See, App. M, the Chroniclers.
coca,
cuca, kuka: (n) The sacred plant of the Andean shamans.
(Erythroxylum
coca)
Used by almost everyone to counteract the effects of altitude and in
ceremonies, especially despachos.
(See,
k’intu.) Andeans have
always used it for divination,
as do some Amazonian sorcerers.
If the coca bolus tastes sweet, expect good fortune and continue on
your path. If the coca bolus tastes bitter, this is a bad omen and you
should postpone your path. THIMTHIM · The Three Halves of Ino Moxo It would
never occur to mourners to visit a grave without bringing coca leaves.
They say it protects them from the machu wayra and
comforts them in their grief. Chewing coca together, they are drawn as
a group into a shared communion with Pachamama, with the Tirakuna and with
the machula aulanchis. THLHTHLH · Source not listed on the original Text Sources page. In the
Andes coca is considered to be the medium between man and the
supernatural, as well as the expression and maintenance of social
relations. There is a legend that the coca plant sprang from the grave
of a beautiful Indian woman who had been dismembered and buried in
punishment for prostitution. WGRTWGRT · Cocaine: White Gold Rush in Peru, Morales Its leaves
are chewed as a mild stimulant and used as a source of divination and
diagnosis and in despachos. In a ceremonial context coca is often
grouped into a k’intu, or fan of
three coca leaves, which are used to carry prayers and to embody
specific forces and energies. PSPMPSPM · Peruvian Shamanism: The Pachakúti Mesa, Magee In leaf
form, coca does not produce toxicity or dependence. Its effects are
distinct from those of cocaine, which is but one of more than a dozen
active compounds in the leaf. When the main active component, cocaine,
is extracted, it becomes a powerful stimulant and addictive drug.
Authentic shamans never use chemically altered or concentrated drugs
derived from sacred plants. ACAIACAI · The Andean Codex, J.E. Williams Coca, the
sacred leaf of the Andes; chewed by millions of people daily, kuka
contains some 180 chemicals (alkaloids), including (but certainly not
limited to) a few dozen antioxidants (some of which are unique to
coca), all major vitamins and minerals in considerable quantities,
proteins, fatty acids, and cocaine; used in despachos and countless
other forms of ritual offering and prayer, as well as in divination,
three leaves are formed into a k’intu as the most potent and universal
kuka offering. ANON1ANON1 · anonymous donor 1 (see footnote on the original Text Sources page for explanation) (See, Appendix G for some
early history of coca and Western Civilization.)
When
the divine son of the sun,Manco Capac,
climbed down from the rocks ofLake Titicaca,
he gave humans light, knowledge of the gods, and knowledge of the arts
and of coca, a divine plant which satiates the hungry, gives new
strength to the tired and exhausted, and helps the unhappy to forget
their cares.
—
Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616) EPPEPP · The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications, Rätsch
Cocamama is alive and powerful. Coca
speaks the truth to man, reveals the unknown, and gives strength and
health*.
— Sebastian, a Q’ero* pampamesayoc
ACAIACAI · The Andean Codex, J.E. Williams
Cocamama:
See,
Mama Coca, mama.(See,
Appendix G for some
early history of coca and Western Civilization.)