The Andean time is not something that we “have” like a bank account that we can spend, lose, or invest. The runa lives in time just as they live in space.
Time is like breathing, the heartbeat, the ebb and flow of the tides, the change from day to night. Andean time is cosmic relationality, co-present with space or another representation of pacha.
The most important temporal categories are not advanced or delayed, nor past or future. They are “before” (ñawpaq) and “after” (qhepa).
Time has a qualitative order, according to the density, weight, and importance of an event. There is a time for sowing, for harvesting; there are ritual times for making offerings and payments to Pachamama.
Rituals and ceremonies are not neutral with respect to time; if it is not the right time, the ritual does not have the desired effect. There are also transitional phenomena related to time.
First, astronomical phenomena of change, such as the solstices, phases of the moon, but especially eclipses, sunrise, and sunset. At each sunset, the sun dies, and each sunrise is the celebration of its rebirth.
Curious fact of Andean Time
The popular handling of “time” is a confusing experience for a foreigner in Peru. The so-called “Peruvian time” is not simply a reflection of laziness, idleness, or failure to meet deadlines, but rather reflects a different attitude toward the concept of clock time.
The hour is considered “good” when it is the right moment; conversely, being on time is seen as the “bad” hour.
The expression “ahorita” does not reveal an immediate chronological relationship with an event, but rather something that is already present in experience, but that may actually happen in one or two hours.
It is interesting that in the English language, there is a phrase that expresses the same situation: “just a second.”
Reference:
- Esternmann, J. (1998) Filosofía Andina. Estudio intercultural de la sabiduría autóctona andina. Seminario San Antonio Abad, Cusco Perú, (pag. 179 -181).
