Pachamama

Today we went to an indigenous ceremony called Pachamama. That means "Mother Earth," and that's what the ceremony was about.  We met at UBP and took a bus to the location.  The location this year seems to have been an odd one- the ex clandestine detention facility La Perla (future post material).  Regardless, that's where we went for the ceremony.  We went early to explore La Perla some, but I won't focus on that because we'll be going again soon to specifically learn about it.  

The site was on a hill.  Two holes had been dug- One whole was empty, but surrounded with food and other possessions.  This hole represented the mouth of Mother Earth. The other hole had a fire in it.  I think that one represented the heart.  There were the flags of each tribe flying in the wind. 

Someone (I think he was the najuan) started things off and covered people with smoke from perfumed wood. Then there were different people who did different things.  Some tended to the fire. Some walked around with a rain stick, Everyone who wanted went to the mouth, drank a little wine, gave thanks to the Earth, and put food in the hole. That was the basic premise of the ceremony.  Since so many people wanted to thank the Earth, we didn't stay until the end.  Apparently, there's a celebration afterwards, with dancing. 

Anyway, we went over to some lunch tables and had comida a la canasta- Everybody brought something to share, and we all ate together.  That was pretty fun.  From there, we returned to UBP.  I went home, and later to a friend's house for a "tailgate" party.  The other US students wanted to watch their team play, so they had this party to watch the game and enjoy choripan together.  Finally, I went home.  I'm tired. And tomorrow's going to be a good day too. Better get some rest.