kinship terms—machula (“ancestor”), apu (“leader”), awqui
(“grandfather”), and tío (“uncle”). In sum, mountains exhibit
a hierarchy that is analogous to social and political systems.
The worship of these mountains, then, made Andeans con-
scious of social, political, and natural systems.
EARTH SHRINES. Diviners are responsible for naming and
feeding earth shrines (huacas), which are pre-Columbian in
origin and are still ritually important. Earth shrines are natu-
ral openings or small holes dug into the ground through
which the earth is ritually fed. They are found near passes,
water holes, knobs, and rocks. Alongside the hole is usually
a rock pile, where Indians place their coca quids before fresh
leaves are put inside the hole. A shrine’s many names may
express history, humor, geography, and social relationships.
For example, one earth shrine is called Jilakata’s Recourse,
because it was once a rest stop for Indian officials on their
journey to pay tribute to the Spanish. This shrine’s knob sug-
gests its other names: Goat Corral, Bachelor’s Haven, Co-
itus, and Chicha (corn beer) Bubble. Another earth shrine
was formed, according to legend, when a certain leader ex-
pelled his sister-in-law from his land and set her upside down
alongside the road. She became a rock shaped in the form
of buttocks and a vagina. Today, Andean travelers place coca
in the crotch of this earth shrine. Other earth shrines are ded-
icated to irrigation canals, agricultural fields, and livestock.
An apacheta is an earth shrine at a mountain pass, that is, the
highest point of the trail. Travelers rest at these sites, discard
their coca, and pray, “With this quid may my tiredness leave
me, and strength return.”
Earth shrines are stratified according to ecological levels,
social groupings, time, and historical epochs. Individuals
have their own earth shrines; an Andean baby receives an
earth shrine at birth, and must reverence it throughout his
or her life. If they move from their natal village, they will pe-
riodically return to pay homage to their shrines, which con-
tinually beckon for their return until they die and are buried
with their ancestors near their sacred mountain. The patri-
lineage has its household shrines dug into the inside and out-
side of the house; the community has its shrine correspond-
ing to its level on the mountain; and the ayllu, an
economically and religiously related group of communities,
has its shrines up and down the mountain. Certain irrigation
canals have earth shrines that are associated with the Inca civ-
ilization, and, in many villages, the chapel in the plaza is
often interpreted as another earth shrine, reminiscent of the
Spanish conquest. Yet the earth is the center that perdures
through time, and that unifies the different places and earth
shrines.
RITUALISTS. Ritual specialists of the Andes fall into two cate-
gories: diviners and sorcerers.
Diviners. Andeans frequently consult with diviners, the
principal ritualists of the Andes. All Andean communities
have diviners. Although they are identified from within the
group by being associated with some extraordinary natural
event (commonly, a bolt of lightning), they are selected as
individuals for their divining skills. A typical diviner reads
coca leaves by first selecting twelve perfect leaves. He marks
them with insectlike bites and designates the significance of
each: good luck, bad luck, community, road, a person’s
name, enemies, or whatever concerns the person paying for
the divination. He then casts the leaves, like dice, upon a
cloth to see which leaves pair with good luck and which with
bad luck. If the cast is unfavorable, the participants often
argue about the outcome and require another cast. Because
coca leaves usually do not fall in a conclusive way, diviners
are free to suggest their insights. There are many kinds of di-
viners: Some read the signs of nature and predict when to
plant and harvest, others are skilled in social dynamics and
redress conflicts, and still others understand human prob-
lems and treat mental illnesses. A few possess mystical knowl-
edge and can reveal the inner nature of the Andean universe.
Such people are highly esteemed, and Andeans travel long
distances to seek them out.Diviners conclude divinations with ritual meals (mesas),
which are the basic rituals of the Andes. Although mesas vary
regionally, they follow a similar pattern. A diviner sets a table
(mesa) with a ritual cloth and scallop shells for plates, each
of which is assigned an achachila and an earth shrine. He
places a llama fetus at the head of the table for Pachamama.
Next, the diviner places white llama wool, coca, llama fat,
carnation petals, and animal blood on the scallop shells, be-
seeching the invited deities to accept the offerings. The par-
ticipants imitate the diviner. There are other ritual foods, de-
pending upon the ecological zone, but the three principal
foods are coca, which symbolizes knowledge, fat, symboliz-
ing energy, and blood (preferably from the llama), symboliz-
ing vitality. Finally, the diviner wraps the food with the wool
to make about twelve bundles (kintos) and ties them to the
back of the llama fetus. The diviner places this in an earth
shrine, and burns it, which symbolizes the consumption of
the food. Andeans say that if the fire sparkles and crackles,
then Pachamama and the achachilas have enjoyed the meal
and will repay them with a good harvest.
Sorcerers. Sorcerers are different from diviners. Divin-
ers are usually male and feed the earth shrines with llama fat,
llama fetuses, and white llama wool at specific times—
Wednesday and Thursday nights. They are ritualists for ac-
hachilas, Pachamama, and earth shrines. In contrast, sorcer-
ers are often female and feed the wind and river with pig fat,
rat fetuses, and black sheep wool on Tuesday and Friday
nights. They are ritualists for the supaya, a term that has often
been equated with the Spanish concept of the devil, although
it actually refers to certain of the dead who either have not
completed something in this life or have died in a strange
fashion. The supaya belong to the netherworld of the dead
(ura pacha), but they act in the world of the living (kay pacha)
as living shadows. Supaya enter the world of the living to
gather companions for the netherworld. Symbolically, they
represent the consumptive forces of nature, such as death and
decay, which are necessary to renew life. When someone is8616 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS: INDIANS OF THE MODERN ANDES