We were told the meeting with the women shamans
would be at 7. Now it was 8. Raoul moved the table.
He and Americo placed new weavings on the floor.

Then we made places for the two women shamans and
Americo, put three pillows on the ground.
The women placed llama skins around for us to sit on.

We all waited a long time for the appearance of female
shamans—the first time in the Andes, certainly the
first time in Salka Wasi.

Two tiny women, one slightly more plump than the other,
came. Having had the pan of incense lit, they purified
each of us—first our backs, then our fronts.

Their energy was so sweet—tiny bare feet.
They took off rubber tire shoes—placing them in
the back corner at the entry to the back of the house.

The women took their places under the windows—
Maria left and Dona Felicitas right, center next
to Americo. They spread out the manta—

In front of them both. Dona Felicitas did
a coca leaf divination. She said that someone
in the group had a headache caused by winds.

But it had gone away. Otherwise, everyone was
light—the group was fully aligned. By candlelight,
we viewed the faces of our female shamans.

Their hats taken off, their hair smoothed down,
and their ruffled skirts adjusted. Their feet and
spindly legs were impeccably clean. In fact,

Everything about them seemed immaculate.
Dona Felicitas began creating the despacho,
spreading out a piece of folded white paper.

First, she put in sugar, then candy, wild seeds,
herbs, three spoons full of pisco, and the fat
of alpaca for the animal spirits.

Then each of us were welcomed to choose
two coca leaves and placed them
in the despacho stem side up

For Pacha Mama. We were told to place in
coins. I placed an acorn, Freyja, a piece of
handmade flower paper, Nimūe put in

Buffalo hair, beans from her garden, and
blue corn. Sage put in sage! When Nimūe
placed the buffalo hair, Dona Felicitas joked

About the hair of husbands. I took out some
of Geoff’s to offer. Dona Felicitas wrapped
the despacho in the uncuña. She blew on it

With a great sweetness, then instructed each
of us to blow on them three times from the
soul (the alma). She placed it on the manta

And explained it would go to the fire. In front
of Dona Maria was a wheat cross,
decorated with green ferns. The ritual was

In three parts: the coca leaf reading, despacho
and the breaking of filaments of whatever heavy
energy, we carry that keeps up our filaments

To the stars. Freyja was asked to stand up,
and place her feet across two side bars of
the cross. White wool thread symbolized

Filaments of heavy energy. They tied her
left foot, then her right and wrapped her
body counter-clockwise all the way to her

Neck, sweeping as she went along. Beginning
at the right shoulder, she broke the wool and
swept off items in four locations as she

Went along. The whole while, there was a
Whispering of prayers. Those who were barefoot
had their big toes tied. All the way through,

Participants were given pisco and invited to
joke or talk. Dona Felicitas presented us each
with quartz crystals that had been worked with

By shamans who had come and gone to be
charged by their energy. These crystals had been
next to the coca leaves in front of Dona Felicitas.

Then we gave gifts—Freyja offered them each
A piece of paper for the despacho. Serpentine
stones were bestowed by Freyja, Geoff, and Patria.

Meg supplied stones from San Bruno and
Sage presented stones from Mt. Diablo.
Freyja spoke of how one day all the filaments in

the world would be cleansed, but work at
hand was the cleansing and the filaments
Between men and women.