# C — Inca Glossary

> From the Inca Glossary by Patt O'Neill (© 2007, 2008, 2014).
> Web page: https://incaglossary.com/c
> 189 terms. Each term heading links to that term's own Markdown file.

## [caballo piripiri](https://incaglossary.com/c/caballopiripiri.md)

(n) (*Cyperus*
sp.) Whoever ingests this plant acquires great strength. It is prepared
in a mixture with [huito](https://incaglossary.com/h/huito.md).
The huito is mixed in exact proportions with the piripiri and in the
morning it is poured over the entire body. One then avoids the sun,
salt, sweets, garlic, liquor, and pig fat for eight days, while also
abstaining from sex nor socializing with anyone who is sexually active.
The day after this mixture is poured over the body, the skin will turn
black as if dyed with black ink. By the eighth day this coloration is
gone (sp). [AYV]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/droppedImage-492.jpg

## [caca](https://incaglossary.com/c/caca.md)

(n)
Mother's brother; wife's brother or father. [ICC]

## [cacakuna](https://incaglossary.com/c/cacakuna.md)

(n) Male relatives of the wife and the mother. [ICC]

## [cacicazgo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cacicazgo.md)

Languages: Span

Hereditary chiefdom. [BLC]

## [cacique, cacica](https://incaglossary.com/c/cacique.md)

Languages: Span

(n) From
Spanish for Indian chief; political boss. [SEES] Indigenous
leader (*cacique*: male, *cacica*: female). [GOL]
 Hereditary chief, a member of the indigenous nobility. [BLC] The
corresponding Quechua word is curaca (*see*, below). [SIH]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/cacica.jpg — Cacica at prayer. Mural in Church of San Juan Bautista, artist unknown, ca. 1620, Sutatausa, Cundimarca. [BLC]

## [Cacha](https://incaglossary.com/c/cacha.md)

(n) Ancient name of the current village of Raqchi which is the location
of the [Wiracocha Temple](https://incaglossary.com/w/wiracochatemple.md).[MAN]

## [caeccapaycachani](https://incaglossary.com/c/caeccapaycachani.md)

(v) To
talk nonsense. [DYE]

## [Cahuide](https://incaglossary.com/c/cahuide.md)

An Inca
warrior who participated in the Battle of [Sacsahuaman](https://incaglossary.com/s/sacsahuaman.md). When
defeat was imminent, he jumped from the top of one of the three towers
of Sacsahuaman called [Muyuq Marka](https://incaglossary.com/m/muyuqmarca.md) (round
place) to avoid falling into the hands of Spanish enemies. Some [chroniclers](https://incaglossary.com/c/chronicler.md) call him Quispe Tito,
others Culla or Surihuamán. We do not know his exact name, but he is
popularly known as
Cahuide
which comes from the Quechua word *kawiri* which
means lookout. (*See*, [kawak](https://incaglossary.com/q-prime/qhawaq.md) .) Cahuide
was an [orejon](https://incaglossary.com/o/orejones.md). It was
said of him that he was a man of singular temper and combative
character, who fought with indomitable and exemplary courage in the
ranks of the [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md) army. In 1536, to end the
siege of *Cusco* (*see*,
below), the Spanish decided to storm the walls of the fortress of
Sacsahuaman, a strategic location from which Manco Inca's troops
directed their attacks on the city. [WIKI] Armed with
a war club, a vicious weapon in hand-to-hand combat that could smash a
skull with a single blow or crush a chest or break a backbone. Armed
with one of these, the legendary Cahuide held at bay several dozens of
Spanish soldiers while defending, single handed, the fortress of
Sacsahuaman. [DYE]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/cahuide.jpg — Cahuide defending Sacsahuaman against the Conquistadores. “This orejón walked like a lion from one Spanish soldier to another, clubbing the Spanish who wanted to come up the stairs to the top of the tower.” -- Chronicler Pedro Pizarro (1515-1602)
- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/cahuidecoin.jpg — A five soles coin minted to honor Cahuide.

## [caja, cajón](https://incaglossary.com/c/caja.md)

(n) (Span.) Literally, *box*.
A small drum. (Quechua, *tinya*.)
 [ROR]

## [Cajatambo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cajatambo.md)

A town in the highlands of central Peru remarkable for the [Idolotrías](https://incaglossary.com/i/idolotrias.md)
recorded there by the [Extirpator of Idolatries](https://incaglossary.com/e/extirpationofidolotry.md)
in the 17th Century, that serve as an example of the intimate
connection between [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
communities and their local [huacas](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md).
 [MAN]

## [cala](https://incaglossary.com/c/cala.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Stone. [ASD]

## [cala hufnutha](https://incaglossary.com/c/cala-hufnutha.md)

Languages: AYM

(v) To bury a stone completely or partially for memory. [ASD]

## [calicanto](https://incaglossary.com/c/calicanto.md)

Languages: Span

(n) The accumulated spiritual essence of humans who lived and died at
that place -- on the mountain, in the cave, or at the lakeshore -- in
previous eras. (*See*, also, [encanto](https://incaglossary.com/e/encanto.md).) [GOL]

## [calpa](https://incaglossary.com/c/calpa.md)

(n) (1) A ceremony of [divination](https://incaglossary.com/d/divination.md). [HOI] (2) Power
or force. (3) A hurry. [RS] *
See*, [kallpay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpay.md), [kallpachay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpachay.md),
 [kallpasapa](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpasapa.md).

## [calparicu, calparicuc](https://incaglossary.com/c/calparicu.md)

(n) Literally, *those
who bring good fortune* or *one
who gives strength*. Term used
for a wizard or [shaman](https://incaglossary.com/s/shaman.md)
specializing in [divination](https://incaglossary.com/d/divination.md). [HOI]A shaman
who would divine by looking at the entrails of animals. [DYE]*See*, *calpa*, above,
and *see*, [kallpay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpay.md), [kallpachay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpachay.md),
 [kallpasapa](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpasapa.md)..

## [calpay](https://incaglossary.com/c/calpay.md)

*See*, [kallpay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpay.md), [kallpachay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpachay.md),
 [kallpasapa](https://incaglossary.com/k/kallpasapa.md).

## [Calvario](https://incaglossary.com/c/calvario.md)

(n) (1)
The [Southern Cross](https://incaglossary.com/s/southerncross.md). (2) The axis
point of the Southern Cross. (*See*, [Mayu](https://incaglossary.com/m/mayu.md).) [ACES]

## [callarani pacha](https://incaglossary.com/c/callarani-pacha.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Beginning of the world. [ASD]

## [callari](https://incaglossary.com/c/callari.md)

*See*, qallana.

## [callarirucuguna](https://incaglossary.com/c/callarirucuguna.md)

(n)
Beginning times-places, embraces the period of transformation from [unay](https://incaglossary.com/u/unay.md) to times
of destruction and times of the ancestors. The future is thought of
both as a continuation of the past and present and as a pending
transformation of the initial [chaos](https://incaglossary.com/c/chaos.md) of
unai. [WCE]

## [Callawaya](https://incaglossary.com/c/callawaya.md)

*See*,
Qollahuaya.

## [callifaa](https://incaglossary.com/c/callifaa.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Lightning. [ASD]

## [camachipayak](https://incaglossary.com/c/camachipayak.md)

(adj)
Obsessive. [DYE]

## [camahuakhlli](https://incaglossary.com/c/camahuakhlli.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Enemy of the peace. [ASD]

## [camalonga, kamalonga](https://incaglossary.com/c/camalonga.md)

(n) The Peruvian name for yellow oleander, *Thevetia
peruviana*.  An
infusion containing camalonga
is commonly used along with [ayahuasca](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayahuasca.md). 
Seeds identified as "macho" and "hembra" (male and female) are placed
in a bottle of aguardiente (distilled sugar cane juice) along with
camphor, garlic, and white onion.  The resulting extraction is
used externally as a pre-ceremonial ointment for protection, and an
ounce or so is often drunk immediately following the ayahuasca
drink.  Camalonga has a most disagreeable taste requiring
considerable will to drink it. [BOA]
A bush to which [sorcerers](https://incaglossary.com/s/sorcerer.md)
attribute divinatory powers. [THIM]**CAUTION**:
 The
oleander, or *Nerium
oleander*, is
considered by many to be the most poisonous plant in the world. All
parts of the beautiful oleander contain poison -- several types of
poison. Two of the most potent are oleandrin and neriine, known for
their powerful effect on the heart. An oleander's poison is so strong,
in fact, that it can poison a person who simply eats the honey made by
bees that have digested oleander nectar. [HSW1]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/camalongaseeds.jpg — Camalonga seeds. [BOA]

## [camalonguero](https://incaglossary.com/c/camalonguero.md)

(n) A type of [vegetalista](https://incaglossary.com/v/vegetalista.md)
specializing in the use of the seeds of the [camalonga](https://incaglossary.com/c/camalonga.md) plant. [AYV] [MSIN]

## [camay](https://incaglossary.com/c/camay.md)

*See*,
 [kamay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kamay.md).

## [camayoq](https://incaglossary.com/c/camayoq.md)

*See*,
 [kamayoq](https://incaglossary.com/k/kamayoq.md).

## [camac](https://incaglossary.com/c/camac.md)

*See*,
 [kamak](https://incaglossary.com/k/kamak.md).

## [camelid](https://incaglossary.com/c/camelid.md)

(n) A
camel-like animal such as the [llama](https://incaglossary.com/ll/llama.md) and [alpaca](https://incaglossary.com/a/alpaca.md), common
Andean herd animals, and the [vicuña](https://incaglossary.com/v/vicuna.md) and [guanaco](https://incaglossary.com/fg/guanaco.md), their
wild cousins.

## [Camino Real](https://incaglossary.com/c/camino-real.md)

Languages: Span

(n) The most important [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md) road was
the Camino Real (Royal Road)  with a length of 5,200 kilometres
(3,200 mi). It began in Quito, Ecuador, passed through [Cusco](https://incaglossary.com/c/cusco.md), and ended
in what is now Tucumán, Argentina. The Camino Real traversed the
mountain ranges of the Andes, with peak altitudes of more than
5,000 m (16,000 ft). [WIKI]*See*, [ñan](https://incaglossary.com/n/nyan.md).

## [campo](https://incaglossary.com/c/campo.md)

Languages: Span

(n) Literally, *field* or,
metaphorically, *scope* or *sphere
of influence*. Unequal
divisions of the first [level of abstraction](https://incaglossary.com/l/levelofabstraction.md) (*see*, for
illustration) of the curandero mesa whose function is to achieve
balanced dualism. This reconciliation of opposites is achieved through
ritual. Two larger campos are separated by a smaller one in the center.
The left hand one is called *campo ganadero* (*see*, below), the center one
is called *campo medio* (*see*,
below). The largest field, the right hand one, is *campo justiciero*
(*see*, below). [WOFW] *See*, also, *curandero
mesa*, below.

