Heart of the Sun Meet the Q'eros




Heart of the Sun
Meet the Q'eros


THE Q'ERO PAQOS OF COCHAMOCCO

Don Pasqual
Pampa Mesayoq and Ylloq'e

Don Pasqual, as his title implies, is a medicine man and a magician. The Pampa Mesayoq is a master of plant medicine. His magic and his status as an elder are distinct from his calling as a medicine man, though they are integral to it. Don Pasqual always prepares the despacho for Pachamama Mother Earth, when we are in ceremony together.

One time, in circle, Domingo (see below) was telling stories of the paqos of his village. When he came to Don Pasqual, he spoke of his life as a ylloqe, a great magician, who likes to manifest gems, rubies in particular. It sent chills up my spine, remembering the stories of St. Germain and other Ascended Masters. Truly, Don Pasqual is one of High Magic, but is most often remembered as the paqo who sits in ceremony as if he were in the deepest communion with Pachamama. I think it is safe to say that he is in such a state of consciousness. On the other hand, I have seen him become a complete trickster!

On the right side (in the Andes the left side is the magical and the right side is the practical), Don Pasqual is a great-grandfather, the husband of Doña Dominga, and somewhere around 90 years old with the energy and looks of a man in his early 40's in our culture. He and Doña Dominga are central figures in Cochamocco and their offspring form a large contingency in the community.


Doña Dominga
In Memoria
Doña Dominga took leave of the Earth December 9, 2003

Doña Dominga was said to be in her 90s. Like Don Pasqual, she sped ahead of us on our trek to Cochamocco with a heavy bundle on her back. We would find her waiting for us on a great rock in the sunshine, and as soon as we got there she would begin chiding us to get going again. She was a hard act to follow, any day of the week.

When Domingo was telling his stories, he had a good one about Doña Dominga. She had had a serious bout of pneumonia the previous rainy season from which she did not recover. She died. Because she was such a high paqo, her body was left alone for 5 days. She began appearing to villagers high in the mountains all around Cochamocco. At the end of those 5 days she came back to life and was sitting there in that circle with us. Now she has left us - a mission complete.

Doña Dominga had been struck by lightening once in her life - the mark of the paqo with "sight" and power. She had taught us about stillness, real power, mastery of the luminous field, sweetness and humility - all wrapped up in one tiny little woman. When we were in ceremony, she and Doña Julianna prepared the despacho for the Ñusta, the feminine spirit of the mountain. She and Don Pasqual have claimed a considerable part of my heart space. To me, they are my spiritual parents and revered teachers. They have earned this distinction without having taught me a single concrete thing in this reality - they have simply move energy. Though she has left the Earth realm, Doña Dominga's presence is felt within my heart and within the hearts of all who have known her.


Doña Julianna
Alto Mesayoq and Seer

Twice found and struck by the lightening, Doña Julianna became the high shamaness of the community. It was the decree of the lightening - the power that chooses the high paqos. She is young for her calling, beautiful and a mother of several children, including a handsome young boy named Zorro. Her husband is Domingo (below). With Doña Dominga's assistance, she honors the Ñusta when we are in ceremony together. She is sweet, decidedly surreal, and transparent - a truly mysterious woman. I suspect that the veil between the worlds is quite thin for Julianna.



Domingo

Domingo, shown with their most recent nephew whom we baptized, is the spokesman for the Cochamocco community. He has learned Spanish, shows quite an expertise on the right side or practicalities, and was the village representative at a peace conference held at the United Nations in New York City. He is the only member of the village to have left the country and returned with unbelievable stories of big cities...well you can imagine what impressed him. He is keen to visit the United States again soon.

Domingo interprets Quechua to Spanish when we are with the Q'eros and keeps track of all the food we bring and its distribution and right-sided things in general. When we visited last time, he was engineering the rebuilding of a vital little bridge in the community that was ready to wash away next rainy season. We have heard that they brought 30+ sacks of cement from Oncongate on llamas and that the bridge was secure before it rained.

Domingo is the son of Don Faviano who passed from this reality during rainy season 2001. Don Faviano was a completely salk'a (wild, undomesticated) ylloq'e - an incredible magician of light. Before he died, he passed his power to Don Pasqual and Don Benito (below). The legacy of magic continues.


Don Benito
Pampa Mesayoq

Don Benito is, perhaps, the happiest man on Pachamama. I have never seen him other than his usual joy-filled and energetic self. He is the brother of Doña Dominga and husband of Melchora. Hands down, he is the champion trekker of Cochamocco. The distance we trekked in two grueling days, he walks in 5 hours. In fact, he left Cochamocco in the morning to meet us at our first lunch site and walked backed to Cochamocco with us for a day and a half. What struck me was his unhurried nature while with us and how he could walk behind someone on a difficult piece of trail and magically support them. All the farmers along the way know and love him. If Cochamocco was looking for an ambassador, I would suggest Don Benito.

When in Cusco, Don Benito will always suggest climbing a mountain to hold ceremony, or trekking to some distant sight to see something he is interested in. More than any villager from Cochamocco, he is seen on the trails between Cusco and Cochamocco - a five-day walk. For him, it is an expressway!


Melchora

Melchora is the wife of Don Benito. She helps Doña Dominga and Doña Julianna with the Despacho for the Ñusta. When Domingo told his stories of the paqos, he said that Melchora was becoming clairaudient. She, he said, was out looking for the lightening to strike her that she might more fully come into her gifts. Well, now, there is a cultural difference for you!




Valerio
Walking Companion

I could not resist putting this photo of Valerio on this page. He is now a young married man. He is the grandson of Don Pasqual and has been my walking companion to Ausangate and from Cochamocco back to Pampacancha. Isn't he beautiful? I think he is hanging out with his grandpa in hopes of having some magic rub off on him. It seems likely that that will happen. The children of Cochamocco, for the most part, seem healthy and very happy. It may be that infant mortality has made it so, but that is the way in the high mountains. All of the families of the paqos seemed to be extraordinarily beautiful and transparent. It feels to me that they are in blessing with the Apus and Ñusta, the wind, the water and all that Pachamama brings their way. Valerio is the unofficial master of the internet on the computer at Hatun Q'ero the central village of Q'ero where the school is located.


Well, I hope you have enjoyed meeting these remarkable light beings. I have sure enjoyed sharing them with you. It is fun to know that when they are in Cusco, they can stop by the internet cafe and see themselves on the world wide web. It boggles the mind.

Gracias Wayki Q'eros!



Click here to see our Cochamocco Travelogue. Though we will not be returning there, it's a great pictorial.

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