# K' & Kh — Inca Glossary

> From the Inca Glossary by Patt O'Neill (© 2007, 2008, 2014).
> Web page: https://incaglossary.com/k-prime
> 27 terms. Each term heading links to that term's own Markdown file.

## [k'aja onqoy](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kaja-onqoy.md)

(n) Fever. [PSL]

## [k'anchariy](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchariy.md)

(n) Splendor. [RS]

## [k'anchay, kanchay, kanchai, qanchay, q'anchay](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchay.md)

(n) (a) Light energy analogous to celestial energy or electromagnetism
in physics. It is the highest form of spiritual energy used by the [curanderos](https://incaglossary.com/c/curandero.md) of Peru. It is effective
because it accesses the timeless realms of spirit, allowing the person
in need of healing to step out of time and experience a sense of
infinity. The healer experiences k'anchay energy as a subtle,
laser-like pulsation or very rapid vibration. K'anchay helps maintain
the necessary balance between the influx of spirit and the grounding
energies of the Earth, which are necessary to sustain a natural
equilibrium between one's physical and luminous bodies; (b) Clarity,
clearness; (c) Light; glory. [PSPM] (v) To
give light. [PSL]
To shine. [RS]

## [k'anchaykuriy, q'anchaykuriy](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchaykuriy.md)

(v) To arouse interest. [RS]

## [k'anchaykuy, q'anchaykuy](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchaykuy.md)

(v) To brighten; to light. [RS]

## [k'anchayllu, kanchayllu,q'anchayllu](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchayllu.md)

(n) Torch; flare. [RS]

## [k'anchaypacha](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchaypacha.md)

(n) The element of light; it must have time and space ([pacha](https://incaglossary.com/p/pacha.md))
to take place. [JLH]

## [k'anchaypa runa kurkun](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchaypa-runa-kurkun.md)

*See*, [runa kurku k'anchay](https://incaglossary.com/r/runakurkukanchay.md).

## [k'aray](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/karay.md)

(v) To sting, to hurt (pain like alcohol on a wound). [PSL]

## [k'aykaska](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kaykaska.md)

(phrase)
*Hit by the evil winds*,
places where [ayni](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayni.md)
is out, places that make you dizzy, sick to your stomach, unable to
concentrate. [JLH]

## [k'intu, k'intui](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kintu.md)

(n) A little fan of three cocoa leaves representing the three worlds
brought together in prayer for offerings; a bouquet. Used to exchange
energies with others. [RS]
[KOAK]
In [curanderismo](https://incaglossary.com/c/curanderismo.md), the k'intu
represents (a) the three worlds: [hanaqpacha](https://incaglossary.com/h/hanaqpacha.md),
 [kaypacha](https://incaglossary.com/k/kaypacha.md) and [ukhupacha](https://incaglossary.com/u/ukhupacha.md); (b) the three attributes
humans have come into this world to bring into balance: [llank'ay](https://incaglossary.com/ll/llankay.md), [yachay](https://incaglossary.com/y/yachay.md)
and [munay](https://incaglossary.com/m/munay.md); and the three fields of the [curandero mesa](https://incaglossary.com/c/curanderomesa.md): [campo ganadera](https://incaglossary.com/c/campoganadero.md), [campo justiciero](https://incaglossary.com/c/campojusticiero.md), and [campo medio](https://incaglossary.com/c/campomedio.md). The k'intu is a symbol of
the integration of body, mind, and heart working in [ayni](https://incaglossary.com/a/ayni.md) within the center. Often offered to the
sacred mountains ([apu](https://incaglossary.com/a/apu.md)kuna) and various sacred
sites ([huacas](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md)) and places of energetic
import. [PSPM] Quality,
not quantity, of the offering is important. Leaves are carefully sorted
to select the most perfectly shaped and the largest. [ACAI] Three coca
leaves joined together as an offering; the three leaves represent the
three worlds or realms (kaypacha, hanaqpacha, and ukhupacha), the three
divine attributes of human equilibrium (llank'ay, munay, and yachay),
and the three primary curative energies ([kawsay](https://incaglossary.com/k/kawsay.md),
 [sami](https://incaglossary.com/s/sami.md), and [k'anchay](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kanchay.md)) [ANON1]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/Kextra_files/droppedImage-423.jpg