## [campo ganadero](https://incaglossary.com/c/campoganadero.md)

, banco
ganadero (Span): (n) Ganadero, literally, means *cattle
rancher*. The *campo*
(*see*, above) ganadero
is associated with the forces of evil, the underworld and black magic.
A sorcerer would use this negative zone for [witchcraft](https://incaglossary.com/w/witch.md) or in
curing for financial gain: a benevolent curer needs it for consultation
in cases of witchcraft, adverse love magic, or bad luck, since this is
the realm responsible for such evils and consequently is also capable
of revealing their sources. The number 13 is magically associated with
this field. [WOFW] *Ganadero* is also a
nominative reference to one who wins or dominates, from the verb *ganar*, to win or
dominate. Given the many animal and natural referents of the left side
of the mesa, “herder” could be taken to indicate the ability of the
curer to control or manage “animalistic” or subhuman forces. [SSCC] *Ganadero* may be
associated with the power of the colonial overlord (the Spanish brought
cattle and other European livestock to the New World) and may represent
the domination of the European oppressor with the occupation of
“herder.” Additionally, the conflation of *ganadero* (as
“herder” and as “one who dominates”) may reflect the post-conquest
demonization of all things pre-Columbian. When asked to explain the
term *ganadero*, many
contemporary healers correlate that which dominates with Satan, and
that which is dominated with the human soul. Many healers interrogated
by colonial officials and ecclesiastic judges reported their profession
as *ganadero*. During
the colonial period, itinerant merchants and livestock-herders were
among the few Indians who could legitimately live and travel outside
the villages where Catholic indoctrination was strongest. [GOL]  *See*, *campo
justiciero*, *campo medio* and *curandero mesa*, below.

## [campo justiciero](https://incaglossary.com/c/campojusticiero.md)

, banco
curandero (Span): (n) This is the field of the divine judge containing
artifacts related to the forces of good or white magic. This zone is
governed by Christ, who is considered the center or axis of the [mesa](https://incaglossary.com/m/mesa.md) and lord
of all three fields. The powers of this zone are concentrated in the
crucifix at the center of the mesa as well as in the staffs. These
staffs are placed upright in the ground behind the artifacts of the
campo justiciero. The sacred number 12 (for the 12 apostles and the
signs of the zodiac) is magically associated with this field. The
crucifix at the center of the mesa is the ritual storage place for this
number, which symbolizes the 12,000 [accounts](https://incaglossary.com/a/account.md) of the
campo justiciero. The sacred number 7, the perfect number of
Christianity -- symbolizing the seven justices, or [miracles](http://www.icr.org/article/6726/), of Christ
-- is also stored in the crucifix. [WOFW]  *See*, *campo
ganadero*, above,
and *campo
medio* and *curandero
mesa*, below.

## [campo medio](https://incaglossary.com/c/campomedio.md)

, centro
campo (Span): (n) The razor's edge. This middle *campo* (*see*, above) [of the mesa]
contains mediating artifacts in which the forces of good and evil are
evenly balanced. This zone is governed by [Saint Cyprian](https://incaglossary.com/s/sancipriano.md) whose
balanced powers are focused in staffs. The sacred number 25 -- 12 for *campo
justiciero* (*see*,
above) and 13 for *campo ganadero* (*see*, above) -- is magically
associated with this *campo* (*see*, above). The artifacts
of this campo are symbolic of forces in nature and the world of man
that can be used for good or evil depending on the intention of the
individual. (The commitment to good is shown by the fact that the campo
justiciero is the largest field of the mesa.) The opposing forces of
the universe are not conceived of as irreconcilable; rather, they are
seen as complementary, for it is their interaction that creates and
sustains all life. The campo medio symbolizes the concept of balance,
or the complementarity of opposites. This is also the zone that helps
the curandero to concentrate his supernatural vision, activated by the [San Pedro](https://incaglossary.com/h/huachuma.md) infusion, allowing the *curandero*
(*see*, below) to divine
and cure. The campo medio is where the chiefs, the guardians, those who
command, those who govern present themselves, since it is the neutral
field between two frontiers where a war can occur. This is the place
where one has to put all perseverance so that everything remains well
controlled. It is also the zone used to charge patients' amulets and [seguros](https://incaglossary.com/s/seguro.md). [WOFW]  *See*, also,
curandero mesa (below) and [mediation of opposites](https://incaglossary.com/m/mediationofopposites.md).

## [campucassa, huircacassa](https://incaglossary.com/c/campucassa.md)

(n) *Solanum
stellatum*. The
partially toasted leaves have the property of drawing out splinters
from any part of the flesh and of helping to suppurate infected ulcers,
according to native belief. Another folklore belief holds that the
spines produce blisters full of lymph, if they penetrate the flesh.
This lymph turns to pus, but the blisters break open and are cured by
applying the partially roasted leaves of the same plant to the affected
areas. [REPC]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/campucassa.jpg — Campucassa.

## [cananga](https://incaglossary.com/c/cananga.md)

*See*, [kananga](https://incaglossary.com/k/kananga.md).

## [canaza](https://incaglossary.com/c/canaza.md)

(n) A
strong alcoholic beverage distilled from sugar cane and used by [tragoceros](https://incaglossary.com/t/tragocero.md).
[MSIN]

## [canca](https://incaglossary.com/c/canca.md)

(n) A maize bread or pudding used in ceremonies. [ACA]

## [cancer of the Andes](https://incaglossary.com/c/cancer-of-the-andes.md)

*See*, uta.

## [cancha](https://incaglossary.com/c/cancha.md)

(n) An enclosure that may contain several rooms. [AEAA]

## [canelilla, rosewood](https://incaglossary.com/c/canelilla.md)

(n) *Aniba
canelilla*. *Canelilla* means *little
cinnamon,* alluding
to the aroma of the roots, which are used in infusion or decoction as
an apperative and resolutive. Some people keep pieces of the root in
the mouth to counteract the unpleasant smell often engendered by
decaying teeth. [REPC] Documented
uses:
analgesic, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, antimicrobial, antiseptic,
aphrodisiac, bactericidal, cephalic, deodorant, stimulant, tonic, acne,
colds, coughs, dermatitis, fevers, frigidity, headaches, infections,
nausea, nervous tension, skin, wounds. Ethnic
uses:
arthritis, catarrh, edema, leucorrhea, nerve, venereal. [WRT]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/canelilla.jpg — Canelilla.

## [canero](https://incaglossary.com/c/canero.md)

Languages: Amaz

(n) (*Vandelia
plazai.*)
A type of fish often invoked by evil [sorcerers](https://incaglossary.com/s/sorcerer.md).
 [AYV]

## [cannibalism](https://incaglossary.com/c/cannibalism.md)

Languages: Eng

(n) The eating of human flesh by other humans. The practice was
widespread among rain forest tribes and was always ritualistic, rather
than for nourishment. Cannibalism was either (1) exocannibalism, in
which remains of an enemy killed in battle were eaten to humiliate the
enemy and confirm the martial triumph, or (2) endocannibalism, in which
a dead kinsperson's bones were ground and mixed with local drink and
consumed to preserve his or her essence and abilities within the
kinship group. [MAN]
(*See*,
 [qhapaq hucha](https://incaglossary.com/q-prime/qhapaqhucha.md).)

## [canopa](https://incaglossary.com/c/canopa.md)

*See*,
 [conopa](https://incaglossary.com/c/conopa.md).
Canopa is a minority spelling.

## [capac](https://incaglossary.com/c/capac.md)

*See*,
 [qhapaq](https://incaglossary.com/q-prime/qhapaq.md).

## [capa cocha, capacocha](https://incaglossary.com/c/capa-cocha.md)

*See*,
 [qhapaq hucha](https://incaglossary.com/q-prime/qhapaqhucha.md).

## [Capac Raymi](https://incaglossary.com/c/capacraymi.md)

*See*, [Qhapac Raymi](https://incaglossary.com/q-prime/qhapaq-raymi.md).

## [Capac Toco](https://incaglossary.com/c/capactoco.md)

(n) Literally, *rich
window*,
one of the caves at [Tambo Toco](https://incaglossary.com/t/tambotoco.md)*.*
 [MAN]
The
 *cave
of bounty.* [NFL]
Represented as a chamber in the [Ukhupacha](https://incaglossary.com/u/ukhupacha.md)
where the shaman
goes to find riches and gifts for the client; what is necessary for the
client to live fully; promises and their fulfillment. [JLH]
 (*See*,
 [Cave of Refuge](https://incaglossary.com/c/caveofrefuge.md), [Sutic Toco](https://incaglossary.com/s/sutictoco.md), [Maras Toco](https://incaglossary.com/m/marastoco.md) and
[Tambo Toco](https://incaglossary.com/t/tambotoco.md).)

## [Capac Yupanqui](https://incaglossary.com/c/capac-yupanqui.md)

The legendary fifth Inca emperor, probably ruling sometime in the first
half of the 13th century. [MAN]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/capacyupanqui.jpg — Capac Yupanqui, drawn by Felipe Guaman [Poma](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/m#poma) de Ayala.

## [capullana](https://incaglossary.com/c/capullana.md)

(n) A
pre-Hispanic female leader, so called because of her hood or veil. [GOL]

## [capybara](https://incaglossary.com/c/capybara.md)

(n) The
capybara (*Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris*) is the largest rodent in
the world. Its closest relatives are guinea pigs and rock cavies.
Native to South America, the capybara inhabits savannas and dense
forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species
and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually
lives in groups of 10­20 individuals. The capybara is not a threatened
species, though it is hunted for its meat and hide and also for a
grease from its thick fatty skin which is used in the pharmaceutical
trade. The capybara has a heavy, barrel-shaped body. Its sweat glands
can be found in the surface of the hairy portions of its skin, an
unusual trait among rodents. Adult capybaras grow to 107 to 134 cm
(3.51 to 4.40 ft) in length and typically weigh 35 to 66 kg
(77 to 150 lb). Capybaras are herbivores, grazing mainly on
grasses and aquatic plants, as well as fruit and tree bark. The
capybara's jaw hinge is not perpendicular and they thus chew food by
grinding back-and-forth rather than side-to-side. Capybaras are
coprophagous, meaning they eat their own feces as a source of bacterial
gut flora, to help digest the cellulose in the grass that forms their
normal diet, and to extract the maximum protein and vitamins from their
food. They may also regurgitate food to masticate again, similar to
cud-chewing by a cow. Like its cousin the guinea pig, the capybara does
not have the capacity to synthesize vitamin C, and capybaras not
supplemented with vitamin C in captivity have been reported to develop
gum disease as a sign of scurvy. They can have a life span of 8­10
years in the wild, but live less than four years on average, as they
are a favourite food of jaguar, puma, ocelot, eagle and caiman. The
capybara is also the preferred prey of the anaconda.
 [WIKI]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSZPe6Pq8Ic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSZPe6Pq8Ic)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/capybaras.jpg — A group of capybaras [WIKI]

## [cara cara](https://incaglossary.com/c/cara-cara.md)

(n) Birds
of prey in the family *Falconidae* indigenous
to Central and South America. Unlike the falcons, cara cara are not
fast-flying aerial hunters, but are comparatively slow and are often
scavengers. [WIKI]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/caracara.png — A mountain cara cara [WIKI]

## [Carachupa Mama](https://incaglossary.com/c/carachupa-mama.md)

(n) One of the mythical beings believed by some Amazon tribes to be
responsible for the river reclaiming huge pieces of land. [AYV]
(*See*,
 [mama](https://incaglossary.com/m/mama.md), [yangunturo](https://incaglossary.com/y/yangunturo.md).)

