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NAFPS Archives => Archive No. 1 => Topic started by: educatedindian on July 05, 2005, 01:00:09 pm

Title: Inka Shame-ons
Post by: educatedindian on July 05, 2005, 01:00:09 pm
educatedndn" <bigi_again@yahoo.com>  
Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 21:07:35 -0000
Subject: [nafps] Re: ...and here comes Inka....
   
Inca with a K instead of a C is a common Nuage way to somehow seem more "authentic" or "exotic".

Problem is, there's no such people. It's like saying you're a "Caesar shaman".

(OK Mike, go ahead with the bad puns we all know you're dying to say.)

Inca was the title of a leader, not a people. This guy Manuel (apparently he's one of the one-name people, like Madonna or the Rock) is doing some pretty amusing things.

"Energy Meditation TM"

I love it already. Nuagers constantly argue no one can own these beliefs, but this guy is trademarking his.

"Energy  meditation originates in Quechua indian culture, previous to Inca times. Manuel is the creator of Inka Energy Meditation TM."

Already the guy is talking out of both sides of his mouth. Which is true? Is it ancient or his creation?

"Manuel has developed the original Inka Meditation traditions of his family and master. His master grew up with and was trained by  Q`ero indians in Paucartambo mountains."

That should set off alarm bells too. Qero is the Sedona of South America, a magnet and Mecca for frauds and exploiters. (Barnaby mentioned before there was a place in England that attracts just as
many fruitloops, but I can't recall the name right now. Hopefully there's no place like that in Sweden.)

"THE BOOK! A grounding practical introduction to Energy Meditation™. It contains the energy meditations used by Manuel in his trips to Per
ú,through the Inka Trail and in Macchu Picchu."

Wait a minute. Didn't he earlier claim to be *from* Peru? And he can't decide on whether to use the actual spelling of Inca or the Nuage spelling Inka (no doubt, TM is pending).

As for the trips themselves...

"As you have a  continuous training, you will be Initiated in Amaru Machay- the Snake Fertility Temple."

Well that's mighty convenient and quick. Not to mentions dubious. If I recall right, the snake is a symbol of infinity for the Quechua, not fertility.

"Manuel will guide you into a unique experience of Andean civilization which is still alive."

Once again, pretty amusing. Kind of like referring to the Swiss as Alpine civilization instead of Germans, French, and Italians. Many Peruvians do refer to NDNs as Highlanders, but you rarely hear anyone
except foreigners say "Andean".

"We will travel into the marvellous geography of the Andes, its tellurian power and beauty of ecological levels."

Tellurian? That's a pretty clear imposition of European ideas.
Manuel might actually be Quechua, judging by his appearance. But I doubt very much he's any kind of a priest among his own people. In fact I pretty positive he's not, or he'd be working among them to serve *their* needs and not Europeans.
Ask him that, I'm curious to see what kind of justification he'll use.  
I also hope you point out to anyone you talk to at that meeting, the locals in Cuzco laugh at would be spiritual tourists, except for those that depend on them to make a buck. Then they regard tourists
as marks, easy victims.
If they want to go to Peru, by all means do it. I went once and it was amazing (and also incredibly dangerous in most parts of the country, stay out of Lima and Puna). Cuzco and Machu Pichu truly are
beautiful and worth seeing. But have them give their money to buy arts and crafts, lodging, all the good food that the country has, and to charities if they can. But not to the operators preying off the
gullible, which I believe Manuel is.

Feel free to print any part of this out and hand it to the people there if you like.

--- In nafps@yahoogroups.com, "vikinglady03" <banfield@a...> wrote:
> Seems to be lots of south American "shamans" and "healers" here all  of a sudden!
> This guy is giving a lecture in my hometown this week, think I might go and listen.
> Here he is:  www.growthconsulting.nu/m
> Anyone who knows of him?
> Annika
Title: Re: Inka Shame-ons
Post by: Kantuta on September 20, 2005, 05:13:16 pm
I agree with you on everything, and this "Manuel" is absolutely no "shaman", but I would like to correct some things...

We do use the term "Andean" (Andino, cultura andina etc), since Quechuas, Aymaras and other people exist in many different countries in the region. Of course you can say "bolivian" or "peruvian", but we normally use the term "andean", as opposed to amazonic.

Also, there is not any "correct" spelling of Inca/Inka, since we did not have any alphabet. Some people spell Inca, which is the spanish form of spelling it, but when writing in Quechua/Keschwa/Kichwa and Aymara we normally write Inka with K. Of course, in english it's spelled Inca.

/K
Title: Re: Inka Shame-ons
Post by: educatedindian on September 20, 2005, 07:14:31 pm
Thanks for your help. I'm really glad to have you here, since there are more and more exploiters out there who take advantage of the lack of resources most NDNs in Latin America have. Any comments you want to make on the other threads that deal with exploiters of Latin American NDNs, I'm more than happy to see. I do my best, but I'm mostly relying on anthro sources, the few Latin American NDN sites in English, or bad google translations. And even though I'm trained as a historian to try and see past biases or ethnocentric assumptions in writings on NDN cultures by outsiders, I'm sure some things still slip past me.

BTW, usually we try to keep the archives just for postings from the previous versions of NAFPS. But for you I'm happy to make an exception.