers, we finish our journey and return home to find that we cannot recapture our old life. We are in a new place, with new parameters, new beliefs and a shiny new assemblage point. Understand that you are agreeing to such a transformation by coming on any journey and allow for the change to avoid a crash and burn re-entry. Perhaps you can sense the magic around the despacho for Pachamama that I have included here.
When our three offerings were complete, we were cleansed with them before they were sent on their way through the transformative power of fire. Don Benito, who prepared the despacho for the Apu is shown here performing the ceremonial burning. It is through this transformation with fire that we completely received the despachos' gifts of energy into our luminous fields (and into our realities). On each and every journey to Peru, we meet with the Q'eros to participate in these ceremonies, but it was particularly powerful to be with them at their high altar above their village and below Señor Apu Waman Lippa.
The night following ceremony, we were offered coca leaf divinations from Don Pasqual (abstract to say the least) and were divided into small groups to have healings with the Shamans. These were individual despachos, meant to move energy in our luminous field specific to our divination reading. Our journey home began the next morning close to noon, and we made good time trekking to our starting point in two days. This year we plan to take three days on the return trek.
When we left Cochamocco at the end of our three-day visit, Doña Dominga assured me that I was coming back (I thought to ease my sorrow at leaving her - my spiritual mother, well into her 90s). To her "sight", I credit our enthusiastic return to Cochamocco in 2005,. Even with all the training and logistical nightmares that accompany a trip like this one, and the passing of Dona Dominga the December before our return, each day brought untold blessings. Gracias, Wayki Q'eros! Love in big bundles, Jessie
With the exception of the unquestionably surreal title photo, which was taken by Liew Seow Lew, the photos on this page were taken by Javier Casapía Salas on the 2001 expedition. Javier has since passed to the other side continuing an afterlife of great adventure.
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Copyright © 2001 by Jessie E. Ayani. All rights reserved.