## [Carajía, Karijia](https://incaglossary.com/c/carajia.md)

(n) An
archeological site in the Utcubamba Valley northeast of [Chachapoyas](https://incaglossary.com/ch/chachapoyas.md), Peru,
where eight Chachapoyan mummies were discovered on the cliffside,
referred to by local residents as ancient wise men. The seven
(originally eight) sarcophagi stand up to 2.5 meters tall, constructed
of clay, sticks and grasses, with exaggerated jawlines. Their
inaccessible location high above a river gorge has preserved them from
destruction by looters. However, an earthquake toppled one of the
original eight in 1928. They have been radiocarbon dated to the 15th Century
AD, coincident with the Inca conquest of the Chachapoya in the 1470s.
The sarcophagi are of a type peculiar to the Chachapoya called *purunmachus* [meaning
literally *wild
old men*]. The
construction is painted white and overlaid with details of the body and
adornment in yellow ochre and two red pigments, such as the feathered
tunics and male genitalia visible on the Carajía purunmachus. Often the
solid clay head will boast a second, smaller head atop it. The
purunmachus of Carajía are peculiar because of the human skulls that
sit atop their heads, visible in the photograph below.[WIKI]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/carajia1.jpg — Sarcophagi at Carajía.
- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/carajia2.jpg — The image of one of the sarcophagi on a Peruvian sol coin.

## [cardo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cardo.md)

*See*, [huachuma](https://incaglossary.com/h/huachuma.md).

## [cardón](https://incaglossary.com/c/cardon.md)

*See*, puya.

## [cargo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cargo.md)

Languages: Span

(n) Community office. [THLH] The
burden or duty that members of an Indian [ayllu](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayllu.md)
assume in order to serve their community [i.e., membership on a
planning committee]. [ROR]

## [carguyoq](https://incaglossary.com/c/carguyoq.md)

(n) Someone who holds a [cargo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cargo.md)
(sp). [ROR]

## [carpunya](https://incaglossary.com/c/carpunya.md)

(n) The
leaves of *Piper
carpunya Ruiz & Pav.* (syn *Piper
lenticellosum* C.D.C.) (*Piperaceae*), are
widely used in folk medicine in tropical and subtropical countries of
South America as an anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, anti-diarrheal and
anti-parasitical remedy as well as an ailment for skin irritations.
Certain flavonoids contribute to the anti-MPO activity, as well as to
their anti-*Helicobacter
pylori* activity. [*Helicobacter
pylori* cause
stomach ulcers. -- Patt] [NCB2]The
aromatic leaves become more fragrant when dried. The natives drink one
or two cups of an infusion as an aid to digestion. They prefer it to
real tea. [REPC]

## [casarakuy](https://incaglossary.com/c/casarakuy.md)

(n) Church wedding.  Also called runachakuy or warmichakuy.

## [casha-cushillo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cashacushillo.md)

(n) A porcupine of the Amazon from whose quills [virotes](https://incaglossary.com/v/virote.md)
are made by [sorcerers](https://incaglossary.com/s/sorcerer.md).
 [AYV]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/paint352.jpg

## [Catachillay](https://incaglossary.com/c/catachillay.md)

(n) (1) The name of a sacred spring on a [ceke](https://incaglossary.com/c/ceke.md)
running from the [Qoricancha](https://incaglossary.com/q/qoricancha.md)
in [Cusco](https://incaglossary.com/c/cusco.md),
past two stone pillars on the western skyline. These pillars were used
for observation of the April setting of the [Pleiades](https://incaglossary.com/p/pleiades.md);
thus (2) Catachillay is an alternate name for the star group, a
constellation near Lyra that represents a [llama](https://incaglossary.com/ll/llama.md)
and her lamb. [MAN]
[AEAA] : (3)
Pre-Spanish name for the constellation of the [Southern Cross](https://incaglossary.com/s/southerncross.md). [ACES] (*See*, also, [Mayu](https://incaglossary.com/m/mayu.md).) [The
name confusion between the Southern Cross and the [pachatira](https://incaglossary.com/p/pachatira.md)
constellation of the Llama seems to stem from a lack of clarity in
historical sources and the fact that the Llama is very near the
Southern Cross as seen from the ground. - Patt]

## [catahua](https://incaglossary.com/c/catahua.md)

,
 **catahua
negra**:
(n) *Hura
crepitans*,
a tropical tree with a spiny trunk and spreading branches. The grey
bark is covered with conical spines. It has red flowers and secretes a
yellowish milky juice used to poison darts. The juice contains two
lectins, which have haemagglutinating activity that inhibits protein
synthesis. The pumpkin-shaped seedpod explodes with a loud bang so that
the flat seeds are dispersed over a wide area. These seeds are emetic
and, when green, very purgative. Oil extracted from the dried seeds are
also used as a purgative. The leaves are also used against eczema. [TCH]Catahua
is considered to be a very strong and even dangerous plant teacher. It
is possible to learn from this tree if a few milliliters of its latex
are consumed after a good [vegetalista](https://incaglossary.com/v/vegetalista.md) has cooked
it carefully and sung a powerful [icaro](https://incaglossary.com/i/icaro.md) during the
preparation. A strict [diet](https://incaglossary.com/d/diet.md) of several
months is required, otherwise the tree can kill the person. Even
emanations from the fermenting latex are said to be the sources of
illnesses. The [kapukiri](https://incaglossary.com/k/kapukiri.md) produced
by this tree gives the person a very dry mouth with cracked lips. The
nerves contract and the person shrinks. There is fever and a stutter
develops. [AYV]
**(***See*,
 [catahuero](https://incaglossary.com/c/catahuero.md).)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/paint362.jpg

## [catahuero](https://incaglossary.com/c/catahuero.md)

(n)
A type of [vegetalista](https://incaglossary.com/v/vegetalista.md)
who specializes in the resin of [catahua](https://incaglossary.com/c/catahua.md) (*Hura
crepitans*).
 [AYV]

## [catas](https://incaglossary.com/c/catas.md)

(n) *Embothrium
emarginatum*, *Embothrium
grandiflorum*. The
leaves are crushed and applied to contusions by the Indians; powdered,
they are said to dry up ulcers and help the growth of new flesh. [REPC]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/catas.png — Catas. [WIKI]

## [Catequil](https://incaglossary.com/c/catequil.md)

*See*,
 [Apocatequil](https://incaglossary.com/a/apocatequil.md).

## [caupuri](https://incaglossary.com/c/caupuri.md)

(n) *Virola
surinamensis (Rol) Warb*.
Considered to be a plant teacher and can be used as an ingredient in
ayahuasca.
[MSIN] The Amazon
Indians Waiãpi living in the West of Amapá State of Brazil, treat
malaria with an inhalation of vapor obtained from leaves of *Viola
surinamensis*. [NCBI] The resin
obtained by cuts on the stem bark is a reputed folk remedy in its
natural form for the treatment of ulcer, gastritis, inflammation and
cancer. [WSDC]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/caupuri1.jpg — Caupuri tree leaves and flowers .
- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/caupuri2.jpg — Close-up of caupuri seed.

## [caviacoc](https://incaglossary.com/c/caviacoc.md)

(n) Shamans who
ingested alcoholic beverages to enter trance that allowed them to
diagnose disease.[MHP] They would
get silly drunk with alcoholic beverages. [DYE]

## [Cave of Refuge](https://incaglossary.com/c/caveofrefuge.md)

Languages: Eng

(n) The name of [Capac Toco](https://incaglossary.com/c/capactoco.md),
the cave from which the [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
ancestors emerged.  (*See*,
 [Tambo Toco](https://incaglossary.com/t/tambotoco.md).)

## [Cavillaca](https://incaglossary.com/c/cavillaca.md)

In pre-Inca and [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
legend, a female virgin [huaca](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md)
wooed by [Coniraya Wiracocha](https://incaglossary.com/c/coniraya.md),
as related in the
[Huarochirí Manuscript](https://incaglossary.com/h/huarochirimanuscript.md).
 [MAN]
 Virgin goddess who became pregnant from eating a fruit made from
the sperm of the Moon God, Coniraya.  [GM]
 When she gave birth to a son, she demanded that the father step
forward. No one did, so she put the baby on the ground and it crawled
towards Coniraya. She was ashamed because of Coniraya's seemingly low
stature among the gods, and ran to the coast of Peru, where she changed
herself and her son into rocks. [WIC]

## [cay](https://incaglossary.com/c/cay.md)

*See*, [kay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kay.md).

## [caymarayan simiy](https://incaglossary.com/c/caymarayan-simiy.md)

(v) To
have a tasteless, insipid palate, not able to enjoy tasty dishes. [DYE]

## [ccachu puma](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccachu-puma.md)

Languages: AYM

Puma. [ASD]

## [ccana](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccana.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Light. [ASD]
(*See*,
 [illa](https://incaglossary.com/i/illa.md) and [k'anchay](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchay.md).)

## [ccanau ri](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccanau-ri.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) New moon. [ASD]
(*See*,
 [killa](https://incaglossary.com/k/killa.md).)

## [ccantata pacha](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccantata-pacha.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Hour, or time. [ASD]

## [ccapkhomi haccha ttalla](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccapkhomi-haccha-ttalla.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Queen. [ASD]

## [ccarinocatha](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccarinocatha.md)

Languages: AYM

(v) Dismember. [ASD]

## [Ccoa](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccoa.md)

(n) The Kauri spelling of [Koa](https://incaglossary.com/k/koa.md).

## [Ccoto](https://incaglossary.com/c/ccoto.md)

Languages: AYM

The
 [Pleiades](https://incaglossary.com/p/pleiades.md). [IGMP] *See*, [Collca](https://incaglossary.com/c/collca.md).

## [cchiuu](https://incaglossary.com/c/cchiuu.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Shadow. [ASD]

## [cchukhtataqui](https://incaglossary.com/c/cchukhtataqui.md)

Languages: AYM

(v) To listen in silence. [ASD]

## [cchulu](https://incaglossary.com/c/cchulu.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Shell. [ASD]

## [cebil](https://incaglossary.com/c/cebil.md)

*See*, [wilka](https://incaglossary.com/w/wilka.md).

