Our Adventure with don Americo Concludes
To conclude sharing about our adventures with our shaman don Americo Yabar . . .
We spent several days at Americo’s home in the valley of Salka Wasi at the edge of the village, Mollo Marco. During our stay, we mingled with the indigenous people as if we were members of their village, being immersed in their culture of coming from the heart. This was a main teaching Americo had been sharing with us for years in our gatherings together in the US. We were now getting to experience coming from the heart fully and found it such a contrast to our experience in our own country, where people tend to spend so much time in their heads. Mollo Marco would be a beautiful place to live!
Migaleto, the elder Paq’o, was a constant presence, always in front of his dwelling with a smile on his face, like he knew something special and sacred. Maria, the Shamana who had been studying with Americo for years, introduced us to her beautiful family with many children (I never could get an accurate count). The villagers who provided our meals were so generous with their time and energy. There were times they walked all day to the market and back to get supplies.
One of our lunches was provided by a fisherwoman who hiked 2000 feet down the mountainside to a stream, with her baby on her back, catching fresh trout by standing in the stream and hitting the fish with a club. She brought her catch back up the mountainside to the kitchen where they were cooked and eaten with such freshness. Americo delighted in pointing out that she was the best fish catcher in the village.
We relished seeing cooks prepare food over an open fire in an indoor Keva, in a room large enough for us to comfortably gather. As in so many cultures, gathering and socializing in the kitchen is a great place and time to meet and thoroughly enjoy one’s hosts. There was so much love and joy in the festivities around our meal preparation, it came out in the flavor of the food! I never appreciated and enjoyed a meal so much!
Late one afternoon, we were taken to an indoor space where Shamana Maria was there with her apprentice, Annise. We were asked to lie on the floor, where we experienced a session of healing. My husband, David, went first and it was beautiful to watch as Annise held a bunch of reed leaves over a fire and handed them to Maria, who waved them over David’s body. When it was my turn, Maria spent most of her time with the reeds over my right hip area. She spoke Quechua, so we had no way to communicate in words. She just seemed to know what I needed.
After a period of time, I could never have determined the length, Americo said it was time to get up to go watch the sunset. This was an important ritual of the day. When I got up from the healing session, my body felt like new. I was walking with more ease and comfort than I had in the 25 years since I broke my hip. It felt like a miracle and when I would share my gratitude and amazement, the feedback from people in the village was to suggest that this is a normal occurrence and to be expected.
During my healing session with Maria, the two of us made a very deep connection. Without a common verbal language, we found nonverbal ways to communicate effectively. We felt like we had been together for a long time and like we were soul sisters.
In the next few days, while at Salka Wasi, I would seek her out in the mornings and spend time (routine for them, very special for me) with her and her children. These were joyous moments, filled with love. When it was time to leave Salka Wasi, I once again connected with Maria. We had a long embrace, with being so grateful to be together, knowing we will always be connected, yet feeling sadness and loss that we may never actually see each other again.
We trekked back up the hillside to Mollo Marco. I was so happy with the incredible healing session I had with Maria; my hip was functioning so much better. When we first hiked down to Salka Wasi from the village center, with the very steep grade, I wondered how I was going to make it back up. Well, I guess I put out my clear intent (the other teaching from Americo) in a way that I could experience it being manifested!
At the village center, there was a van and driver ready to take us to our next destination, a town about two hours away, with stores, a large market, and a gas station. It was quite a contrast to being in the modest village without plumbing or electricity, and the only goods handmade by the village women. We bought more than our share of finger puppets and weavings while at the village as our contribution of Ayni/Reciprocity.
When we arrived, we exited our van and wandered around the town square. We wanted to stretch our legs and then go to a restaurant Americo had in mind for our dinner, before bunking down for the night. As we were wandering, we saw Maria and her husband walking in the town square. It was impossible to imagine how they had gotten there (and we will never know), but we greeted each other with a smile and long hug and both felt it was so beautiful to manifest our clear intent of wanting to be together again.
Several years later, we organized a group of 15 Waikis to travel with us to visit Americo and his villages. David and I have such gratitude for don Americo and our times with him.
Thank you for coming along with me on this journey!