THE INVISIBLE WORLD OF THE INCAS.

The Inca flourished in the Andes Mountains of Peru in South America. They had a grand empire stretching from present-day Colombia to Chile.
Worshiping the Creator was very important to them and they held a very elaborated system of beliefs.
Their divinities actually represented a number of shifting and overlapping divine powers. They were closely linked to astronomy and tied into their everyday life as well as with their government.
Their gods occupied 3 different realms: the Sky (Hanan Pacha, the Inner Earth (Uku Pacha), the Outer Earth (Kay Pacha).
Above the Earth were the heavens. They, like the earth, were divided into 4 quarters with a very complex geography separated  by a giant cross formed by the Milky Way as it passed through its zenith. The movement of astronomical bodies through the 4 quadrants determined the Inca agricultural and ceremonial calendars.
The Earth, like the heavens, were divided into 4 quarters, whose dividing energy lines (ceques) intersected in the city of Cuzco. Each divine energy line (ceque) belonged to one of the quadrants and the care of each sacred placed (huaca) containing the divine energy (ceque) on each quadrant was assigned to a particular group of people able to deal with this type of energies. In this way the ceques helped to coordinate social relations among people, as well as to organize their agricultural and religious festivals. The ceques also served as sight lines for very specific astronomical observations. The city of Cuzco was the center of their universe.
The heavens contained a Creator-Sky-Weather complex with 3 principal components: Viracocha, the Creator; Inti, the Sun god; and Illapa, the Thunder god or Weather god.
The most important female supernatural forces were Pacha Mama, the Earth; Mama Cocha, the Sea; and Mama Quilla, the Moon.
The Incas would fear lunar eclipses as they believed that during the eclipse, an animal spirit (mountain lion or serpent) would attack Mama Quilla, trying to eat her alive. Consequently, people would attempt to scare away the animal spirit by throwing weapons, gesturing and making as much noise as possible. They believed that if the animal would achieve its aim, then the world would be left in complete darkness.
A lunar eclipse was understood as the passing of the spirit of the Moon directly behind the Earth and into its shadow. This would occurre only on the night of a Full Moon. The type and length of the lunar eclipse depended on the Moon proximity to the 2 points at which its orbit intersects the ecliptic. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth completely blocked direct sunlight from reaching the moon. The only light reflected from the lunar surface was the one refracted by Earth's atmosphere. As sun light penetrates the Earth's atmosphere, the gaseous layer filters and refracts the rays in such a way that the green to violet wavelengths on the visible spectrum are being scattered more strongly than the red, thus giving the Moon a reddish cast.
The views of the Inca about the Afterlife was very optimistic as they believed that the protective spirits of their ancestors played an active role in the world of the living. They were able to reveal themselves through the sacred places known to them as "Huacas" and they were cared for and respected by their descendants.
The Inca Empire was moved by very strong moralistic rules, and they believed the souls of the virtuous joined the Sun in heaven. Those souls had plenty to eat and drink. These souls were able to remain connected to their descendants, and their lives continued much as they had on earth. The souls of the evildoers went to the underworld (inner Earth), a cold and barren place.

APU CON TICCI VIRACOCHA, the Creator God.

Apu Con Ticci Viracocha (lake, foam, or sea fat) was the full name of the supreme god of the Incas. He was considered the creator god and the father of all other gods. Because his name was sacred he was most often referred to by using descriptions of his various functions, these included "light" (Ilya), "beginning" (ticci), and "instructor" (Viracocha Pacayacaciq).
It was believed that human beings were actually Viracocha's 2nd attempt towards the creation of living creatures as he first created a race of giants from stone in the Age of Darkness. However, these giants proved unruly and it became necessary for Viracocha to punish them by sending a great Flood. In the legend all these giants except 2 then returned to their original stone form and several could still be seen in much later times standing imposingly at sites such as Tiahuanaco and Pucara.
Then Viracocha created men and women but this time he used clay. He also gave them such gifts as clothes, language, agriculture and the arts and then he created all the animals. Then Viracocha decided to create the sun, moon and stars and so bring light to the world. These heavenly bodies were created from islands located in the Titicaca Lake. Viracocha finished his creation and highly satisfied with his labor, he then set off to spread his civilizing knowledge around the world and for this task he dressed himself as a beggar. He was assisted in his travels by 2 sons or brothers. The god was not always well received despite the knowledge he imparted, sometimes even suffering stones thrown at him. Ending up at Manta in Ecuador, Viracocha then walked across the waters of the Pacific Ocean heading into the West but promising to return one day. In his absence lesser deities or powers were assigned the duty of looking after the interests of the human race but Viracocha was, nevertheless, always watching from afar the progress of his children.
Viracocha was an androgynous deity, created or formed by itself (hermaphrodite). In art Viracocha is often depicted as an old bearded man wearing a long white robe and supported by a staff. One of his earliest representations is the weeping statue at the ruins of Tiahuanaco, close to the Titicaca Lake, the traditional Inca site where all things were first created. Here, sculpted on the lintel of a massive gateway Viracocha holds thunderbolts in each hand and wears a crown with rays of the sun while his tears may represent rain or sorrow. This is the reason that Viracocha is related to the power of the heart and mind aiming the welfare of his people.
Viracocha was actually worshipped by the pre-Inca people of the Andes before being incorporated into the Inca pantheon. In Inca mythology Viracocha gave a headdress and battle-axe to the first Inca ruler Manco Capac and promised that the Inca would unite all the Andean people into one before them. The god's name was also assumed by the Inca known as Viracocha ruler of the Inca Empire and the god was formally worshipped from the Inca capital of Cuzco towards the 4 corners of the Inca Empire (a famous sculpture of pure gold was held in his temple), and he still is one of the most important deities venerated by the Andean people of today.