## [ceke, ceque, seqe, zeque, seq'e](https://incaglossary.com/c/ceke.md)

(n) (1) Line of living energy running through the earth, or between two ritual sites. [QNO] Sacred energy lines that connect places, people and things. Also called ley lines or axiotonal lines. There are three kinds of cekes: [kollana](https://incaglossary.com/k/kollana.md), [payan](https://incaglossary.com/p/payan.md) and [kayao](https://incaglossary.com/k/kayao.md). [JLH] The cekes were an [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md) concept interwoven with myth, astronomical observation, architectural alignment and the social and geographical divisions of the empire.  There were 41 cekes emanating from the Temple of the Sun in the [Qoricancha](https://incaglossary.com/q/qoricancha.md), uniting 328 [huacas](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md) and stations equal to the number of days in 12 lunar months (328/12 = 27.3 days, the lunar cycle. Cekes were grouped as to [hanan and hurin](https://incaglossary.com/h/hananandhurin.md) -- upper and lower, respectively -- Cusco and thus to the [Tawantinsuyu](https://incaglossary.com/t/tawantinsuyu.md).  One example of the Qoricancha-ceke-huaca system is the spring of [Catachillay](https://incaglossary.com/c/catachillay.md). The [qhapaq hucha](https://incaglossary.com/q-prime/qhapaqhucha.md) sacrifices also followed these cekes; the sixth ceke of [Antisuyu](https://incaglossary.com/a/antisuyu.md) on which lay the sixth huaca, known as the *house of the puma* was where the mummy of [Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui](https://incaglossary.com/p/pachacutiinca.md) was kept and children were sacrificed to him. Even the movements of [Mayu](https://incaglossary.com/m/mayu.md) (the Milky Way) were linked to the ceke system and Tawantinsuyu. [MAN] Each of the 41 cekes was the responsibility of a clan that was expected to tend the [huacas](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md) along the ceke and offer sacrifices on appropriate occasions. The attendant to whom the duties were delegated were usually old people past more active work. They could explain the significance of their particular huaca, acting as a kind of oral memory-bank. They knew the correct formulas for making sacrifices and the offerings that were to be given and would promise prospective worshippers good luck. [IAWS] According to ceke system theory, locations of spiritual or magical importance are commonly energetic vortex points that reside in certain geomagnetic spaces along cekes of the Earth's surface. A vortex is the place where the energies of two or more ceke lines intercept and create the conditions of an energetic whirlpool. (*See*, [remolino](https://incaglossary.com/r/remolino.md).) These places of geomagnetic power often were marked by an [apacheta](https://incaglossary.com/a/apacheta.md) (*see*, also, *ceke apukuna apacheta*, below). The smaller of these anchor points were supervised by groups of seven priests who would monitor the influx of energy emanating from the [Qoricancha](https://incaglossary.com/q/qoricancha.md). The priests were chose for their extrasensory abilities; they were able to interpret the psychic information sent by the [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md) from the Qoricancha. In this way, the transmission would be telepathically “downloaded” and subsequently woven into the community. In the rural, remote communities of the warrior priests or administrators who had not developed these skills, [ch'askis](https://incaglossary.com/ch/chaski.md) would deliver messages. [PSPM] A spirit pathway; defined by Oscar Miro Quesada as “a shamanic landscape straight line which is the superimposition of inner space on to the outer landscape;” very loosely parallel to the idea of the ley line; energetic, electromagnetic, or geomagnetic line of harnessed Earth energy used to connect points of pilgrimage and relay etheric-psychic information in Inka times; the strands in the Inka geo-psycho-etheric-spiritual-electromagnetic web; for the second half of the Inka dynasty in the Andes, the Cusco region was governed and regulated by 40-42 seq'ekuna connecting to almost 350 sacred sites. [ANON1] (2) Alignment. [CSCR] (*See*, [Appendix F](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/f) and the amazing artwork of [Alex Grey](https://www.alexgrey.com/).)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/alexgreycekes.jpg — Artist Alex Grey's visualization of a human body surrounded by the [poq'po](https://incaglossary.com/p/poqpo.md) and connected to the universe by the filaments of many cekes.)

> **Editorial note**
>
> **The
> ceke system is similar to the web a spider weaves because the system
> itself is a ceremonial reticulum with a prescribed order. The[Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)would sit in the center of the “web” [the[Qoricancha](https://incaglossary.com/q/qoricancha.md)]
> and everyday he would be attentive to any disturbances that occurred.
> If he felt a piece of the web break, or if a section of it was out of
> balance, he would gather the priests and [shamanically]journeyto the area of disharmony in order to energetically repair any damage
> caused by improper use or neglect.**
> [PSPM]

## [ceke apukuna apacheta](https://incaglossary.com/c/ceke-apukuna-apacheta.md)

(n) A
type of [apacheta](https://incaglossary.com/a/apacheta.md) used for
distribution of *ceke* (*see*,
above) energy within the context of a tribe, nation, or even planet;
sometimes these manifest in the form of [huacas](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md), [tambos](https://incaglossary.com/t/tambo.md), etc; used
for collective visionary experiences and the balancing and interweaving
of inner and outer landscapes of the soul. [ANON1]

## [ceke rumi](https://incaglossary.com/c/ceke-rumi.md)

(n) Stone of living energy lines. [QNO]
A sacred stone used to harness ceke energy. [ANON1]

## [Ceke Rumi](https://incaglossary.com/c/ceke-rumi-2.md)

(n) A sacred shrine in Hatun Q'eros. [QNO]

## [centering](https://incaglossary.com/c/centering.md)

Languages: Eng

(n)
It is both a physical state *and* the awareness of being in that
state. It's like being in the center of yourself and feeling and
visualizing the confines of your being, watching it ebb and flow. Once
you are able to center yourself, the very notion of *confines* drops
away, and you exist in a state of undivided entirety. You can enter and
exit this state (center yourself) at will. Moreover, knowing that this
state exists and you are able to enter it allows you greater power in
fending off the rigors and challenges of daily life. Not that the world
around is shrinking; you become one with it and your being looms large
in it. You feel yourself expanding, able to fend off any
challenge. [CSK]

## [centro campo](https://incaglossary.com/c/centro-campo.md)

Languages: Span

*See*, *campo
medio*, above.

## [chakra](https://incaglossary.com/c/chakra.md)

Languages: Pali

(n) A word from the Hindu life energy system meaning *wheel*.
These are [energy centers](https://incaglossary.com/e/energycenter.md);
there are seven major chakras on the body in this system. The first
three chakras would be encompassed by [llank'ay](https://incaglossary.com/ll/llankay.md).
The heart chakra is [munay](https://incaglossary.com/m/munay.md).
 [Yachay](https://incaglossary.com/y/yachay.md)
encompasses the fifth, sixth and seventh chakras. [PGO] [JLH]
(See,
[ñawi](https://incaglossary.com/n/nyawi.md).)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/chakras.jpg

## [chaos](https://incaglossary.com/c/chaos.md)

Languages: Greek

Typically (and erroneously) referred to as unpredictability. The word
χάος did not mean "disorder" in classical-period ancient Greece. It
meant "the primal emptiness, space." (*See*, [tiqsi](https://incaglossary.com/t/tiqsi.md).) Due to
people misunderstanding early Christian uses of the word, the meaning
of the word changed to "disorder." Chaos in physics is often considered
analogous to thermodynamic [entropy](https://incaglossary.com/e/entropy.md). [WIKI]

## [childhood](https://incaglossary.com/c/childhood.md)

Languages: Eng

(n)
Tightly wrapped, [head-bound](https://incaglossary.com/h/head-binding.md) and tied
to his [cradle](https://incaglossary.com/q/quirao.md), he was changed and bathed
every day and carried on the back of his mother wherever she would go.
When the child was ready to leave the cradle, he was let loose and was
carried on his mother's back or taken care of by his older siblings. A
common way to keep him out of trouble was to dig a hole in the ground
deep enough to prevent him from crawling out, and place him there with
his toys. The incorporation of the child into the community started
with the [rutuchicuy](https://incaglossary.com/r/rutuchikuy.md). Boys were
immediately exposed to the arts and crafts of the men of the clan. If
they were farmers, the young child was usually taken to the field and
encouraged to take part in the agricultural activities, performing
tasks which could go from shooing away the birds to indulging in
play-work ventures mimicking his father's job. Family groups devoted to
other crafts usually exposed their children to the work of the parents
so that they would learn the family trade. And the boys of the nobility
and leading class were sent to a yachaywasi,
where they were taught by carefully chosen tutors. The girls of the
lower classes were also promptly confronted with womanly chores. As
soon as they could be trusted, they were charged with the vigilance and
care of smaller children and were taught to handle household duties,
weaving and cooking. To a limited extent, this was also done with the
girls of the nobility, although it is obvious that these received a
higher degree of education. In [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md) culture
the puberty rites were rather mild as far as physical suffering goes.
 [DYE]

## [chronicler](https://incaglossary.com/c/chronicler.md)

(n) Following the Spanish invasion there were many historians, mostly
Spanish priests, who wrote extensively about what they observed.
Although colored by religious bigotry, their accounts today are a
valuable repository of information about the minutia of occurrences.
Ironically, these chronicles are a mother lode of detailed data about
Incan shamanic practices and daily life and are contributing greatly to
the resurgence of Incan native beliefs spreading throughout the world. *See*, [Appendix M](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/m) for a list of the chroniclers quoted herein.[PGO]

## [China root](https://incaglossary.com/c/china-root.md)

*See*, [purampsii](https://incaglossary.com/p/purampsii.md).

## [cierre de la cuenta](https://incaglossary.com/c/cierre-de-la-cuenta.md)

Languages: Span

Literally, *closing of the account*. *See*, [descuenta](https://incaglossary.com/d/descuenta.md) for
definition.

## [cielo ayahuasca](https://incaglossary.com/c/cieloayahuasca.md)

(n) *Banisteriopsis
caapi.* Literally,
 *sky
 [ayahuasca](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayahuasca.md)*
(sp). Also called yellow ayahuasca, this is the type of ayahuasca most
commonly used by contemporary mestizo [curanderos](https://incaglossary.com/c/curandero.md)
in
Amazonian Peru where it is widely cultivated.  It is a relatively
gentle but powerful healing plant capable of vivid and highly
transformative visions. It is considered to be the best type for
initiation. [BOA]
Also known as lucero ayahuasca. [AYV] [EMM]

## [ciencia vegetalista](https://incaglossary.com/c/cienciavegetalista.md)

Languages: Span

(n) Literally, *science
of the vegetalista*.
 In the old days it was known as *[alquimia palística](https://incaglossary.com/a/alquimiapalistica.md)*,
the lore and formulas of the [vegetalista](https://incaglossary.com/v/vegetalista.md).
 [AYV]

## [cinchona, quina](https://incaglossary.com/c/cinchona.md)

(n) A genus of about 38 species in the family
 *Rubiaceae*, native to the tropical Andes forests of
western South America. They are medicinal plants, known as sources for
quinine and other compounds. The name of the genus is due to Carolus
“Carl” Linnaeus, who named the tree in 1742 after a Countess of
Chinchón, the wife of a viceroy of Peru, who, in 1638, was introduced
by native Quechua healers to the medicinal properties of cinchona bark.
Stories of the medicinal properties of this bark, however, are perhaps
noted in journals as far back as the 1560s–1570s. The medicinal
properties of the cinchona tree were originally discovered by the
Quechua peoples of Peru and Bolivia, and long cultivated by them as a
muscle relaxant to halt shivering due to low temperatures. A Jesuit
Brother, Agostino Salumbrino (1561–1642), an apothecary by training and
who lived in Lima, observed the Quechua using the quinine-containing
bark of the cinchona tree for that purpose. While its effect in
treating malaria (and hence malaria-induced shivering) was entirely
unrelated to its effect in controlling shivering from cold, it was
nevertheless the correct medicine for malaria. The use of the “fever
tree” bark was introduced into European medicine by Jesuit
missionaries, thus it is also called Jesuit's bark. [WIKI]  Cinchona has yielded quinine, quinidine,
cinchonine and a host of other less known alkaloids. The first two are
now incorporated as very useful remedies in the modern pharmacopoeia.
Quinine has accompanied man in his conquest of the tropical jungles.
Quinidine has also saved many lives as the best naturally-occurring
pacemaker. The Peruvian bark is not that of a simple febrifuge, since
it does not lower the fever of any origin, but has a direct, specific,
exclusive effect upon the malarial germ and no other. [DYE]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/cinchona1.jpg — Cinchona flowers from the national tree of both Peru and Ecuador. [WIKI]
- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/cinchona2.jpg — Cinchona bark. [WIKI]

> **Editorial note**
>
> **There was a tremendous epidemic of malaria in the
> whole European continent at the end of the XVI and the beginning of the
> XVII centuries. Rome was the capital of malaria. Surrounded by marshes,
> its bad air (***mal aire***) gave its name to this terrible scourge. The
> unhealthiness of the Vatican almost caused the seat of Christianity to
> be abandoned after the death of several Popes and dozens of Cardinals
> due to malaria. The arrival of the Peruvian bark brought by the Jesuits
> changed the outlook. By 1650, the mysterious remedy from the New World
> had been fully accepted in the Holy See.** [DYE]

## [circac, circcay-camayo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cinchona-2.md)

(n) Healers who bled their patients.
 [DYE]

## [circca](https://incaglossary.com/c/cinchona-3.md)

(n) Blood veins, of which they had a fair anatomical
knowledge. [DYE]

## [circcacuy](https://incaglossary.com/c/circcacuy.md)

(n) Bloodletting, which was used quite frequently,
to the admiration and approval of the Western medics of the
Renaissance. They had a fair anatomical knowledge of the most
accessible veins. According to Garcilaso, “They took blood from the
vein nearest the pain from which the patient suffered. When they had
severe headache, they drew blood from between the eyebrows, above the
nose. The lancet was a point of obsidian which they put in a split
wooden handle, placing the  point over the vein and gave it a
sharp tap and thus they opened the vein with less pain than with the
ordinary lancets.” [DYE] *See*, [Appendix L](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/l) for a
picture of such a lancet.

