She is like the mother of all living things, the raised sea, the heart of the continent, of the earth…
Kota in Andean Cosmology
The Andean world is very different from many other worlds, it is a vertical world, uphill and downhill, where life is challenged by the constant pull of gravity. Hillsides are washed from their nutrients, the mountains washed from their gold, addicting riches compensate the harshness of producing an organic life, chosen still, by many Andeans. According to them, we live in a middle place, a place between the inner and the outer, the upper and the lower. This is essential in Andean philosophy and cosmology, and is reflected the material cosmos they live in: the longest mountain range in the world.
To them the earth grows sacred as it extends upwards and downwards away from the middle place they prefer to live in. Towards the sky, the cold of snow is the reflection of a land of sky-like sacredness, difficult for organic life to thrive in. Towards the earth, thrive the hidden forces of the planet, powerful inner-like forces that are as deeply respected as sky forces are. Time is perceived in the same way. The present as a middle place, where life strives, and is the axis of twin realities, one past where it all comes from, and one future, of where everything is going. Continue reading “The Meaning of Lake Titicaca”
In the Andean Culture, it’s common to carry out different types of offering rituals to mother earth or Pachamama, and the Apus Achachilas or Spirits of the mountains, and can be called K’oa or Mesa. The reasons why to do them as well as the ways to elaborate them can be very varied. For example, the first Friday of every month is a common day when an offering is given for general well-being. Other motifs can be: health, financial prosperity, good luck, payment for offences committed, thanking the earth for the blessings received, facilitating a better future or shedding evil energies. The offerings are prepared with a varied repertoire of ingredients that can include sweets, seeds, plants, animal parts, coloured papers, wools, incense, wine and coca leafs. 