HALLUCINOGENS VS SPIRITUAL HEALING.

The profound impact of hallucinogens on the brain has been laid bare by the modern brain scans of people high on the consumption of them. The images of the alteration in the connectivity of the neurotransmitter systems that are involved in the regulation of a wide range of psychological, emotional, and cognitive processes, have given an insight into the neural effects produced by the use without any inhibition of the most known hallucinogens compounds of today in the world market.
The hallucinogens unleash a wave of changes that alters the activity and connectivity across the brain creating visual hallucinations and a false sense of oneness with the waves that comes from regions that are segregated and never speak to one another. The usual connections in the brain called the visual cortex at the back of the head that forms a network of information that normally processes the visual information become more separated in a change that accompany the users feelings of oneness but in this case the oneness with the network that controls the world in a dangerous and at the same time an unseen reality. The user senses a profound effect of loss of personal identity becoming a wanderer in a process called "ego dissolution".
In the Spiritual way of healing the concept of using hallucinogens is in a totally different scenario.
First it is derived from spiritual and religious practices that are bound by laws that are fundamental in the dealings with the aspects of human nature and consciousness.
Second, the engagements in psychological and mental changes as a result of fasting, overnight dancing, extensive singing, drumming, the use of beverages, etc., help people in their process of understanding and respecting mutual laws. The whole process give us an insight of the profound change that people are going to experience. The person in charge of it is with enough authority to represent us in a world that is unseen to us, and our souls and identities are protected in every angle without the risk to become a wanderer in a world that we do not know.
Third, the effect underlies numerous mechanisms that provoke alterations of consciousness in an elicit way integrating all the waves produced by the mechanism of operation in an  integrative mode of consciousness that enhances processes of ancient brain systems.
Fourth, the responses obtained in this way provide adaptive effects in moderating emotions and enhancing integration in the pursuit of the normal unconscious brain processes.

THE MEANING OF THE NAZCA LINES.

The Nazca lines are ancient geoglyphs located in the Ica region, in the Palpa and Nazca valleys, 280 miles South of Lima. They are drawn across the deserts and hills along the Eastern coast of Peru at the edge of the Western Andes at 2,000 feet above sea level. To reach them by road, travelers can take inter-provincial buses from the cities of Lima, Arequipa and Cuzco. There are no scheduled commercial flights to Ica.
The interesting figures of different designs on the surface of the desert, made over several centuries, are been related to an astronomical map that deals with an agricultural calendar that indicates sacred routes between Nazca religious sites. The weather was essentially important in their religious beliefs and vital to successful agriculture in their arid plains. They were very aware of the forces that were active in the universe and the required balance needed between them in order to preserve the force of life through the proper established time to harvest crops and the arrival of the rainy season. The only way of communication that the astronomers of the ancient Nazca people found available was through the performance of rituals over the sacred shapes that took the form of animals, plants or geometric patterns.
The lines were made remarkable easily by removing the oxidized surface rocks which lay closely scattered across the lighter colored desert pampa floor. They can easily be made by a single individual in a few days. One experiment illustrated that a small team could clear 16,000 square meters of desert in a week. The aridity of the desert has preserved them and many can still be seen today. The lines appear in great number closer to settlements and river courses. Most designs are only visible from the air but some were made on hillsides that are able to radiate and so made them visible from the ground (62 such points have been identified).  They were made with the purpose of directing travelers to the proper religious paths that needed to be walked repeatedly during their religious rituals, specially the trapezoids shapes that usually point in the direction of sacred water sources.
The creation of such large and impressive figures that are between 165 and 985 feet long, is made possible by carefully increasing the proportions taken from a small scale model. The mystery of these geoglyphs  lies in the complexity of the process used to create them on the ground; they are very stylized and each is drawn with a single unbroken line. In total, more than 300 examples of geometric, animal and human figures have been identified and collectively cover over 640 square kilometers of desert land. The shaped lines never cross each other and usually have a different starting and ending point. Many of the designs also appear on Nazca textiles and pottery decoration.
The hummingbird figure is the most well known of all the geoglyphs, due to its harmonic dimensions. The wingspan of the hummingbird is around 216 feet.
The first researcher to study the Nazca lines was Julio Cesar Tello, a Peruvian archaeologist, who in 1929 described them as "sacred highways." Maria Reiche, a German archaeologist, interpreted the Nazca lines and geoglyphs as a gigantic solar and lunar calendar for ancient Peruvian astronomers.