## [k'iri](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kiri.md)

(n) Injury, wound. [QP]
Lump, knot from a wound. [PSL]

## [k'irikuy](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kirikuy.md)

(v) To injure or wound. [QP]

## [k'ita](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kita.md)

(adj) Wild, untamed. [PSL]

## [K'owa](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kowa.md)

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

## [k'umuykuy](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kumuykuy.md)

(v) To kneel, to bow. [PSL]

## [k'uychi, k'uyuchiy, k'uycha, Coichi, Cuichu](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kuychi.md)

(n) Rainbow. [CHAM]
[ROR]
The [pachatira](https://incaglossary.com/p/pachatira.md)
called Mach'acuay (serpent) is said to dominate the night sky during
the rainy season; thus, during the rainy season, these multicolored
serpents are visible during the day and the black one at night. Rainbow
serpents are said to have two heads, emerging from a spring, arcing
across the sky, and returning in to the earth or into another spring.
After a rainbow stretches across the sky, it does not always remain and
can move willfully along the earth for many reasons, most of them
malevolent: in order to steal from men or to enter the abdomen of women
through the vagina causing severe pain. Rainbows that arise from
subterranean waters cause intense pains of the stomach and head,
vomiting and sickness in general. Both sexes are prohibited from
urinating in the presence of a rainbow because that can cause it to
move and enter the person via the urine, causing severe stomach pain.
They are the manifestation, in reptilian form, of the forces of
procreation and fecundity which lie within the earth. [ACES]
The mountain people think rainbows are dangerously evil. One story told
is that when people see a rainbow they must keep their mouths closed or
a spirit-cat [[Koa](https://incaglossary.com/k/koa.md)]
will run down the rainbow and jump into their mouth and kill them.
Another story is that rainbows are ways for lake serpents to travel to
visit other serpents in other lakes. Again it is very dangerous for a
person nearby because the snakes may bite them, unless they keep very,
very quiet. [Internet source lost.] Leaving this place [[Tambo Toco](https://incaglossary.com/t/tambotoco.md)]
they [[Manco Capac](https://incaglossary.com/m/manco-capac.md) and
Mama Ocllo] came to a hill at a distance of two leagues, a little more
or less, from Cuzco. Ascending the hill they saw a rainbow, which the
natives call *huanacauri*.
Holding it to be a fortunate sign, Manco Ccapac said: "Take this for a
sign that the world will not be destroyed by water [*See*,
 [Uñu Pachacuti](https://incaglossary.com/u/unupachacuti.md)]."
 [HOI] They
fear the rainbow that pursues and violates the young girls; especially
do they avoid waterfalls, because there a rainbow is always found. [TAV]
Some Amazon tribes have similar beliefs and proscriptions. One explains
that the rainbow takes the energy from water up to the clouds and to
bathe in such water is to suffer a deadly loss of vital force. The
rainbow that [Sach'amama](https://incaglossary.com/s/sachamama.md)
can send from her mouth represents her power over the elements. [AYV]
The rainbow god, the deity that fertilizes and gives color to the earth
and all living things. [WOFW]
(Capitalized) [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
god of the rainbow. [MAN] Rainbow;
in some Andean folklore, there is a “good” or auspicious rainbow, which
is a broad band with a full spectrum of colors, and an “evil” rainbow
which is a rarer narrow band sometimes missing a few of the colors. [ANON1] (*See*,
 [huana cauri](https://incaglossary.com/h/huanacauri.md), [urkuchinantin](https://incaglossary.com/u/urkuchinantin.md), [wankar k'uychi](https://incaglossary.com/w/wankarkuychi.md), [sinchi amarun](https://incaglossary.com/s/sinchiamarun.md).)

