Q'ero Shamanic Tradition
Glossary of Terms
Note on spelling: The Q'ero and broader Quechua traditions are rooted in an oral culture with no single standardized written form. As a result, spellings of these terms vary across teachers, lineages, and regions. The spellings used in this glossary reflect the oral transmission received directly from the author's teacher and are offered in that spirit.
Allyu
Community or village; the web of relationships that sustains life.
Apu
A sacred mountain; the living spirit of a mountain, Apu Kuna, is regarded as a wise and powerful being.
Allyu Apu
The local mountain Apu of the place where one currently lives.
Ayni
Sacred reciprocity and balance; the living exchange between all things. In practice, it describes the three Q'ero energy centers moving in harmonious alignment.
Causay
Living, animating energy; the vital life force present in all things. Similar in concept to prana or chi.
Choqachinchay
The Rainbow Jaguar; a guide for journeys to explore previous lifetimes, and for traveling between the lower and upper worlds.
Despacho (Spanish)
A sacred offering bundle, a prayer in physical form, assembled with intention and then burned in a sacred fire as a gift to Pachamama, the Apu Kuna, and the spirit world.
Hanaq Pacha
The upper world; the realm where the ancestors dwell and where we reside between incarnations. It holds the vision of what we are becoming and contains five levels.
Hatun Chaska Kuna
The Great Star Nations / Star Beings; vast cosmic intelligences associated with the stars. The Q’ero believe that we came from the stars.
Huascar Inka
The lord, gatekeeper, and guide of the lower world. Works with the shaman to navigate the Uhu Pacha and recover what has been lost.
Hucha
Heavy, dense, or disharmonious energy that accumulates in the chakras and the luminous energy field, disrupting flow and clarity.
Inti Taita
Father Sun; the solar masculine principle.
Itu Apu
One's birthplace mountain, the Apu of the land where one was born.
Kai Pacha
The middle world; the ordinary world of everyday waking life where we live and act.
Kutis
Cycles or returns; the turning of time and the recurrence of events across cycles.
Kuyas
The sacred stones held within a Mesa. Each kuya is an activated, consecrated stone that holds lineage energy and serves as a medium for healing and tracking work.
Lineage
The unbroken chain of wisdom keepers. Initiation into a lineage connects the shaman to ancestors and activates potential, allowing the shaman to be of greater service to humanity.
Luminous Energy
Field (LEF)
The luminous aura of energy and light that surrounds and interpenetrates the human body. It contains the blueprint for our lives and serves as a living record of all our experiences across lifetimes.
Mama Qilla
Grandmother Moon; the feminine lunar force governing cycles and time.
Mesa
A personal altar holding thirteen activated Kuyas. Mesa means "table" in Spanish. The Shaman’s Mesa reflects the state of their world, is connected to all the stone altars of the earth, and is a living repository of wisdom and knowledge existing outside of linear time.
Mestana
The sacred cloth that wraps and holds the Mesa.
Mestai
Order and harmony in one's world. A Mesa Mestai is a gathering of open Mesas that are touching and communicating with one another.
Munay
The Q'ero energy center of right loving, located in the heart. Munay means love as a practice, to be as thou art, loving unconditionally.
Munay-ki
The nine sacred seeds of initiation given to Alberto Villoldo for use in the modern western world. "Munay" means love; "ki" means energy or life force. These rites transmit the seeds of a new human being and connect the recipient to an ancient lineage of wisdom keepers.
Ñawi
An energetic organ or chakra. While the Hindu tradition recognizes seven main chakras, Q'ero shamans work primarily with three: Yankay, Munay, and Yachai.
Pacha
World, time, or Earth in its wholeness, the entire living fabric of existence.
Pachamama
Mother Earth; the great feminine creative force that sustains all life.
Pachakuti Inka
The lord, gatekeeper, and guide of the upper world. Associated with the crown chakra. Pachakuti means "great turning" or "world reversal" — the transformation now underway. Helps the shaman return to the true self and access the five levels of the upper world.
Paq’o
Shaman, healer.
Q'ero
The high-mountain Quechua-speaking people of the Andes, considered among the last uncontacted descendants of the Inca. Sometimes used loosely to refer to their spiritual tradition and language.
Quechua
The broader indigenous language family and people of the Andes from which the Q'ero descend. Quechua is an oral tradition with no standardized written form, so spellings of terms vary widely across teachers and lineages.
Sonqo
The heart; in its deepest sense, the One, the divine source underlying all things.
Suyo
A region, state, or quadrant; one of the four great quadrants of the Andean world.
Tracking
A core shamanic skill: using kuya/stone reading and nonphysical perception to find the root cause of illness, imbalance, or disruption.
Tupananchis Kama
"Until we meet again,” a traditional farewell acknowledging the ongoing, cyclical nature of relationship.
Uhu Pacha
The lower world; the realm of the subconscious and the deep past. Shamans journey here to retrieve lost soul parts and resolve ancestral patterns.
Wiracocha
The primordial sea of living energy from which all creation emerges; also the name for the eighth chakra, a luminous sphere of light that exists just outside the physical body. This ball of light carries the soul's memory from one lifetime to the next and remains connected to Spirit.
Yachai
The Q'ero energy center of right thinking, located in the third eye. Governs perception, vision, and the quality of mind.
Yankay
The Q'ero energy center of right action, located in the belly around the navel. Governs will, effort, and purposeful engagement in the world.
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