## [circumcision](https://incaglossary.com/c/circumcision.md)

Languages: Eng

(n)
Chronicler Father Acosta (*see*,
 [Appendix M](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/m)) writes that “the
Indians were never circumcized and never made it a ceremony as in
Ethiopia and the East.” This is confirmed by other writers of the time.
But it can only be applied with certainty to the Inca culture. Many
ceramic pieces of the Mochicas and Vicus show clear evidence that
circumcision of the male was a common practice. [DYE]

## [cities](https://incaglossary.com/c/cities.md)

(Eng): Beautiful, fantastic cities are common visions during [ayahuasca](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayahuasca.md)
sessions.  They are often places of learning where [shamans](https://incaglossary.com/s/shaman.md)
are instructed in various disciplines by very advanced spiritual
beings, they consist of subtle and purified matter. These cities can be
located in outer space or underwater, particularly at the confluence of
two rivers. [AYV]
(*See*,
 picture
at [yakumama](https://incaglossary.com/y/yakumama.md).)

## [Citua](https://incaglossary.com/c/citua.md)

*See*,
 [Situa](https://incaglossary.com/s/situa.md).

## [Ciyuwayis](https://incaglossary.com/c/ciyuwayis.md)

(n) [Medicine](https://incaglossary.com/m/medicine.md)
people between [Lake Titicaca](https://incaglossary.com/l/laketiticaca.md)
and Bolivia who bring medicine to the different villages. (*See*, [Kollahuayas](https://incaglossary.com/k/kollahuaya.md).)

## [clavohuasca](https://incaglossary.com/c/clavohuasca.md)

(n) (*Tynanthas
panurensis*) Also
known clavo huasca, clove vine, white clove, cipó cravo, cipó trindade,
it is prepared traditionally as a tincture. However, is also taken as a
wine andas a decoction made from boiling the vine wood. Clavohuasca's
main therapeutic actions are aphrodisiac, analgesic, digestive
stimulant,febrifuge, and stimulant. It has been used for centuries in
Brazilian and Peruvian medicine. The popularity of clavohuasca is
spreading in Europe and North America, being used primarily as an
aphrodisiac and stimulant. Clavohuasca is not a hallucinogen, but the
ayahuasca brew often causes vomiting and sometimes diarrhea.
Clavohuasca is sometimes added to the brew or taken simultaneously to
help reduce these effects. [WIKI] *See*,
 [palero](https://incaglossary.com/p/palero.md).

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/clavohuasca.jpg — Cross-cut of the large, woody vine clavohuasca.

## [climatology](https://incaglossary.com/c/climatology.md)

(n) the [Incan](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md) knowledge
of medical climatology certainly excelled at that time any of the known
cultures of the world. Even now, it has not been realistically
surpassed by the exponents of our occidental culture. Out of their
necessity for a condensed interpretation of all the variables of the
climate and establishing the logical equation between man and his
environment, they grasped the relationship of climate to man in a way
which was apparently understood (but never put into use) by the Spanish
conquerors. Populations were moved by the Spanish for labor with no
consideration of the climate the worker came from. Thus one sees that
the forced migration brought about by the imposed changes in the
economy -- from agriculture to mining -- and by the cruel wars of the
Spanish armies among themselves, produced a cataclysmal depopulation of
the newly acquired land. In fifty years of Spanish domination, a
population of fourteen million Indians was crushed into a meager
million and a half. This annihilation was not produced by sword, cannon
and musket, but by malnutrition, cultural shock and climatological
impact. [DYE]
*See*, [yunka](https://incaglossary.com/y/yunka.md) (def. 2), [quechua](https://incaglossary.com/q/quechua-quichua.md) (def. 2), [colla](https://incaglossary.com/c/colla.md), [paqarina](https://incaglossary.com/p/paqarina.md).

> **Editorial note**
>
> **The
> common citizen deified the mountains, the lakes, the rivers, the earth,
> the sea and all geographical features. And he established a very
> personal, indivisible connection between himself and the *paqarina*,
> his tribal geographical god. Through painful experience he knew that if
> he left these gods and carried his adventurous or warlike spirit to
> other lands, disease and perhaps death would come to him as punishment.**
>  [DYE]

## [clinclín](https://incaglossary.com/c/clinclin.md)

(n) *Polygala
vulgaris* [poly =
many or much; gala = milk, in Greek]. According to Classical and
Renaissance writers common milkwort was used medicinally as an infusion
to increase the flow of a nursing mother's milk. [WIKI] In Chile,
a warm infusion of this plant is valued as an excellent diuretic. [REPC]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/clinclin.jpg — Clinclín. [WIKI]

## [Coa](https://incaglossary.com/c/coa.md)

*See*, [Koa](https://incaglossary.com/k/koa.md).

## [Cobo, Bernabé](https://incaglossary.com/c/cobo.md)

*See*, [App. M](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/m), the Chroniclers.

## [coca, cuca, kuka](https://incaglossary.com/c/coca.md)

(n) The sacred plant of the Andean [shamans](https://incaglossary.com/s/shaman.md).
 *(Erythroxylum
coca)*
Used by almost everyone to counteract the effects of altitude and in
ceremonies, especially [despachos](https://incaglossary.com/d/despacho.md).
(See,
[k'intu](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kintu.md).) Andeans have
always used it for [divination](https://incaglossary.com/d/divination.md),
as do some Amazonian [sorcerers](https://incaglossary.com/s/sorcerer.md).
If the coca bolus tastes sweet, expect good fortune and continue on
your path. If the coca bolus tastes bitter, this is a bad omen and you
should postpone your path. [THIM] It would
never occur to mourners to visit a grave without bringing coca leaves.
They say it protects them from the [machu wayra](https://incaglossary.com/m/machuwayra.md) and
comforts them in their grief. Chewing coca together, they are drawn as
a group into a shared communion with [Pachamama](https://incaglossary.com/p/pachamama.md), with the [Tirakuna](https://incaglossary.com/t/tirakuna.md) and with
the [machula aulanchis](https://incaglossary.com/m/machulaaulanchis.md). [THLH] In the
Andes coca is considered to be the medium between man and the
supernatural, as well as the expression and maintenance of social
relations. There is a legend that the coca plant sprang from the grave
of a beautiful Indian woman who had been dismembered and buried in
punishment for prostitution. [WGRT] Its leaves
are chewed as a mild stimulant and used as a source of divination and
diagnosis and in despachos. In a ceremonial context coca is often
grouped into a [k'intu](https://incaglossary.com/k/kintu.md), or fan of
three coca leaves, which are used to carry prayers and to embody
specific forces and energies. [PSPM] In leaf
form, coca does not produce toxicity or dependence. Its effects are
distinct from those of cocaine, which is but one of more than a dozen
active compounds in the leaf. When the main active component, cocaine,
is extracted, it becomes a powerful stimulant and addictive drug.
Authentic shamans never use chemically altered or concentrated drugs
derived from sacred plants. [ACAI] Coca, the
sacred leaf of the Andes; chewed by millions of people daily, kuka
contains some 180 chemicals (alkaloids), including (but certainly not
limited to) a few dozen antioxidants (some of which are unique to
coca), all major vitamins and minerals in considerable quantities,
proteins, fatty acids, and cocaine; used in despachos and countless
other forms of ritual offering and prayer, as well as in divination,
three leaves are formed into a k'intu as the most potent and universal
kuka offering. [ANON1] (See, [Appendix G](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/g) for some
early history of coca and Western Civilization.)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/droppedImage-512.jpg

> **Editorial note**
>
> **When
> the divine son of the sun,[Manco Capac](https://incaglossary.com/m/manco-capac.md),
> climbed down from the rocks of[Lake Titicaca](https://incaglossary.com/l/laketiticaca.md),
> he gave humans light, knowledge of the gods, and knowledge of the arts
> and of coca, a divine plant which satiates the hungry, gives new
> strength to the tired and exhausted, and helps the unhappy to forget
> their cares.**
>
> --
> Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616) [EPP]

> **Editorial note**
>
> **[Cocamama](https://incaglossary.com/m/mamacoca.md) is alive and powerful. Coca
> speaks the truth to man, reveals the unknown, and gives strength and
> health***.
>
> -- Sebastian, a Q'ero* *[pampamesayoc](https://incaglossary.com/p/pampamesayoq.md)*
> [ACAI]

## [Cocamama](https://incaglossary.com/c/cocamama.md)

See,
[Mama Coca](https://incaglossary.com/m/mamacoca.md), [mama](https://incaglossary.com/m/mama.md).(See,
 [Appendix G](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/g) for some
early history of coca and Western Civilization.)

## [coca del Inca](https://incaglossary.com/c/coca-del-inca.md)

*See*, [incapcocam](https://incaglossary.com/i/incapcocum.md).

## [coca mukllu, kuka mukkllu](https://incaglossary.com/c/cocamukllu.md)

(n) Literally, *[coca](https://incaglossary.com/c/coca.md) seed*. [ROR]

## [cocha](https://incaglossary.com/c/cocha.md)

(n) A high mountain lake or lagoon. [ROR]
Lake, lagoon, pond or ocean. [THIM]
Waterfalls, deep streams. [PSPM]

## [cochas bravas](https://incaglossary.com/c/cochas-bravas.md)

(n) Isolated lakes in the jungle where there are enormous beasts (sp). [AYV]

## [Cocha Supay](https://incaglossary.com/c/cochasupay.md)

(n) Literally, *devil's
lagoon*.
This is a power spot in [Aucayacu](https://incaglossary.com/a/aucayacu.md)
in the Amazon. (See,
[ayahuascero](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayahuascero.md) and [supay](https://incaglossary.com/s/supay.md).)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/cocha%20supay.jpg — [EMM]

## [cochineal](https://incaglossary.com/c/cochineal.md)

(n) (1) Cochineal bugs are parasites that feed on cactus. They look
like dusty white ladybugs. (2) A red dye from this insect. Cochineal
was a valuable export to Europe. The uniforms of the British Redcoats
were dyed with cochineal. Cardinals' robes had been purple before the
discovery of cochineal red. Even in recent times, dried cochineal has
sold for $120 per kilo. [WFH]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/droppedImage-522.jpg

## [coincidentia oppositorum](https://incaglossary.com/c/coincidentiaoppositorum.md)

Languages: Latin

The spiritual process of transcending opposites, the union of
contraries or mystery of the totality. A term coined by Nicholas of
Cusa. [WOFW]

## [colla](https://incaglossary.com/c/colla.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) People adapted to the life in the high, cold plateau of the
Andean ranges and the southern part of the continent. Physically the
strongest and apparently of the highest intellectual stamina, not much
is known about their biological defense against disease. [DYE] *See*, *climatology*,
below, and , [yunka](https://incaglossary.com/y/yunka.md) (def. 2), [quechua](https://incaglossary.com/q/quechua-quichua.md) (def. 2).

