The Living Inca Heritage

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The Living Inca Heritage by Peter Cloudsley

The Living Inca Heritage by Peter Cloudsley: Published in Geographical Magazine. 

INCA and pre-Inca cultures are generally assigned to the realms of history,incarnate only in Machu Picchu and other famous sites. Yet the Peruvian Indians have doggedly preserved some of the ritual beliefs of their ancestors through fiestas, in spite of attempts to suppress them by colonial and religious authorities.

Peter Cloudsley is carrying out research for the Museum of Mankind on Andean musical traditions in southern Peru and the expedition on which this article is based was funded in part by the Emslie Horniman Anthroplogical Scholarship Fund and the Rivendell Trust.

Peter Cloudsley is a musicologist and writer who, since 1980, has created an archive of traditional music and interviews in Peru and collected for the British Museum. He published A Survey of Music in Peru in 1993, and two CDs: Fiesta Music from Peru (2000) and Shamans of Peru (2002). He established the Amazon Retreat Centre in Mishana in 2004.Co-Author of The Ayahuasca Visions of Pablo Amaringo (2011) published by Inner Traditions.

The History of Coca – The Divine Plant of the Incas

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This magnificent book by W. Golden Mortimer, published in 1901 and long out of print, has been digitized by Microsoft for the  University of California and now available in the Open Internet Archive. The book contains nearly 200 hundred illustrations.

Mama Coca presenting the 'Divine Plant' to the Old World

Medicinal and Shamanic Plants of the Amazon – my Photo Gallery on Flickr

Medicinal and Shamanic Plants of Peru, a set on Flickr.

I’ve been adding more photos from the archives.

Frotacion de Coca

Frotacion de COCA, a photo by Howard G Charing on Flickr.

Frotacion de COCA  Erythroxylum  – The Peruvian ‘Tiger Balm’ reinforced with Wira Sacha aka Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis).

The frotacion is also good to relieve insect bites, and It’s a very pretty little tin as well.

Coca Myths – a research paper by the Transnational Institute

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A  very well researched and informative study from the Transnational Institute about the Coca (erythroxylum) plant.

Coca leaf divination with Doris Rivera Lenz (Cuzco)

Mama Coca presenting the 'Divine Plant' to the Old World

Coca Leaves

The Huitoto people use coca as part of the social and ceremonial traditions. Here is Mariano the shaman with a coca bush.

Ofrenda Ceremony in the Andes, Curandera Doris Rivera Lenz with coca leaves.

Coca Leaf Products in Peru.

coca leaf products in Peru., a photo by Howard G Charing on Flickr.

Coca (Erythroxylon coca). Products made from coca leaf in Peru.

Machu Picchu - Inca Wonder of the World

The Incas regarded coca as ‘the divine plant’ mainly because of its property of imparting endurance, nevertheless its use was entwined with every aspect of life; the art, mythology, culture and economy of the Inca Empire.

Millions of Indians have chewed coca on a daily basis for many hundreds of years, yet never has a plant been so misrepresented and its use so controlled by prejudice and ignorance, including up to the present day. The Conquistadors considered it an idle and offensive habit to be prohibited, but it was soon seen that the Indians could not work without coca even when forced to do so.

Frotacion de COCA - The Peruvian 'Tiger Balm' reinforced with Wira Sacha aka Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis)

Coca Leaf products - Coca Candy

A packet of Coca Candy

Lifting the ban on coca chewing – Bolivia’s proposal

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As documented by the Transnational Institute:

The 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – recently endorsed by the United States in December 2010 – states that “indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.”

The decision to ban coca chewing fifty years ago was based on a 1950 report elaborated by the UN Commission of Inquiry on the
Coca Leaf with a mandate from ECOSOC, after a brief visit to Peru and Bolivia. The head of the Commission, Howard B. Fonda, gave an interview in Lima in September 1949, before beginning his work:

“We believe that the daily, inveterate use of coca leaves by chewing … not only is thoroughly noxious and therefore detrimental,
but also is the cause of racial degeneration in many centers of population, and of the decadence that visibly shows in numerous Indians – and even in some mestizos – in certain zones of Peru and Bolivia. Our studies will confirm the certainty of our assertions and we hope we can present a rational plan of action … to attain the absolute and sure abolition of this pernicious habit.”

To misquote Frank Zappa ..Imperialism is not dead it just smells funny.

Mama Coca presenting the 'Divine Plant' to the Old World

The Huitoto people use coca as part of the social and ceremonial traditions. Here is Mariano the shaman with a coca bush.

Ofrenda Ceremony in the Andes, Curandera Doris Rivera Lenz with coca leaves.

Shamans of Peru – Photo Gallery

Shamans of Peru, a set on Flickr.

A Photo Gallery of some of the Peruvian Shamans that we have worked with over the years.

Shamans of Peru – CD

Shamans of Peru CD, Ceremonial Chants, Icaros, and Music

THE SHAMANS OF PERU CD

Ceremonial Chants, Icaros, and Music

Shamans of Peru – Recorded on Eagle’s Wing Journeys to Peru

Contains chants and dramatic effects of six different ceremonies with shamans who have worked with Eagle’s Wing Groups. Two ceremonies with San Pedro maestros working in the atmospheric ruins of Puruchucu; two ayahuasca shamans, a man and a woman, in separate sessions working in a jungle temple on the River Momon, outside Iquitos; a Shipibo shaman working in Yarinacocha, outside Pucullpa; and lastly, a despacho in the ruins of Pisaq, Cusco. In addition there are three tracks of atmospheric music played on pre-Colombian instruments.

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Shamanism Retreat – San Pedro Shamans and Curandera

A photo gallery from our March 2008 Andean Shamanism Retreat in Peru.

Shamanism Retreat with San Pedro Shamans and Coca Leaf Diviner and Curandera