THE KERO AND ITS REMOTE HABITAT.

The Andean people comprise a large number of ethnic groups who inhabit the Andean Mountains in present-day Peru. The Andean cultures developed here for thousands of years before the invasion of the Europeans in 1532.
The Kero are the Andean people of Quechua ethnicity who live in one of the most remote places in the Peruvian Andes in the province of Paucar'Tambo, one of the 13 provinces in the Cuzco Region in the Southern highlands.
The Kero live in an area that stretches over several climates, with elevations from under 1800 meters to over 4500 meters. Their one-room houses are not larger than 20 square meters, and they are made of clay and natural stone with roofs of hard grass. Depending on the climatic zone, corn and potatoes may be grown, while the only means of transportation, the llamas, are kept in the high areas. The fields are plowed with a type of foot-plow tool named "chaqui taclla."
According to the 10-year census, there are six major villages, which are home for 600 Kero people and approximately 6,000 llamas and alpacas. The travel-time on the mountain trails between villages ranges from only an hour to a full three-days journey. The lower areas of the community are inhabited seasonally, in order to till the fields; accordingly the housing there consists of temporary huts made of clay and branches.
The Kero people practice an active tradition of oral literature, with stories passed down from generation to generation. According to Kero mythology, their ancestors defended themselves from the invaders with the aid of the spirits of the local mountains that devastated the European army near the pampa of Viracocha by creating an earthquake and subsequent rock-slide that buried the invaders.
The Kero people do not practice any particular religion, though they are highly spiritual. Their beliefs are not dogmatic. There are no shamans among them, as they are more mystical than shamanic level.
They call their spiritual leaders 'paqos," a term that may be translated as "priest" or "practitioner."
A major distinction between mystic and shamans is that shamans need to enter a trance state which is induced by either a medicinal plant, dancing, drumming, meditation, or some other type of transformational activity that allows the practitioner to transcend into a trance-like state in order to heal or diagnose disease.
According to Kero's myth, until now there were two great ages that replaced each other by big turning points in history (Pacha'cutec) while a new age is still approaching. During the first age, the time of the first men, only the moon (Quilla) existed. Within the first big turning point of history the sun (Inti) made its appeareance and dried out the time of the first men. The Inca was the son of the sun (Inti) and father of the Inca and therefore ancestor of the Kero people. When the Inca founded the city of Cuzco by throwing a golden rod, a new civilization arose. The current age was initiated by the arrival of the Europeans and the violent death of the Inca. This age will end with another turning point when the Inca returns converting the souls of everything into gold and silver. The sun will burn the world with bad people while good people will ascend to the sky.
The Kero people live in complete balance and respect for all living things (reciprocity). It is based on the idea of always giving and knowing that in the end you yourself will receive. Reciprocity (ayni) is also practiced with the spirit world and this puts one into the right relationship and harmony with all living things. The spirit of life around them is what they respect and honor. They understand deeply the balance of nature, its power and beauty, otherwise they could not exist in such a harsh and difficult environment in which they are enclosed like a walled spiritual city.

THE ANDEAN SACRED PLANT: COCA.