## [collacamana](https://incaglossary.com/c/collacamana.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Surgeon. [ASD]

## [collaña](https://incaglossary.com/c/collana.md)

Languages: AYM

(n) Surgery. [ASD]

## [collari, Collari](https://incaglossary.com/c/collari.md)

(n) (Qoya rey, Inca queen) keeper of life and death; feminine
principle, formless. The left side of the body (sp). [JLH]

The first woman in the [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
creation myth. [MAN]
(*See*,
 [inkarri](https://incaglossary.com/i/inkarri.md).)

## [Collasuyu](https://incaglossary.com/c/collasuyu.md)

See,
[Kollasuyu](https://incaglossary.com/k/kollasuyu.md).

## [collca, qollqa](https://incaglossary.com/c/collca.md)

(n) A storehouse or granary.

## [Collca](https://incaglossary.com/c/collca-2.md)

(n) The [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
name for the [Pleiades](https://incaglossary.com/p/pleiades.md),
one of the star groups within [Mayu](https://incaglossary.com/m/mayu.md),
the Milky Way, and believed to be the guardian of stored seeds and
agriculture. [MAN]
Many creation myths of indigenous cultures relate that humanity
originated in the Pleiades and [shamans](https://incaglossary.com/s/shaman.md)
are still in contact with beings from this region of space. [PGO]
The Pleiades are one of the finest and nearest examples of a reflection
nebula associated with a cluster of young stars. The cluster itself is
a group of many hundreds of stars about 400 light years away in the
direction of the northern constellation of Taurus. A handful of the
brightest stars cluster together in space and have been recognized as a
group since ancient times. All the visible stars of the Pleiades are in
reality much more luminous than the Sun. [WAGA]*See*,
also, [Onqoy](https://incaglossary.com/o/onqoy.md).

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/droppedImage-532.jpg

## [comadre](https://incaglossary.com/c/comadre.md)

Languages: Span

(n) (1) A midwife. [SEES] (2) Name
by which mother and godmother address each other. [SEES] One who
has a godmother relationship to a close relative of the speaker.
 The masculine equivalent is *compadre*. [GOL]

## [compadrazgo](https://incaglossary.com/c/compadrazgo.md)

Languages: Span.

(n) Fictitious relationship for the purpose of ritual. [ROR]
Literally, copaternity. A system of ritual coparenthood that links
parents, children, and godparents in a close social or economic
relationship. [2B]

## [Con](https://incaglossary.com/c/con.md)

(n) An early creator-god whose name later became [Pachakamak](https://incaglossary.com/p/pachacamac.md)<. [MAN]

The god of rain and wind that came from the south.
[EFD]
 He
is the son of the supreme god [Inti](https://incaglossary.com/i/inti.md)
and [Mama Killa](https://incaglossary.com/m/mamakilla.md),
and brother of Pachakamak. The latter drives him back to the north from
which he came. However, with his withdrawal, Kon takes the rains back
with him and this causes the land to wither. [WPO]
 The
god in this creation myth is named Kon Tiki (or [Con Ticci Wiracocha](https://incaglossary.com/c/conticciwiracocha.md). Thor
Heyerdahl's voyage from Peru to Polynesia on the balsa raft *Kon
Tiki*
was intended to demonstrate commerce between the two cultures, as *tiki*
is a term used by both the Polynesians and the Peruvians for "god." In
the most ancient of times the earth was covered in darkness. Then, out
of a lake called [Kollasuyu](https://incaglossary.com/k/kollasuyu.md), the god
Con Ticci Wiracocha emerged, bringing some human beings with him. Then
Con Ticci created the sun (Inti), the moon and the stars to light the
world. It is from Inti that the Inca, emperor of [Tawantisuyu](https://incaglossary.com/t/tawantinsuyu.md),
is descended. Out of great rocks Con Ticci fashioned more human beings,
including women who were already pregnant. Then he sent these people
off into every corner of the world. He kept a male and female with him
at [Cusco](https://incaglossary.com/c/cusco.md). Another story is that Con, the
Creator, was in the form of a man without bones. He filled the earth
with good things to supply the needs of the first humans. The people,
however, forgot Con's goodness to them and rebelled. So he punished
them by stopping the rainfall. The miserable people were forced to work
hard, drawing what little water they could find from stinking, drying
riverbeds. Then a new god, Pachakamak, came and drove Con out, changing
his people into monkeys. Pachakamak then took earth and made the
ancestors of human beings.  [AMH]
As a child of the sun and the moon, he was brother to [Pachacamac](https://incaglossary.com/p/pachacamac.md). [IAWS]

## [condenados](https://incaglossary.com/c/condenados.md)

*See*,
 [kukuchi](https://incaglossary.com/k/kukuchi.md).
 [ROR]

## [condor](https://incaglossary.com/c/condor.md)

Languages: Span

kuntur: (n) *Vultur gryphus*. The Andean condor is a raptor and
the largest bird capable of flight. It is also known as the king
vulture. [DAJG]
The keeper of the [Hanaqpacha](https://incaglossary.com/h/hanaqpacha.md) and
intermediary between that realm and the [Kaypacha](https://incaglossary.com/k/kaypacha.md) (along
with [siwar q'enti](https://incaglossary.com/s/siwarqenti.md)); the
ultimate symbol of transcendence and of elevated, heavenly
consciousness; sometimes seen as a symbol of purification, scavenging
for carrion and transmuting that somewhat repugnant food-source into
pure flight. [ANON1] (*See*,
 [Apuchin](https://incaglossary.com/a/apuchin.md).) National
Geo [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeoIg0rvXPg) to
video of Andean condors. Here is a [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpQnRLDtNc) to a very
good HD Spanish language video. A camera was strapped to the back of a
condor, so there is aerial footage, too.

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/condor.jpg — Andean condor feeding.

## [Condor Cancha](https://incaglossary.com/c/condor-cancha.md)

(n) Another name for [Machu Picchu](https://incaglossary.com/m/machupicchu.md).

## [condor misha](https://incaglossary.com/c/condor-misha.md)

(n) An herb that contains the essence of a sacred lagoon.  [JLH]

## [congenital anomalies](https://incaglossary.com/c/congenital-anomalies.md)

*See*, [birth defects](https://incaglossary.com/b/birthdefect.md).

## [Coniraya](https://incaglossary.com/c/coniraya.md)

(n) [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
moon god. [MAN]
Trees, animals, plants, humans -- life sprang from everything he
touched. [WGC]
(*See*,
 [Cavillaca](https://incaglossary.com/c/cavillaca.md).)

## [conopa, canopa, qonopa](https://incaglossary.com/c/conopa.md)

(n) A [llama](https://incaglossary.com/ll/llama.md) figurine with
a hole in the back, covered with llama fat and red dirt. Imprinted
conopas are put in corrals for fertility. Only the fat from a white
llama or [alpaca](https://incaglossary.com/a/alpaca.md)'s chest goes in the hole.
The figurines are carried up on the glacier during the [Qoyllur Rit'i](https://incaglossary.com/q/qoyllur-rit-i.md)
festival by the Bear Clan ([Ukukus](https://incaglossary.com/u/ukuku.md)).
 [JLH]
Conopas
are devotional objects that have cavities carved into their backs where
offerings of llama fat and [coca](https://incaglossary.com/c/coca.md) leaves are
placed. Before the Spanish conquest and even to this day, these stone
figurines are charged with protecting the house and bringing good luck
and prosperity to the people living there. [LCL]
 Llama,
alpaca and sometimes flowers carved from stone or crystal. They were
and continue to be placed in prominent locations in the home as a
protector. [IGMP] An amulet.
 [TLD] Usually
quartz crystals or unusual pebbles in which the family ancestors were
said to reside. Conopas shaped like corn, potatoes, and llamas were
handed down from father to son and used to promote the fertility of
crops and livestock. [WOFW]
 Household gods. [GOL]
 An
important offering vessel [khuya](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuya.md) or [illa](https://incaglossary.com/i/illa.md); a stone
carved into the shape of a llama or alpaka with a small bowl-like
depression in the represented animal's back; used for daily, weekly, or
monthly offerings of [untu](https://incaglossary.com/u/untu.md), which are
placed in the little bowl and thereby passed through the archetypal
principle of the llama, the highest Andean symbol of loving service, to
Creator; it was pre- Conquest (and possibly pre-[Inka](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)) custom to
have a [yanantin](https://incaglossary.com/y/yanantin.md) (pair) of
qonopakuna in every household; one of the pair would be light-colored
(marble or alabaster) and the other dark (usually basalt); this term is
most likely modern and is usually represented as in Spanish (conopa). [ANON1] (*See*,
 [napa](https://incaglossary.com/n/napa.md).)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/paint422.jpg

## [conscious death](https://incaglossary.com/c/conscious-death.md)

(n) A spiritual art form that utilizes the death process to transform
consciousness toward enlightenment. [DIA] (*See*,
 [nierika](https://incaglossary.com/n/nierika.md).)

## [consensual reality](https://incaglossary.com/c/consensualreality.md)

*See*,
 [tonal](https://incaglossary.com/t/tonal.md).

## [Contisuyu](https://incaglossary.com/c/contisuyu.md)

*See*,
 [Kontisuyu](https://incaglossary.com/k/kontisuyu.md).

## [Con Ticci Wiracocha](https://incaglossary.com/c/conticciwiracocha.md)

*See*,
 [Con](https://incaglossary.com/c/con.md).

## [Contiti Wiracocha Pachayachachic](https://incaglossary.com/c/contiti-wiracocha-pachayachachic.md)

(n) Name given to [Wiracocha](https://incaglossary.com/w/wiracocha.md)
by the people of *Cacha*
(*see*, above).
It means *god,
teacher of the world.*
[MAN]

## [contrahechizo](https://incaglossary.com/c/contrahechizo.md)

Languages: Span

Antimagic. An herb or charm used to dispel the effects of magic or
sorcery. [EPP]

## [contrayerba](https://incaglossary.com/c/contrayerba.md)

*See*, [bejuco de la estrella](https://incaglossary.com/b/bejucodelaestrella.md).

## [Copacabana](https://incaglossary.com/c/copacabana.md)

(n) The town
from where pilgrims approached the island of [Titicaca](https://incaglossary.com/t/titicaca.md),
Copacabana, became the most important pilgrimage center in viceregal
Peru. Today, the Virgin of Copacabana is the national Saint of Bolivia.
The two dates of worship to the Virgin, February 2 and August 5 might
derive from Inca and perhaps even pre-Inca times as the first date
marks the time when in Titicaca and [Tiahuanaco](https://incaglossary.com/t/tiwanako.md) the sun
goes through zenith and the second date is exactly half a year later. A
chronicle recording the Catholic importance of Copacabana includes
information on its use for pilgrimage in [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
times. People from *Cusco* (*see*, below) and 40
other locations representing the whole empire had been relocated around
Copacabana. Apparently, they represented the 41 provinces from where
people were ordered or allowed to visit the island. The imperial
organization reminds of the local one in Cusco of its 41 directions or *cekes*
(*see*, above) leading
to so many locations in its province. [RTZ1]

## [Copacati](https://incaglossary.com/c/copacati.md)

(n) Lake goddess whose worship was centered in [Tiwanako](https://incaglossary.com/t/tiwanako.md)
near [Lake Titicaca](https://incaglossary.com/l/laketiticaca.md).
 [WMO]

## [coqueo](https://incaglossary.com/c/coqueo.md)

(n) The
Andean practice of extracting the juice and flavor of coca leaves with saliva. [MAAM]

## [coquero](https://incaglossary.com/c/coquero.md)

Languages: Span

(n) A coca chewer. [ACAI]*
 See*, [akulliq](https://incaglossary.com/a/akulliq.md).

