Heading back from a 'karpay' (initiation ceremony) with Andean
paq'os, 16,000 feet, Peru.
Page last updated February 17, 2004
Heading back from a 'karpay' (initiation ceremony) with Andean
paq'os, 16,000 feet, Peru.
In 1994 I went to a workshop that featured the Andean paq'o Américo Yabar. The term "paq'o" can be roughly translated as "shaman" or "mystic", but as those terms come from other cultures they tend to obscure as much as they illuminate. The purpose of the workshop was to develop a cognitive/behavioral model of an indigenous healer. The idea was to bring in an indigenous healer, have him work on some people, and from observing that work form a model of how he heals. The model would focus on both verbal and nonverbal patterns of behavior.
What I noticed during the workshop was that there was a fundamental mismatch between how the paq'o described what was going on during the healing process and the model that was being developed of his work. This is not uncommon in the modeling approach, as it is suppose to look beyond what the person being model 'thinks' he or she is doing and focus instead on what they 'actually are' doing. I felt, however, that the difference between the paq'os view and the modelers' view was much deeper and more profound than that. I began to realize that I was experiencing the difference between two cultures that have fundamentally different ways of understanding reality, that I was experiencing a mismatch of epistemologies (though I was unaware of the term 'epistemology' at the time).
The term 'epistemology' means 'philosophy or doctrine of knowledge'. In the sense I am using the term it represents a culture's philosophy regarding the nature of knowledge, what it means to 'know' something, and how one goes about validating knowledge. It is at the bed rock of a culture's philosophy, everything else is built upon it. An epistemology is so foundational to a culture that its assumptions are rarely noticed let alone questioned. Western epistemology has its roots in classical Greece, in the Bible, and in the melding of those two philosophies that occurred in the Middle Ages, which eventually gave birth to the scientific method. Many different philosophies can be built upon the same basic assumptions, and thus the philosophy of my culture (having grown up in the United States) has many important shared assumptions with all the cultures influenced by Aristotle and Plato or by Abraham.
At the workshop the paq'o was operating from an epistemology that is profoundly different from my own. He was sharing the epistemology of people who fled to remote areas of the Andes to escape the influence of the Spanish Conquistadors. It is an epistemology that has remained relatively untouched by the Classical Greek philosophers, by the Bible, by the emergence of the scientific method and by the Cartesian separation of mind and matter. I had a glimpse of that epistemology during the workshop. I wanted to explore it.
Since that time I have traveled to Peru on several occasions to work with Américo and other paq'os of the Andes. This web site is a way for me to share what I have found. It will continue to evolve as time goes by.
I am a professor of psychology (i.e. a 'professional thinking person'), but the knowledge of the Cosmos available in the Andes is simply not intellectual in nature. To share this knowledge I must rely on experiential workshops. Being who I am, however, I am also continually working on how to integrate these experiences with my intellect. After many years and many attempts I have found my voice for discussing the Andean epistemology with my discipline of psychology. Links to several of my papers and articles are provided in my Salka Wind home page. My full vita (including all of my work not associated with my work in Peru) can be viewed here.
Experiential workshops and classes on my Andean studies:
- Andean Mysticism (class for Southern Utah University)
- Transpersonal Psychology (class for Southern Utah University)
- Spiritual Warrior Workshop (a two-day workshop for the general public, co-taught with Terri Latterback-Cotts; May, 1997).
- Practical Andean Therapy. (May, 1997). A workshop for the staff of Horizon House, Cedar City, Utah.
- Spiritual Warrior Workshop (a two-day workshop for the general public, co-taught with Terri Latterback-Cotts; July, 1999).
- Building a Bridge from the Andes to Arizona (a presentation at the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association; April, 2000).
- An Intimate Connection with Nature: Teaching Andean Epistemology to Westerners (a workshop at the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management; June, 2000).
- Andean Meditation (class for the University of Utah).
- Weekend Workshop on Andean Meditation (a two-day workshop for the general public; May, 2003).
- Techniques of Andean Mysticism (numerous 3-hour workshops for the general public on the meditative techniques of Andean mysticism; 1997-present).
More theoretical presentations:
- Shamanism, Science, and Psychology. (Feb., 1997). A public lecture in Salt Lake City, sponsored by Anchor Point Associates.
- Therapeutic Metaphors in Andean Mysticism (a presentation at the Utah Academy of Science, Arts & Letters; April, 1997).
- Environmental Epistemology of the Andean People (a presentation at the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association; April, 2000).
- Finding an Epistemology that Supports Loving and Caring About Nature (a presentation at the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management; June, 2000).
- Andean Epistemology: The Nature of Love, Wisdom, and Environmental Concern (a presentation at the Western Social Science Association; April, 2001).
- Applying Andean Epistemology to Our Societal Problems (a presentation at the Western Psychological Association; April, 2001).
Publications
- A Therapeutic Relationship Between People and Their Geography in the Andes (an article in the journal Clio's Psyche, 2001, 7(4), 184-185.)
- The Real Heart (an article that will appear soon in Sacred Hoop)
Presentations to the Academic Community: Southern Utah University
- Pacha Cuti--Time of the Great Transformation, for the university community.
- Report on My Research Trip to Peru, for members of the department and Psi Chi (a national honor society for psychology majors).
- Report on My Second Trip to Peru, for members of the department and Psi Chi.
- Andean Magic, for the university community, sponsored by Psi Chi.
- Andean Mysticism, for the SUU faculty, at a 'Sandwiches and Scholarship' workshop.
- Andean Meditative Techniques, a workshop for Psi Cho (a department-sponsored student association).
Presentations to the Academic Community: University of Utah
- Andean Research, for members of Psi Chi (a national honor society for psychology majors).
- An Andean Way of Knowledge, for members of Mortar Board, a national honor society.
I have moved most of the information that used to be on this page over to my Salka Wind home page, which has a less academic slant. There you will find copies of some of my writings, opportunities to work with Americo in Peru and elsewhere, definitions of important Quechua words, and other related items. Please feel free to check it out.