The Coca plant is native to the Andean Mountains of South America. It plays an important role in the Andean societies who live on the Eastern slopes of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia that chew the leaves as a way of life in the high altitude in which their communities are placed.
The knowledge of the sacred Coca plant's virtues has been passed on from generation to generation by way of mouth without any formal knowledge of chemistry. The plant has been used by the Andean people since ancient times.
The leaves are selected or chosen by their high concentration of sweet, aromatic compounds which give a better flavor in the mouth when the chewing process is on. It is still a common practice for a mother to introduce her young to the consumption of the coca leaves by preparing a wad of leaves in her mouth and then transferring it to the mouth of her child. First by chewing the coca leaves they are moistened by the saliva and easily broken facilitating the removal of the stalks and strings. Then a pinch of lime prepared from calcinated seashells, plant ashes or bicarbonate of soda is added pinch by pinch, until the proper mixture is achieved. The amount of lime is critical to the taste and to the concentration of alkaloid released. The wad of leaves is then kept relatively still between the teeth and the cheek; it is sucked on rather than chewed. When the mother transfer the wad from her mouth to the mouth of he child, the proper amount of lime will be presented in the first wad of leaves the child uses, which ensures that the first experience with the coca leaves will leave a positive introduction. Since lime is caustic, an excess will burn the mouth. The process itself involve the extraction of alkaloids from the leaves making them alkaline. The lime is the mechanism by which absorption of the alkaloids could be controlled. Thus, if while chewing the leaves a little too many alkaloids were released, one had only to easy up on the lime and let the saliva wash out some excess lime into the stomach. The lower concentration of lime would result in a slower absorption of alkaloids.
The same cautious and selective procedures are taken when the Coca plant is used in conjunction with other medicinal plants as a natural health enhancer and in the strict context of religious rituals for their various psychoactive effects that target certain neuronal receptors that alter perception, emotion and cognition.
The Coca plant began to be used for negative purposes at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, the leaves with high concentration of the alkaloid used as the raw material for cocaine production were selected. The ones with the very low content are the sweet and flavored ones used for chewing.
The sweet and aromatic leaves help to maintain the teeth and gums in a good state of health; they also keep the teeth white. They are rich in vitamins, particularly thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin C.
Coca tea has a beneficial influence on respiration and is said to effect rapid cure of altitude sickness. It also rids the blood of toxic metabolites, especially uric acid.

SACRED BURIAL SITE OF THE ANDES.

The ancient Andean people and after them the Incas looked after their ancestors in their afterlives and sought their guidance for their living descendants. The use of elaborate tombs and mummification rituals shows the high degree of interaction with the process of passing away or the cross over to the spiritual world. The philosophy behind the scene is that the living world was less important for them comparing it to the acquisition of powers in the unseen world.
As woven bridges braided over raging waters, defined the ancient Andean people as the ones who loved to connect the spectacular andean geography, so their healers were able to create bridges to connect the vast unseen world.
Ancestor reverence for the ancient Andean people then were not the same as the worship of deities. They were seeing as being able to intercede on behalf of the living. As spirits who were once human themselves, they were seeing as messengers, being better able to understand the human affairs than would a divine being. The act of reverence also taught the way to respect, honor, and loyalty.
The contrast between the ritual attention given to the fathers of the culture and the lack of attention received by the mother at childbirth were explained by the different responsibilities each of them had in the generation of the soul and body of the new-born individual. In other words, greater ritual attention was given to the fathers of the culture because the soul of a child was entrusted to them as a cultural realm, while the lack of attention given to the mother was linked with the body as a natural realm with which she was entrusted. It is important to understand this institution in relation to kinship and alliance system.
One of the most important burial grounds on the Andean Plateau, that contains cultural traditions, is located in the Pichacani district in the province of Puno. It belonged to the Lupaca and Colla cultures . The rock art is about 8,000 years old. There are also remains from the age of the Incas. Chullpas (Aymara language) are found there.
Chullpas are ancient Aymara large funerary towers made of stones and placed in a way that they dominate the landscape across the Andean Plateau (Altiplano) in Peru and Bolivia. The tallest are about 12 meters/39 feet high.
The tombs at Sillustani, built above the ground in tower-like structures, are the most famous, on the shores of Umayo Lake in Atun'Colla of the Puno region. The lake is located at an alevation of 3,844 meters/12,612 feet and is about 8 kms/5 mi long and 3 kms/1.9 mi wide. The structures housed the remains of complete family groups.
The tombs, although mute remains, provide the most tangible evidence of the kind of beliefs rooted in the Andean population from very ancient times. It can also act as a linkage to the establishment of the line of continuity like an umbilical cord between the past and the present time.