Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Shaman Shaman Shaman Shaman Shaman Shamelia
October 2007
Perched on a high cliff of the Isla Del Sol on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, we participated in a small ceremony where we were blessed by a local Shaman.
In a small basket he had a collection of small sweets in the shape of items important to travelers - passport, money, plane ticket and map etc - to which he added some herbs and some straw. He said a prayer over it and then the offering was burnt in a small fire he had prepared nearby while we sat and watched mesmerised.
He prayed to Pacha Mama (mother earth) that we would be safe and travel well and then very simply walked by each of us and said a prayer for us as he dropped a small amount of water in our open palms.
It was so simple, so beautiful, we were all moved by it. These are the things we wanted and it couldn't hurt to ask Pacha Mama to give them to us.
Now I don't want to go all native on you here, but the experience and the place were very special. Incan legend holds that the god of creation made the sun at Isla del Sol and despite the sometimes touristy trek we were forced to take, I definitely felt like I was gracing some ancient and sacred place. The Incas seem able to leave an impression whether their buildings and culture survived in tact or not.
Perched on a high cliff of the Isla Del Sol on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, we participated in a small ceremony where we were blessed by a local Shaman.
In a small basket he had a collection of small sweets in the shape of items important to travelers - passport, money, plane ticket and map etc - to which he added some herbs and some straw. He said a prayer over it and then the offering was burnt in a small fire he had prepared nearby while we sat and watched mesmerised.
He prayed to Pacha Mama (mother earth) that we would be safe and travel well and then very simply walked by each of us and said a prayer for us as he dropped a small amount of water in our open palms.
It was so simple, so beautiful, we were all moved by it. These are the things we wanted and it couldn't hurt to ask Pacha Mama to give them to us.
Now I don't want to go all native on you here, but the experience and the place were very special. Incan legend holds that the god of creation made the sun at Isla del Sol and despite the sometimes touristy trek we were forced to take, I definitely felt like I was gracing some ancient and sacred place. The Incas seem able to leave an impression whether their buildings and culture survived in tact or not.
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