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Royal Condor

The creature that ascended to prominence within the ideological and spiritual fabric of Tiahuanaco culture was the Sacred Mallku: The Royal Condor

The condor stands in stark contrast to the Q’ente, the hummingbird, as the most revered bird across Andean cultures. Yet it holds a uniquely profound significance for Tiahuanaco.

They regard it as the bird of the sun.

An all-seeing eye that soars across the vast expanse of our earthly sky. It ventures into distant realms until it disappears or merges into the cosmic unity of Wiracocha.

Tiahuanaco’s spiritual animals

This lake, a divine source, cradled the people until the inevitable moment of their departure, destined to journey toward new lands, carrying with them the mission of expanding the consciousness of Wiracocha and his Solar wisdom.

Wiracocha is the being of polarity, the sovereign of both the heavens and the earth, the ruler of the right and the left, the masculine and the feminine.

He embodies the essence of time and space, the primordial force that sustains all dualities. In Tiahuanaco, Wiracocha was represented as a being of polar balance, his presence marked by the fiery energy of the serpent, symbolizing transformation and renewal.

But it was also the stable and steady form of the feline totem—the Puma—that captured his grounding nature.

Yet, it was the Condor who immortalized the Sacred Bird. This majestic creature became the eternal symbol of the divine flight, soaring through the heavens as a messenger of Wiracocha, carrying the wisdom of the sun across the vastness of time and space.

The condor’s wings, spread wide, served as the spiritual vessel through which the ancient knowledge passed down, forever linking the people of Tiahuanaco to their celestial origins and to the higher planes of existence.

If we have awakened your curiosity about this sacred animal, you may now embark on a mystical initiation by pressing the following button:

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References:

Merejildo, J.A (1997). The awakening of the puma. An initiatory path. Astronomical evidence in the Andes. Chaski. Cusco, Perú.

Many shudder at the sight of the serpent. It is an enigmatic creature, remaining oblivious to the profound meanings and spiritual symbolism it embodies.

The Serpent in Andean Cosmovision and Mythology

It held a sacred role, offering profound insights into life’s cycles, the interconnectedness of all existence, and the timeless essence of the cosmos.

The culture of Tiahuanaco preserved this evolutionary line and scattered its seeds to the valleys of Cusco. With the Incas, it maintained “the silence in its voice,” a voice that emerges and flows eternally through the centuries.

We awaken your curiosity, inviting you to begin an energetic transmission of the serpent.

Click the link below and embark on a powerful journey of transformation.

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References:

• Merejildo, J.A (1997). The awakening of the puma. An initiatory path. Astronomical evidence in the Andes. Chaski. Cusco, Perú.

Cusco, Living Culture

Qosqo is an ancient city founded by Manco Capac and shaped by Incas like Pachacutec. It endures into the 21st century, continuing the rules of its powerful past.

This incomparable city still lives under the early breath of the cold mountain mist. It continues to measure its time with the rise and set of the Inti (Sun).

Cusco lives its own life, and its destiny is intrinsically linked to ours. We all owe it our attention. We must ensure its survival and take an active interest in how it’s treated. From urban development to landscape, as well as in its reconstruction and restoration.

Principles of Andean People

Mother Earth is the one who gives life to man, she is the supreme divinity in our world.

Pachamama taught us to love everything unconditionally. She showed us that work is a great virtue, because by loving everyone and building with our work, we become wise.

Pachamama gave us these life teachings for our understanding; she gave us:

Rules of MUNAY (love)

Man does not need other laws or commandments, because LOVE makes us aware of the service that should always be the essence of the being

Rules of LLANKAY (work)

Since service is the consciousness of reciprocity or WORK.

Rules of YACHAY (wisdom)

Be sure that love and work will lead us to the higher consciousness of knowledge or WISDOM.

In our history these three laws appeard: “AMA SUA”, “AMA LLULLA”, “AMA QUELLA”. “Do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy.”

But, what reason would we have to teach a high society like the Andean one to “not steal,” if this society knows that everything belongs to Pachamama?

If this society lives by the communal principle of “all for one, and one for all,” if this society lives by the principle of service—”today for you, tomorrow for me”—what need is there to steal in a society where the child born will have their own land to work?

Why steal in a society where the possibility of dying from hunger was neither allowed nor imaginable, because food distribution and preservation were organized in an unexpected way?

We know that Mother Pachamama is the mother of purification, of cleanliness, and perhaps of forgiveness.

We have begun a new era, and in this era of light, all brothers and sisters are welcome.

Let us allow Wiracocha to touch our inner sun, so that love with consciousness may blossom, and we may become the people of the new time.

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References:

• Merejildo, J.A (1997). The awakening of the puma. An initiatory path. Astronomical evidence in the Andes. Chaski. Cusco, Perú.

Wiracocha is the creator, and at the same time, civilizer and civer of light to the world.

Wiracocha is God

When creating humanity, He ordered them to spread across different places—be they mountains, lakes, rivers, caves, etc. To turn these places of origin into sacred centers or Pakarinas.

Wiracocha represents the universe with all its manifestations, and Western religion has often confused and misinterpreted these, attributing a polytheistic concept of divinity to Andean spirituality.

Wiracocha is the invisible God, and His physical manifestation for the Andean people was Inti, the Father Sun.

Wiracocha’s names

• When people referred to him as the creator of the universe, they called him Wiracochayacháchic, meaning Wiracocha, the maker or teacher of the universe.

• When people said that he was Wiracochapachayacháchic, or simply Pachacamac, they meant that he was the teacher or creator of our land.

• They could also refer to his creative action in making humanity, calling him Runahuallpa (from *huallpani*: to form, to create, or to raise).