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/Kextra_files/kuychi.jpg — The banner of the [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/s/sapainca.md) (and of the [Tawantinsuyu](https://incaglossary.com/t/tawantinsuyu.md)), who was the intermediary between the [Hanaqpacha](https://incaglossary.com/h/hanaqpacha.md) and the [Kaypacha](https://incaglossary.com/k/kaypacha.md), the human and the divine. The Inca's means of communication was the rainbow, represented on the royal banner. [image WIKI] See, [Yakumama](https://incaglossary.com/y/yakumama.md), [Sach'amama](https://incaglossary.com/s/sachamama.md). [WOFW]

## [k'uychi chaka](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kuychichaka.md)

(n) The
rainbow bridge connecting the [hanaqpacha](https://incaglossary.com/h/hanaqpacha.md)
to the [kaypacha](https://incaglossary.com/k/kaypacha.md). [ANON1]

- Image: https://incaglossary.com/images/Kextra_files/kh.jpg

## [kharka](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/kharka.md)

(adj) Dirty. [QP]

## [khipu](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khipu.md)

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

## [khochqa](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khochqa.md)

Languages: AYM

(n)
An amulet or talisman. [Power objects](https://incaglossary.com/p/powerobject.md),
mostly of alabaster or soapstone. Also known as *waqanqui*.
[Might derive from *[huaca](https://incaglossary.com/h/huaca.md)*.] [WOFW]

## [khumpa](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khumpa.md)

(n) Friend. [QP]

## [Khuno](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuno.md)

(n) [Inca](https://incaglossary.com/i/inca.md)
god of high altitude weather.  [DRB]

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

(n) (1) Sacred initiation stone of the [shaman's](https://incaglossary.com/s/shaman.md) [mesa](https://incaglossary.com/m/mesa.md).
 [RS]
Healing stones, usually rounded, that are placed directly on a person's
body or placed in a cloth and passed around the body or through the
energy field. [IGMP]
The stones are like representations of the places of the universe, the
world, the earth. [WOFW]
A stone of caring. [PSPM]
(2) Term of endearment.
(3)
Amulet.
(4) Impassioned love. [RS]
(*See*,
 [rumi](https://incaglossary.com/r/rumi.md), [encanto](https://incaglossary.com/e/encanto.md).)

---

**Throughout
pre-Columbian Peru, stone was venerated as an embodiment of the first
ancestors. On the coast, sacred stones regarded as sons of the sun were
referred to as deities in stone.**
[WOFW]

---

## [khuyakuq](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuyakuq.md)

(adj) Kind, nice. [QP]

## [khuya rumi](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuya-rumi.md)

(n) Gift stone of teacher to disciple. (*See*,
 [illa](https://incaglossary.com/i/illa.md),
 [khuya](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuya.md)
and [rumi](https://incaglossary.com/r/rumi.md).)

## [khuyay](https://incaglossary.com/k-prime/khuyay.md)

(v) To love. [QP]

## Sources

- **ACAI**: The Andean Codex, J.E. Williams
- **ACES**: *At the Crossroads of Earth and Sky*, Urton
- **ANON1**: anonymous donor 1. Click * for explanation.
- **AYV**: *Ayahuasca Visions,* Luna
- **CHAM**: Chamalu, Luis Espinoza
- **DRB**: www.daemonraven.bravehost.com/inca.html
- **HOI**: *History of the Incas,* Sarmiento de Gamboa
- **IGMP**: *Andean Awakening*, Delgado
- **JLH**: Jose Luis Herrera, various lectures
- **KOAK**: *Keepers of the Ancient knowledge*, Wilcox
- **MAN**: *Mythology of the American Nations*, Jones and Molyneaux
- **PSL**: www.geocities.com/phillott/Bolivia/Dictionary02.htm  Bolivian Quechua
- **PSPM**: *Pachakuti Mesa*, Magee
- **QP**: *Quechua Phrasebook* , Coronel-Molina
- **ROR**: *Rituals of Respect*, Bolin
- **RS**: runasimi.de
- **TAV**: *The Awakening Valley, *Collier and Buitrón
- **WOFW**: Source not listed on the original Text Sources page.