don Americo
Today, I would like to introduce you to our shaman, don Americo Yabar.
For many years, my husband, David, and I had attended gatherings with Americo in various beautiful outdoor settings here in the U.S. We even hosted retreats with him in Utah and Colorado. As time went on, it became difficult for him to obtain a visa to travel to the U.S., so David and I decided to travel to Peru to spend time with him there. We wanted to take our group of Waikis (spiritual brothers and sisters) with us but decided it best to go on our own for the first visit, hoping to bring the others with us on a future trip.
In 2004, with great excitement and anticipation, we flew to Lima, Peru, then Cusco, where we got to our hotel with the assistance of Americo’s apprentice, Christian. Our first adventure was a day trip to the 15th century Inca citadel Machu Picchu, an incredible site to see. We then spent the next few days with don Americo, his son Gayle, and Christian, visiting several sites in and around Cusco and the Sacred Valley. It was magical from beginning to end!
As we visited the different sacred spaces, Americo taught us energy passes (how he referred to exercises to connect with energy), connecting with Pachamama (Mother Earth). In the Q’eros’ cosmology, everything in nature has energetic filaments which we can connect with via our own energetic filaments. We experienced powerful communion with the trees, the stones, and the wildlife. Americo emphasized the importance to the Q’ero of Ayni - reciprocity - with all of life: Pachamama, the Sun, the Moon and the Cosmos. He told us: The trees love us back, even as we love them.
We left Cusco and drove for hours into the countryside, to a small Q’ero settlement, Mollo Marco, where Americo had a home on the edge of a village, in the valley he named Salka Wasi, meaning Salka House. Salka is a Q’ero term that refers to “undomesticated energy - like a wolf”. Throughout our time together, he frequently encouraged us to tune into our own Salka energy, experiencing the wild energy of nature, unconstrained by our encultured perspective.
We saw a school, farms, and very modest homes with no running water or electricity. The villagers lacked in material wealth and comforts; however, we observed them to be the happiest, most peaceful and cooperative people we had ever encountered. Not long after we arrived for our five-day stay there, the people came out in mass to welcome us and express their gratitude for us bringing our energy to them and their village. The next day, we were invited to a ceremony where the newborn babies in the village were blessed and welcomed into the community. We were honored with being given the role to be a god-parent to one of the infants.
Not long after our arrival, we met don Migileto, an elder Paq’o who lived in one room in a building around the town square. He invited us into his home; a dirt floor, a bed, and a large pile of potatoes filling one corner of the room. Potatoes are a main staple of the villager’s diet, and was the primary crop of the numerous small farms that covered the hillside around the village. Potatoes were most of Migileto’s diet.
Americo informed us that Migileto had become a Paq’o when he’d been struck by lightning. We were unable to ascertain further if that was a common method of becoming a Paq’o, but it was obvious that Migileto was held in high esteem throughout Mollo Marco. We tried to inquire as to Migileto’s age, but no one either knew or thought the question relevant. We realized over time, that as Westerners, we asked about the factual details of things, such as: the height of a mountain, how long villagers had engaged in one practice or another, and about people’s ages. These linear “facts,” as we knew them, were irrelevant to the Q’ero.