• Finally, when it was said Illa Tecce Wiracocha, it referred to his action of creating light.

Historical sources indicate that Wiracocha reached the Incas through the influence of Tiahuanaco. This god was the first divinity of the Tiahuanacos. He came from the famous Lake Titicaca, from where he emerged to create the sky and the earth.

Let us allow Wiracocha to touch our inner sun and awaken love with consciousness, so that we may become the people of the new time.

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References:

Merejildo, J.A (1997). The awakening of the puma. An initiatory path. Astronomical evidence in the Andes. Chaski. Cusco, Perú.

Rivara de Tuesta, M.L (2000). Pensamiento prehispánico y filosofía colonial en el Perú. Lima, FCE, Tomo I, pp. 98-132.

Master Raul in a cleansing ceremony

The other day we went to do a cleansing ceremony (Pichay) and a call for encouragement (Waqhay). Maestro Raul drove with caution in the busy Cusco morning traffic.

After our conventional conversations, I became very interested in his thoughts on the Catholic religion.

I mentioned how the white and red wine used in his ceremonies reminded me of church masses, which sparked our discussion on the topic.

He told me that as a child in the community of Kiko, he knew a Danish father who respected local traditions. This father wore an unku (bag), celebrated masses in Quechua, donned the community’s poncho, and chewed coca.

Paqos believe in Jesus and God

This is how the maestro Raul decided to become a catechist and says “I also like Jesus”.

Likewise, the teacher recalled his grandfather, who would exclaim prayers to the angels and the Our Father. He asked for blessings from above and the stars, emphasizing that we are united as Catholics and Paqos.

The transcultural clash between the Andean and Christian world was undoubtedly a struggle of dialogues and also of linguistic misunderstandings. Anyway states Brosseder, (2018) that the Andean and Catholic concepts were not very different from each other.

For Catholics, the entities centered on God, while for the Andeans, trust resided in nature (the sun, moon, huacas, and more).

I believe, like Raul, that there are no contradictions between the Christian and Andean traditions, especially in their ethical bases. The Andean man had to adapt and integrate elements to his already known rituals without losing that Andean logic.

Although colonial authorities viewed indigenous people as irrational and linked them to the devil, Favaron (2023) notes that they understood the fundamental tenets of the new faith:

to love your neighbor as yourself and God above all things (p. 77).

Author: Joan de la colina Román

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References:

• Brosseder, C. (2018). El poder de las huacas: Cambios y resistencia en los Andes del Perú colonial (R. Zeballos Rebaza, Trad.; Primera edición). Ediciones El Lector.
• Favaron Peyón, P. M. (2023). La cristiandad de pariacaca: Pedagogía y sincretismo en el Manuscrito de Huarochirí. Kipus: Revista Andina de Letras y Estudios Culturales, 54, 57-78. https://doi.org/10.32719/13900102.2023.54.4

The Apaza family teaches that they divide the Pacha (cosmos) into three parts: Hanaq Pacha (upper world), Kay Pacha (this world), and Ukhu Pacha (underworld).

This knowledge is also popular among the population of Cusco and also in the world.

Szemiński (2018) teaches that the cosmos can be divided into four parts, adding Qaylla Pacha, the world of limits, spaces, or passages between the other realms.

However, the author notes that no information about this has been found. Instead of contradicting, they suggest that this may reflect a deeper aspect of Andean philosophy.

Could this information have been lost during the colonization period?

Since 1572 the Jesuits when trying to collect and understand the Quechua and Aymara myths were not very open to the ideas, at the same time disputing with their own ideas and sometimes imposing and punishing the sorcerers (Brosseder, 2018).

A specific case is the myth of Huarochirí, noted for its authenticity. Favaron (2023) explains that it underwent narrative transformation due to Catholic pressure, reflecting clear biblical influences.

In this sense, the three Quechua worlds relate to the idea of the Christian Trinity.

However, as Panikkar (1998) notes, this trinitarian intuition appears in many cultures, expressed through various symbols. Its conception may differ, representing reality (the divine, the human, and the cosmic) or the human (body, soul, and spirit), alongside the familiar Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

What is Hanaq Pacha World for Apaza Family?

For the Apaza the Hanaq Pacha represents the world of the starts mama Chaska, the Pleiades or mama Qoto that are 7 ñustas, the music, as well as other constellations understood in the Andean world but also those that we do not know and are beyond, the Uqhu pacha the world inside, the underworld, where life arises to which we return after death. And the Kay pacha the land surrounded by the sea, the visible world (Szemiński, 2018).

Be that as it may it is one of the missions of the Andean tradition to remind today’s modern society the trinitarian idea is of vital importance, which according to Panikkar (1998) are guidelines of the given reality.

Where man is not enough, he needs other worlds to be able to realize his life in a better way. In this way we get as close as possible to the sense of the human being and his relationship with the cosmos and God.

Author: Joan de la colina Román

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References:

• Szemiński, J., Ziółkowski, M. S., y Wachtel, N. (2018). Mitos, rituales y política de los incas (R. Zeballos Rebaza, Trad.; Primera edición). Ediciones El Lector.

• Brosseder, C. (2018). El poder de las huacas: Cambios y resistencia en los Andes del Perú colonial (R. Zeballos Rebaza, Trad.; Primera edición). Ediciones El Lector.

• Panikkar, R. (1998). La Trinidad: Una experiencia humana primordial. Ediciones Siruela.
• Favaron Peyón, P. M. (2023). La cristiandad de pariacaca: Pedagogía y sincretismo en el Manuscrito de Huarochirí. Kipus: Revista Andina de Letras y Estudios Culturales, 54, 57-78. https://doi.org/10.32719/13900102.2023.54.4