An account of an initiation into
ancient Andean spiritual traditions
during which we learn to tap into
and work with the natural energies
of the earth and the universe.
Hatun Karpay Initiation in Peru
PAGE TEN
HOW THE NEW INKA WAS CHOSEN
At the Wiraqocha Temple, Juan said we were going to follow the ritual patterns used hundreds of years ago when it came time for selecting a new Inka. This temple complex is where the new Inka was selected, according to Juan. Each of the 12 tribes or divisions of the Andean people had been assimilated into the Inkan empire with equal rights for each division. Priests were trained and facilities and temples were built as the Inka rulers discovered the unique energies of each place of power and amplified them by the buildings and rituals developed there.
At this temple complex there are 12 temples, each containing a right and left side. When time came to select a new Inka, many people from each of the 12 divisions traveled to this complex. There each division presented its most advanced and knowledgeable priest, a person who had attained the 5th level of spiritual development. Each nominee then occupied the particular temple that represented his tribe or group. Each priest then meditated and did certain rituals in his special temples.
When the time was right, the 12 convened in the center of this complex, performed other rituals, and then one of them would begin to glow - yes, his physical body revved up its vibes so that everyone could see it actually glowing! And thus, the new Inka arose spontaneously from the 5th level of the priesthood to the 6th level of Inkahood!
This story Juan told us conflicts greatly with the prevailing opinions of anthropologists and historians who believe that Inka rulership was determined by heredity, and that each ruler had chosen his successor from among his male offspring, usually the eldest.
For a good read about the Inkan civilization at the time of the Spanish conquest, Father Barnabe Cobo's writings of 1653 AD have been translated into English (see next paragraph). Father Cobo did almost no direct interviewing of the Andean indigenous peoples, even though he studied theology in Cuzco from 1609 to 1613. His writings are mostly compilations of older writings during and right after the conquest. Father Cobo didn't identify many of his sources, either, as scholarship in the seventeenth century was anything but exacting. Also, we must remember that these are writing about the Andean peoples from the viewpoint of the dominating Spanish Catholic hierarchy, which viewed many of the Andean practices and beliefs as heresy and devil worship and did their best to stamp out these practices.
The book: History of the Inca Empire: an account of the Indians' customs and their origin together with a treatise on Inca legends, history, and social insitutions. by Father Bernabe Cobo. Translated and edited by Roland Hamilton. U. of TX Press, Austin, 1979 (6th pb printing 1998)
But perhaps the priests of the Q'eros who told Juan these stories, and who claim to be the direct dcendants of the once very numerous Inkan tribe, know better the truths of the traditions they've been caretaking for 500 years, since the Spaniards arrived.
At the Wiraqocha Temple, the four Q'ero priests accompanied us in our rituals, following Juan's instructions, and becoming a valuable part of our group. They'd never been through these particular rituals before. In fact, Juan said that this ritual hadn't been performed for abour 500 years. Juan's master told him about it. During this telling, Juan said he had visions of the Inkans performing these rituals right here, even though at that time, Juan had never seen this temple complex! And now Juan has revived these in connection with his anticipation of the fulfillment of the Inkan prophecies about these coming times. More on these prophecies later.
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Juan gathered us in the central portion of the temple complex while he told us the above story. To get here, we'd walked along a straight passageway between six fairly large double-roomed temples, three on each side. The grassy central area was divided into four parts by the main axis path being crossed by a smaller path. At the intersection of these two paths the Inkans had outlined a large circular area with small stones set about the circumference. Opposite the six temples we'd walked past was another set of six temples. Each of these temples was divided into two rooms, the left and the right sides, each originally entered by its own doorway to the outside.
Juan directed each of us, except for the four Q'ero priests who remained in this central courtyard area, to select one of the temples and connect the energies of the right and left sides with ourselves. I decided to choose the very last temple, as I had to 'pay the rent' on the water I'd drunk earlier that day. When the people out in the countryside have to relieve themselves, they just choose a boulder or bush. They don't stand on ceremony--they have no toilet facilities. Juan told us that if we felt the need, and there were no facilities around, to just go ahead and do like the country folk do.
I meditated in each room of 'my' temple and connected my bubble with the whole temple complex and then with my individual temple and each room of the temple. Also I connected with Pachamama. It felt so peaceful inside 'my' temple. Its central wall was practically gone, but I tried to imagine what it must have looked and felt like 500 years ago. Now this temple is lodged in my memory as one of those 'safe havens' and I can 'go back' to it whenever I choose.
Funny how a sense of group timing develops. Just when I felt it was time to leave 'my' temple and join the group, Hendrik, who'd been meditating in the temple opposite mine, moved out of 'his' temple. So we walked slowly side by side down the central corridor. As we did so, others left their temples and walked toward the central courtyard.
Juan was standing in the central circle and motioned us one by one to stand around the perimeter. Each Q'ero priest stood in one of the four quarters of the courtyard.
When we'd all gathered, Juan directed us to go one by one to each of the priests and then return to our places in the circle. As each priest blessed us and combined energies with us, we were to draw the energies from our 'private' temples into the center.