## [Coricancha](https://incaglossary.com/c/coricancha.md)

*See*, [Qoricancha](https://incaglossary.com/q/qoricancha.md).

## [cosco](https://incaglossary.com/c/cosco.md)

*See*, [qosqo](https://incaglossary.com/q/qosqo.md).

## [cortapelo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cortapelo.md)

Languages: Span

(n) Literally, *hair
cutter*.
An owl that comes to a [mesa](https://incaglossary.com/m/mesa.md) [def. 5]
session and screeches near the patient because it is envious of the
patient and wants to take his or her hair to use to effect a [daño](https://incaglossary.com/d/dano.md). [GOL]

## [cosmic web](https://incaglossary.com/c/cosmic-web.md)

(n) Our
universe is a colossal "cosmic web" of galaxies strung into filaments
[strings] and tendrils that are millions or billions of light-years
long. When you look into a large telescope, the reality of the cosmic
web hits you because you can see how galaxies are organized. The cosmic
web filaments are held together by [dark matter](https://incaglossary.com/d/dark-matter.md), unseen
stuff that makes up 85 percent of all mass in the universe. The cosmic
web is thought to funnel galaxies, gas and dark matter around the
universe, something like a chaotic intergalactic highway.
[WSC4] (*See*, *ceke*,
above.)

## [Cotahuasi Valley](https://incaglossary.com/c/cotahuasivalley.md)

The deepest valley in the world, 11,600 feet, rich in minerals and soil
for agriculture, was isolated enough to escape the worst of the Spanish
Conquest. Hunting and agricultural use by humans can be traced back
12,000 years. [JAR]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/droppedImage-562.jpg

## [cotataura](https://incaglossary.com/c/cotataura.md)

*See*, [saccropa](https://incaglossary.com/s/saccropa.md).

## [coto-máchacuy](https://incaglossary.com/c/coto-machacuy.md)

Languages: Amaz

(n) Mythological giant serpent with two heads which inhabits
the bottom of large lakes.  [THIM]

## [coya](https://incaglossary.com/c/coya.md)

*See*, [Qoya](https://incaglossary.com/q/qoya.md).

## [creey](https://incaglossary.com/c/creey.md)

(v) To believe. (n) Belief, doctrine (sp.)

## [Crucero](https://incaglossary.com/c/crucero.md)

*See*, [Southern Cross](https://incaglossary.com/s/southerncross.md), [Mayu](https://incaglossary.com/m/mayu.md).

## [Cruz Calvario](https://incaglossary.com/c/cruz-calvario.md)

*See*, [Southern Cross](https://incaglossary.com/s/southerncross.md), [Mayu](https://incaglossary.com/m/mayu.md).

## [cruz chonta](https://incaglossary.com/c/cruz-chonta.md)

(n) A
colonial crucifix made from [chonta](https://incaglossary.com/ch/chonta.md). Used to
symbolize the masculine principle and the integration of the *curandero*'s
(*see*, below) biography and spiritual ascension. It is usually
placed upon its female counterpart. [PSPM]

## [Cruz Velakuy](https://incaglossary.com/c/cruz-velakuy.md)

Held mainly
in early May, when the Southern Cross is at its zenith, the Festival of
the Cross (*La
Fiesta de las Cruces* or *D*í*a
de la* *[Chacana](https://incaglossary.com/ch/chacana.md)*), is
celebrated with all-night fiestas in the mountain villages, as it has
been for centuries from pre-[Incan](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md) times.
This is really a festival of the [Southern Cross](https://incaglossary.com/s/southerncross.md), the
bridge from one side of the Milky Way to the other side. It is a point
of departure during this lifetime for the spirit and also a point of
transition into the next life (sp). [IGMP] (*See*, [Mayu](https://incaglossary.com/m/mayu.md).)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/velakuy.jpg — Cruz Velakuy in a Bolivian village.

## [cucacuca](https://incaglossary.com/c/cucacuca.md)

*See*, [incapcocam](https://incaglossary.com/i/incapcocum.md). Cuca is
another spelling of *coca* (*see*, above).

## [cuenta](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuenta.md)

Languages: Span

(v) *See*, [account](https://incaglossary.com/a/account.md) for more
definition. (n) Literally, *account*. (1)
History, power relationship. *Cuenta* is used
specifically in relation to [power objects](https://incaglossary.com/p/powerobject.md)
from a [mesa](https://incaglossary.com/m/mesa.md) and
denotes their special magical relationship to the [shaman's](https://incaglossary.com/s/shaman.md) powers.
The account of an artifact that we have on the mesa is related to the
site from which it was brought. Cuenta is everything concerning
history, geographic points, and, more than anything, the power that it
contains. If one “accounts” an artifact for a certain magical end,
one's spirit has to impregnate itself little by little into the
artifact, into the material of the artifact, within the instrument. [WOFW] An account
is the history of the healers relationship with spirit-entities. When
this history is sung or chanted at the mesa ceremony, this narrative
act both brings that spirit-power into the mesa objects and allows the
healer to dominate that power. [GOL] ( 2) The
reason for the sickness. [WPH] (3) The
practitioner's temperament. An account is the history of the healers
relationship with spirit-entities. When this history is sung or chanted
at the mesa ceremony, this narrative act both brings that spirit-power
into the mesa objects and allows the healer to dominate that power. [GOL]  An
artifact must have cuenta for the *curandero* (see, below). (*Compare*, *ceke*
(*see*, above), esp. [kollana](https://incaglossary.com/k/kollana.md)) There are
also acquired cuentas given as gifts, but it must be accounted in a
personal manner with the old and the new account of its new owner. It
must be given the profound force of the person who is going to possess
it. If one finds an artifact with an unknown cuenta, one has to submit
it to a [tracking](https://incaglossary.com/t/tracking.md) or
tracing, by which one discovers what it is for, where it is from and
why. The artifact remains impregnated forever. [WOFW]  (*See*, [magnetismo](https://incaglossary.com/m/magnetismo.md), [power](https://incaglossary.com/p/power.md), [huaca](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md).)

> **Editorial note**
>
> **Knowing
> that your account [cuenta] is your own, nobody knows you, nobody can
> reach you, never will they cross you on your path because you have
> something that is your own, not picked up from someone else. Make your
> own account and nobody will be able to cross you or bewitch you.**
> [WOFW]

## [cuicamama](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuicamama.md)

(n) Literally, *mother worm*, a [mariri](https://incaglossary.com/m/mariri.md)
used in [marupa](https://incaglossary.com/m/marupa.md) sorcery as well as by
healers to convey messages. [AYV]
(*See*,
 [mama](https://incaglossary.com/m/mama.md).)

## [Cuichu](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuichu.md)

*See*, [k'uychi](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kuychi.md).

## [cult of the dead](https://incaglossary.com/c/cultofthedead.md)

Languages: Eng

(n)
The cult played an important role in the daily life of the ancient
Peruvian. When the Spanish arrived, *Cusco* (*see*, below) was the site of
an organized funeral cult which has not been excelled by any known
culture in the history of man. During the previous 400 years, the
ruling members of the powerful dynasty of the [Incas](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md), thirteen
in total, had been embalmed and preserved in their own private palaces
surrounded by a host of living wives, concubines, officers, relatives,
entertainers and sycophants whose only duty was to care for the
embalmed body of the ancient ruler. The [panaca](https://incaglossary.com/p/panaca.md), which
lived protected and entirely supported by the State, paraded in full
regalia around the privileged [mummy](https://incaglossary.com/m/mallqui.md) at every
festivity. This, with minor emphasis, was carried down the social scale
and it was in excellent good taste to be able to keep at home the mummy
of dear old grandmother to revere her and take her as honored guest to
the communal fiestas. The cult of the dead had a limit, however;
although the body of a very important man was kept unburied for an
indefinite length of time, the common man was only entitled to one year
of remembrance. Usually on the anniversary of his death his relatives
would come to his grave for the last time, and after performing a few
rites, which usually ended in eating, drinking and general rejoicing,
no more was said or done about him. In general, it was believed that
the spirit of a common man could survive him for no longer than one
year. Those who were buried were accompanied to the grave by many of
their most cherished possessions as well as enough food and cloth to
last for the trip to the [ukhupacha](https://incaglossary.com/u/ukhupacha.md).
Among the cherished possessions which accompanied a man to his grave,
some cultures included human beings. Usually the main wife and several
concubines, with or without their children, and accompanied by servants
in varied number, would be buried in the same or an adjacent grave.
This was neither human sacrifice nor suicide. It was a social
obligation accepted by women and servants. [DYE] *See*, [paqaricu](https://incaglossary.com/p/paqaricu.md).

## [cumpa-supay](https://incaglossary.com/c/cumpa-supay.md)

Languages: Amaz

(n) One of the birds used in the science of the [vegetalistas](https://incaglossary.com/v/vegetalista.md).
 [AYV]
(*See*,
 [supay](https://incaglossary.com/s/supay.md).)

## [cuna](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuna.md)

*See*,
 [-kuna](https://incaglossary.com/k/kuna.md).

## [Cuntisuyu](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuntisuyu.md)

*See*,
 [Kontisuyu](https://incaglossary.com/k/kontisuyu.md).

## [cunununu](https://incaglossary.com/c/cunununu.md)

(n)
Thunder. [SIMA] (*See*, [Con](https://incaglossary.com/c/con.md), [Illapa](https://incaglossary.com/i/illapa.md), [raio](https://incaglossary.com/r/raio.md).)

## [curaca, kuraka](https://incaglossary.com/c/curaca.md)

(n) Members of the [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
nobility who collaborated with the Spanish in their attempt to root out
idolatry. The second [Manco Capac](https://incaglossary.com/m/manco-capac.md)
was said to have been the son of a curaca. [MAN]
The Spanish continued to rule the Indians through the curacas until the
great [Tupac Amaru](https://incaglossary.com/t/tupacamaru.md)
revolt of 1780, in which many curacas took part. [CSCR]
(*See*,
 [Idolotrías](https://incaglossary.com/i/idolotrias.md).)

## [curakakulleq](https://incaglossary.com/c/curakakulleq.md)

*See*,
 [kurak akulliq](https://incaglossary.com/k/kurakakulliqa.md).

