K’intu Offerings and Haimutay

Thursday, July 17th, 2014

A k’intu is a grouping of three coca leaves together, with stems pointing down and leaves facing up, with the smallest leaf on top. The three leaves together represent the three worlds, the lower world of Uhu Pacha, middle world of Kay Pacha, and upper world of Hanaq Pacha. The number three also corresponds to the three physical, energetic, and spiritual bodies, as well as the three major energy centers of yanqai, munay, and yanchai, (Belly, Heart, and Mind respectively).

K’intu prayer rituals are done while kneeling or sitting on the ground in nature with closed eyes. Paqos call the Apu spirits of the sacred mountains with Pachamama, by opening themselves to receiving deep connection. The Apu’s blessings of love and energy is asked to be “downloaded” into the bundle of leaves, as the paqo holds the k’intu offering over each of the three energy centers, beginning with the Belly, then the Heart, and then the Mind.

Next, in a process of mayaqui (spoken prayer), the paqo asks to connect with each q’uiya, in the energetic process of giving and receiving that is often be visualized as  energy flowing in a circle eight pattern between each energy center and the q’uiya individually.  After the prayers have been spoken into the bundle of leaves, using three deep breaths, the blessings are blown into the k’intu. The breaths are directed into leaves with the energetic force from each of the three energy centers using clearly focused intention. Finally, the paqos makes three short breaths in the directions of the three worlds, while looking upward to unify the prayer on all levels. The k’intuofferings are then individually placed face up, under each q’uiya stones.

Working with a mesa in this way builds spiritual connection and power between the paqo and each of the three worlds. As a paqo develops as a Pampamesayoq (healer that works with the earth), their individual mesa acquires greater power and they begin to work with a collective mesa. A collective mesa is used for healing others, working on relationships and for any other issue that involving the outside world.  A paqo’s individual mesa is the paqo’s power source, used in sacred ceremony and ritual with the purpose of spiritual connection. The power of the paqo’s individual mesa in turn feeds their collective mesa. The paqo’s individual mesa needs to be protected by keeping it separate from the paqo’s collective mesa, somewhere in nature that the paqo has an affinity, or on an altar.

I learned about the importance of protecting my individual mesa during a trip to Peru when my Andean teacher informed me that my mesas had picked up negative energy and I had become blocked. The other paqos told me that this had happened because I had used my individual mesa to perform a group healing and had been keeping it next to my collective mesa. Over the course of several days with the help of my teacher, I went through a rather intense purification ritual with both of my mesas (separately). When I opened my collective mesa at the end of the series of rituals, I discovered that the largest q’uiya had split into quarters. My teacher smiled and informed me that this had happened when the negative energy had been released.

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