The priests laid their hands on top of our heads. Since most of us were rather a bit taller than the priests, we had to bow our heads and lean over somewhat. The oldest priest, probably well up in his 80s, I felt had the gentlest energies of all of them. A lot of love came from him. I hoped I was able to return my own loving energies to him.
After we all, including the priests, formed a circle, we combined our energies into a group bubble. And then we pooled these combined energies into a saiwa, an energy column of sami rising clear to the upper world, the hanaq pacha, via our intent. I felt very powerful to be doing this, knowing that our efforts plus the efforts of all the groups who came before us and who will come after us are combining to provide the power for the coming manifestation of a new Inka and his consort, supposedly to occur about 2012 or so, according to the Inkan prophecies!
After building the saiwa we moved out of this complex of 12 temples to the largest temple. Only the central columns of this remains, plus the bases of 12 columns on either side of this 'wall.' Reminded me somewhat of the huge columns in Egyptian temples and I wondered what the energies of these columns had been.
(In the Egyptian temples, the rows of columns seem to act as energy 'batteries.' As my group and I passed through them, we could feel the energies still emanating from these massive columns after all these thousands of years.)
This central 'wall' consists of about 10 very tall square columns or pillars joined together by a thatched roof. Each pillar contains a window. Juan told us to pair up. Then one of each pair stood at each side of the first window and looked through to the partner. We exchanged energies with our partners via our qosqos. I felt the connections very strongly. We then moved to the space between this first column and the next, crossing over to the opposite side of the 'wall' to stand facing each other at the next window. Each pair of us, including the Q'ero priests, wove our energies together at each window, then crossed paths to repeat the ritual at each of the other windows, snaking back and forth from one side to the other.
When we reached the opposite end of the wall, we stood silently in a straight line while waiting for the rest to finish. As I meditated standing there waiting for the last people to finish and join us, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps we'd symbolically walked the DNA double helix, forming the rungs of the connecting ladders of amino acids when we connected with our partners through each window! This observation quite surprised Juan--and he said perhaps we had! He'd have to think about this, though. Juan loved to hear our individual perspectives, as quite often some of us thought of stuff that hadn't occurred to him or to any previous participants. Together we weave the on-going story, whether it's about our DNA or not.
Juan led us to five baths in another part of this vast temple complex and we connected our energies with each of these ñust'as. And then we hiked to another area. This area hasn't been reconstructed. It's a large bare area containing two squares and two circles delineated by only one course of stones each. Juan told us that these are the remains of masculine (square) and feminine (circular) temples. We would use them as the priests and priestesses used them 500 years ago, however.
First the group had to choose two men and two women to be the priests and priestesses, one for each temple. They entered their respective temples and Juan told them to connect their energies with those of their temples. As each of us came into their temples, they would be acting as transmitters so the energies of each temple would enter and flow through us.
Next Juan gave his mesa to another woman and told her to carry the mesa into each temple first and then to keep it, as afterwards she'd be taking the mesa around to each of us. He gave her further instructions, which I didn't hear. So she went first, followed by the rest of us one by one.
When my turn came, I entered the first masculine temple - and almost immediately lost awareness of what was outside the temple area defined by the square! The priest placed his hands on top of my head and I felt the energies begin to flow into me. Then with our intents we raised another saiwa to hanaq pacha. I felt these energies rising between and all around us. I assume they reached their destination. Each temple seemed to have different energies. I felt that the two feminine temples exhibited softer, yet more powerful energies than did the masculine temples. But then maybe I was just charged up by the time I got to the feminine temples.
As each of us finished, we walked over to Juan and formed a big circle. Juan and the four Q'ero priests had also walked through the four temples and received their energies. The four priessts and priestesses initiated each other and then joined us. The woman with Juan's mesa walked around the circle and placed it on top of our heads. I felt my heart center open up--and something like a condition of no time, no space came over me. I don't know how else to describe it.
Juan gave me a bagful of little square tiles or khuyas and asked me to give one to each person. He said these would form the basis of our own mesas as they were charged with his energies and the energies of this place! While I was doing that, Juan also gave out some more khuyas which he said were charged with his master's energies and also were to go into our personal mesas.
Knowing that the next Inka and his consort would rise spontaneously from those priests who had risen to the 5th level, one of us asked Juan if he knew of any priests who had already attained the 5th level. He said there is a shaman/priest who lives and works in the jungle who can heal instantaneously many times, but not every single time. Juan feels that this man is close to rising to the 5th level. But that's the only one that Juan knows about who seems to be that advanced. We shook our heads, not being able to imagine what life would be like in this 5th level of consciousness. After all, we were just trying to get used to living with the energetics of the 4th level!
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Page Ten
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Index ~
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Rainbow Rock
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Travel Tips
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Links 2 ~
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19 - Musings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Florence W. Deems
© February, 1999;
revised May, 2002; November, 2002;
May, 2003; March, 2004; February, 2008;
September, 2008; July, 2010; July, 2012
March, 2014
August, 2016, all rights reserved
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