## [curanderismo](https://incaglossary.com/c/curanderismo.md)

Languages: Span

, huachuma curanderismo: (n) From the spanishThe science and
practice of the [curandero](https://incaglossary.com/c/curandero.md).
 A holistic
system of Latin American folk medicine. This type of folk medicine has
characteristics specific to the area where it is practiced.
Curanderismo blends religious beliefs, faith, and prayer with the use
of herbs, massage, and other traditional methods of healing. It can be
defined as a set of traditional beliefs, rituals, and practices that
address the physical, spiritual, psychological, and social needs of the
people who use it. The Spanish verb *curar* means to
heal. Therefore, curanderismo is translated as *a
system of healing*. The goal
of curanderismo is to create a balance between the patient and his or
her environment, thereby sustaining health. [FACA]

> **Editorial note**
>
> **Everything
> relating to curanderismo is discoverable simply through the study of
> natural forces applied to these so-called mysteries that are not
> mysteries. Rather, they are very, very susceptible to those persons who
> really feel the desire to learn.**
> -- Eduardo
> Calderón Palomino  [WOFW]

## [curandero / curandera](https://incaglossary.com/c/curandero.md)

(1)
Male/female healer. [RS] (2) A
practitioner in [huachuma](https://incaglossary.com/h/huachuma.md) [shamanism](https://incaglossary.com/s/shamanism.md) of the
north coast of Peru.[PSPM]
Contemporary counterparts of the pre-Columbian magico-religious healers
who were highly skilled in performing cures with herbs and simples. The
modern curandero also has a vast knowledge of herbs, including the use
of several hallucinogens, especially the San Pedro cactus [huachuma]
and [datura](https://incaglossary.com/d/datura.md), which serve as catalytic
agents for psychic powers. Reputedly capable of curing more than
physical illness, he is said to be able to locate lost or stolen
property, divine certain events and circumstances, assure success in
personal projects and business, cure alcoholism and insanity, and undo
love magic and [witchcraft](https://incaglossary.com/witch). [WOFW] (3) An
Amazonian [vegetalista](https://incaglossary.com/v/vegetalista.md). They often
refer to themselves as curanderos and this appellation has made it into
the literature. Be aware of the context in which you find the word.
(The terminology surrounding the curandero mesa within this glossary
refers to the huachuma curanderos, not the vegetalistas.)[PGO]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/curanderos.jpg — Don José Paz Chapañon and his assistants, Lambayeque, Peru, 1980. [EMA]

## [curandero mesa](https://incaglossary.com/c/curanderomesa.md)

Languages: Span

(n) An altar-like arrangement of [power object](https://incaglossary.com/p/powerobject.md)s laid on
the ground for use in curing, fertility, and divination rituals. The
objects of the mesa, taken as a whole, constitute a microcosm in which
is represented all of the powers and mysteries of nature situated in
that small space. The *curandero* (*see*, above) emits an
influence over this microcosm in order to influence the macrocosm. Each
object represents a particular force in nature. Psychologically, each
is a projection of the healer's own inner spiritual [power](https://incaglossary.com/p/power.md), which
becomes activated whenever the mesa and its accounts are manipulated in
conjunction with the drinking of the [San Pedro](https://incaglossary.com/h/huachuma.md) infusion.
The mesa objects are arranged according to two [levels of abstraction](https://incaglossary.com/l/levelofabstraction.md) (*see*, for
illustrations) existing in the same space/time: (1) the level of the *campos*
(*see*, above),
representing balanced dualism); and (2) the level of the [four winds](https://incaglossary.com/fg/fourwinds.md) or four
roads seen as four triangles whose points converge in the center of the
mesa forming a cross (*see*, [Tawantinsuyu](https://incaglossary.com/t/tawantinsuyu.md), [Inca medicine wheel](https://incaglossary.com/i/incamedicinewheel.md)).[*See*, also, [mesa](https://incaglossary.com/m/mesa.md), esp. def.
(2) and level of abstraction for diagram.] [WOFW] The left
side contains objects from below the surface of the earth (*e.g.*,
pre-Columbian artifacts from ancient burial grounds, or from the bottom
of the ocean (*e.g.*, shells)
-- all associated with down, *hurin*. On the
other hand, the right side contains materials from highland lagoons
(e.g., herbs), or objects linked to the sky (e.g., saints' images) --
all associated with *up*, hanan . .
.  The central section of the mesa, like the earth's surface, is
the place where these dualistic forces are expressed in human life, in
this case through the instructions of the curandero as he receives
information from the right and left (for up and down) and then directs
the concentrated forces of the mesa. [SSCC]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/c_files/curanderomesa.jpg — A curandero mesa. [SCU]

> **Editorial note**
>
> **Taken as a whole, the [curandero] mesa symbolizes
> the
> duality of the worlds of man and nature -- a veritable microcosmos
> duplicating the forces at work in the universe.** [WOFW]

## [curarse](https://incaglossary.com/c/curarse.md)

Languages: Span

(v) To recover, get well, cure oneself, take treatment. (In Peru, it
also means to get drunk.) [SEES]  A
term which implies the cleansing and strengthening of the body.
[MSIN]

## [Cusco, Cuzco, Qosqo](https://incaglossary.com/c/cusco.md)

(n) The name of the capital city of the [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
Empire. It was known as the “City of the Solar Puma.” [ACAI] (*See*,
 [Appendix D](https://incaglossary.com/appendix/d) for more information.)

## [cusco cara urumi](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuscocaraurumi.md)

(n) Literally, *uncovered navel stone*. The mythical site of the
foundation of [Cusco](https://incaglossary.com/c/cusco.md), located in a swampy
area with a sweet-water spring. At the cusco cara urumi, [Manco Capac](https://incaglossary.com/m/manco-capac.md) hurled the [tupayauri](https://incaglossary.com/t/tupayauri.md) into the marshy ground, and it
disappeared, signifying the end of his search of a suitable location to
found a great city. [SIMA]

## [Cusco Huanca](https://incaglossary.com/c/cusco-huanca.md)

*See*,
 [Ayar Auca](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayarauca.md).

## [cussiricuytamricuni](https://incaglossary.com/c/cussiricuytamricuni.md)

(n)
Pleasant hallucinations. [DYE]

## [cuti](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuti.md)

*See*,
 [kuti](https://incaglossary.com/k/kuti.md)

## [cuticuti](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuticuti.md)

(n) Plant that grows over 14,000 feet and intoxicates llamas; seeds are
added to [wiska despachos](https://incaglossary.com/w/wiskadespacho.md).
 [JLH]
(*See*,
 [napa](https://incaglossary.com/n/napa.md).)

## [cuti despacho](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuti-despacho.md)

See,
[kuti despacho](https://incaglossary.com/k/kuti-despacho.md).

## [cutipar](https://incaglossary.com/c/cutipar.md)

See,
[kutichiy](https://incaglossary.com/k/kutichiy.md).

## [cuya](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuya.md)

See,
[khuya](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuya.md).

## [cuyaiki](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuyaiki.md)

(phrase) *I
love you dearly.*
(*See*,
 [khuya](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuya.md).)

## [cuyiki](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuyiki.md)

(n) Ceke lines that inform the [khuya](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuya.md).

## [Cuzco Huanca](https://incaglossary.com/c/cuzco-huanca.md)

*See*,
 [Ayar Auca](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayarauca.md).

## Sources

- **2B**: lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/peru/pe_glos.html#ayllu
- **ACA**: *Ancient Civilizations of the Andes*, Means
- **ACAI**: The Andean Codex, J.E. Williams
- **ACES**: *At the Crossroads of Earth and Sky*, Urton
- **AEAA**: *Astronomy and Empire in the Ancient Andes*, Bauer and Dearborn
- **AMH**: www.amherst.k12.wi.us/userwebs/faculty/gorddebr/myths/Incacrea.html
- **ANON1**: anonymous donor 1. Click * for explanation.
- **ASD**: *Vocabulario de la Lengua Aymara*
- **AYV**: *Ayahuasca Visions,* Luna
- **BLC**: *Beyond the Lettered City*, Rappaport and Cummins
- **BOA**: www.biopark.org
- **CSCR**: *Cut Stones and Crossroads*, Wright
- **CSK**: www.commonsensekundalini.com/science_spirituality/centering-and-breathing.html
- **DAJG**: *Diary of an Amazon Jungle Guide*, Beaver.
- **DIA**: *Deathing: An Intelligent Alternative for the Final Moments of Life, *Foos-Graber
- **DYE**: Source not listed on the original Text Sources page.
- **EFD**: encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com
- **EMA**: *Exploring Medical Anthropology, * Joralemon
- **EMM**: www.ayahuasca-shamanism.co.uk/
- **EPP**: *Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants*, Rätsch
- **FACA**: findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0003/ai_2603000312
- **GM**: www.gaiameditations.com
- **GOL**: *The Gift of Life*, Glass-Coffin.
- **HOI**: *History of the Incas,* Sarmiento de Gamboa
- **HSW1**: Source not listed on the original Text Sources page.
- **IAWS**: *Mythology, Illustrated Anthology of World Myth & Storytelling*
- **ICC**: *Inca Civilization in Cuzco*, Zuidema
- **IGMP**: *Andean Awakening*, Delgado
- **JAR**: Journal of Anthropological Research
- **JLH**: Jose Luis Herrera, various lectures
- **LCL**: www.lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2002octoberconopapage1.htm
- **MAAM**: Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña, http://maam.org.ar/
- **MAN**: *Mythology of the American Nations*, Jones and Molyneaux
- **MHP**: Rios, *The Master Healer in Peru*, www.onirogenia.com/chamanismos/el-maestro-curandero-en-el-peru-historia-medicina-y-magia/
- **MSIN**: conference paper *The Concept of Plants as Teachers among four Mestizo Shamans of Iquitos, Northeastern Perú*, Luna
- **NCB2**: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20152892
- **NCBI**: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10617066
- **NFL**: www.nflc.org/REACH/7ca/enCAInca.htm
- **PGO**: Patt Grantham O’Neill, personal definitions I write when I cannot find a good one elsewhere.
- **PSPM**: *Pachakuti Mesa*, Magee
- **QNO**: www.quechuanetwork.org
- **REPC**: *Ruiz as an Ethnopharmacologist in Peru and Chile, *Schultes [taxonomy accuracy questionable]
- **ROR**: *Rituals of Respect*, Bolin
- **RS**: runasimi.de
- **RTZ1**: www.colorado.edu/Conferences/pilgrimage/papers/Zuidema.html
- **SCU**: www.shamanism.co.uk
- **SEES**: Crowell's Spanish-English and English-Spanish Dictionary
- **SIH**: *The Shape of Inca History*, Niles
- **SIMA**: *The Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy, and the War Against Time, *Sullivan
- **SSCC**: *Sorcery and Shamanism: Curanderos and Clients in Northern Peru*, Joralemon and Sharon.
- **TCH**: www.tropilab.com/hura-cre.html
- **THIM**: *The Three Halves of Ino Moxo*
- **THLH**: Source not listed on the original Text Sources page.
- **TLD**: *Tri-Lingual Dictionary*, Hornberger
- **WAGA**: www.aao.gov.au/images/captions/uks018.html
- **WCE**: [World Culture Encyclopedia] www.everyculture.com/South-America/ Canelos-Quichua-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html
- **WFH**: www.future-hype.com/peru.htm
- **WGC**: www.godchecker.com/pantheon/incan-mythology
- **WGRT**: *Cocaine: White Gold Rush in Peru*, Morales
- **WIC**: www.informationclub.com
- **WIKI**: en.wikipedia.org (no www)
- **WMO**: www.mythome.org
- **WOFW**: Source not listed on the original Text Sources page.
- **WPH**: Eduardo el Curandero, Calderón
- **WPO**: www.pantheon.org
- **WRT**: www.rain-tree.com
- **WSC4**: www.space.com/4810-universe-dark-messy.html
- **WSDC**: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874108007253