coca
16 October 2006
the curandero, simón, paid me a visit this morning in my room, minutes
after i woke up. last night i bought a bag of coca leaves in preparation
(we had coordinated this morning´s reading at the techamiento yesterday
afternoon). as he came into my room, guillermo brought in a special
blanket for simón to sit on, and another blanket in which to wrap the coca
leaves. sitting on his knees with the coca laid in front, simón began by
explaining the different kinds of leaves: those that represent male and
female, good and bad wind, etc... all in dichotomous pairs. after showing
me the basic 4-8 leaf types, he pushed them all into their blanket and
folded it up. he proceeded by saying prayers, mixing the ancient incan
coca tradition with catholic/latin "spiritus sancti" type prayers. he then
blew on the blanket of coca, and had me do the same. he laid out the
leaves in a pile, and immediately found the leaf that represented me. i
thought it was quite a good representation. but thought was not my role in
this ceremony. my role was to be receptive to the reading that lay ahead.
today´s theme was school and occupation, and i told him my desires to be
both a doctor and a religious leader. so, after laying out the two leaves
that represented each of these fields of study and career, he proceeded by
grabbing small handfuls of leaves and allowing them to drop from his hand
on top of each of the two fields. we proceeded in this way after asking
various questions about my role in each field. the coca leaves that
dropped determined my future in the two fields. overall it basically
determined that i would not be satisfied being a religious leader alone -
i would want something more as well. and, while medicine suits me, i have
much studying yet to do, for i am at this point very little prepared for
the field. he then had me put the mail center of leaves in my mouth, while
he grabbes a handful to take with him to the fields for the day as he
tends his vacas. we will continue again with the same coca batch and a new
theme in a few days.
currently reading: The Holy by Daniel Quinn
the curandero, simón, paid me a visit this morning in my room, minutes
after i woke up. last night i bought a bag of coca leaves in preparation
(we had coordinated this morning´s reading at the techamiento yesterday
afternoon). as he came into my room, guillermo brought in a special
blanket for simón to sit on, and another blanket in which to wrap the coca
leaves. sitting on his knees with the coca laid in front, simón began by
explaining the different kinds of leaves: those that represent male and
female, good and bad wind, etc... all in dichotomous pairs. after showing
me the basic 4-8 leaf types, he pushed them all into their blanket and
folded it up. he proceeded by saying prayers, mixing the ancient incan
coca tradition with catholic/latin "spiritus sancti" type prayers. he then
blew on the blanket of coca, and had me do the same. he laid out the
leaves in a pile, and immediately found the leaf that represented me. i
thought it was quite a good representation. but thought was not my role in
this ceremony. my role was to be receptive to the reading that lay ahead.
today´s theme was school and occupation, and i told him my desires to be
both a doctor and a religious leader. so, after laying out the two leaves
that represented each of these fields of study and career, he proceeded by
grabbing small handfuls of leaves and allowing them to drop from his hand
on top of each of the two fields. we proceeded in this way after asking
various questions about my role in each field. the coca leaves that
dropped determined my future in the two fields. overall it basically
determined that i would not be satisfied being a religious leader alone -
i would want something more as well. and, while medicine suits me, i have
much studying yet to do, for i am at this point very little prepared for
the field. he then had me put the mail center of leaves in my mouth, while
he grabbes a handful to take with him to the fields for the day as he
tends his vacas. we will continue again with the same coca batch and a new
theme in a few days.
currently reading: The Holy by Daniel Quinn
posted by Gabriel Klapman | 7:40 AM
1 Comments:
Two things: I know Hugo and his family listen to the Beatles and other music because we listened to my mp3 player when I was there. They know lots of Spanish rock. Never heard the "devil music" comment while in Chijnaya, even though I played American and Spanish music in one of my classes. It's kinda funny!
BTW, Simone will always tell you one of two things: Either your problem is due to "bad wind" or "everything will work out" after a little hardship, that is. :-)
Be careful though. If you have bad wind, Simone may want to kill a couple of cuy, put their carcasses on your feet and confine you to your room for a couple of days. This was a cure recommended in June for one of our short-term volunteers. He didn't go through with it. :-)
Kate
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