About the coca leaf reading ceremony

Spiritual Connection and Traditional Divination

The coca leaf (Erythroxylum coca) plays a fundamental role in Andean healing and divination traditions. In these ancestral practices, the plant is considered a sacred link to the spiritual world.

Mama Coca is essential in ritual offerings, facilitating communication with spiritual beings in the Andean universe. During these rituals, both the spirit of the plant and the individual’s spirit are invoked, revealing important aspects of their life. This interaction between the two spirits helps the shaman provide guidance and healing.

This ritual offers insight into crucial areas such as love, health, work, and family, opening intuition to face personal challenges. The coca leaf, valued as a gift from Pachamama (Mother Earth), is used to invoke health, abundance, fertility, and prosperity.

Coca leaf reading, a deeply rooted ancestral practice in Andean cultures, is considered one of the most respected forms of divination in South America, known for its accuracy and spiritual significance.

The Leaf Reader

In Andean tradition, the leaf reader, known in some regions as runa, plays a crucial role in interpreting signs and symbols of everyday matters. This form of reading doesn’t require formal specialization and focuses on practical aspects like weather forecasts, success in travels, visits from friends or family, and small commercial transactions.

Some specialists in this practice have gained recognition and prestige in their communities for their skill and accuracy. These readers often have an allied protective spirit, known as apu, that assists them in their practice.

In Cusco, Peru, they are called qhawaq; in Ayacucho, qatipaq; in Bolivia, the term is amauta; and in Aymara communities, they are known as yaratiri.

The Sacred Cloth in Spiritual Healing

• Function and Meaning: In Andean spiritual healing practices, a traditional cloth is used to place the elements necessary for the consultation. This cloth, locally known as unqhuña, may be replaced with other woven blankets or ponchos if unavailable. Handkerchiefs or even the consultor’s shirt can also be used, as noted by Peruvian writer Ricardo Palma.
• The sacred cloth not only acts as a physical surface for consultation elements but is also considered a sacred element connecting the reader with surrounding energies. Handwoven with ancestral techniques, the cloth adds a crucial ritual component, creating a space conducive to concentration and interpretation of spiritual signs. Preparing this space with care reflects the seriousness and respect with which the consultation is approached, establishing a bond between the reader, the consultor, and the spiritual realm.

Spiritual Interpretation

In Andean tradition, spiritual interpretation of the leaves involves observing various aspects of their arrangement on the cloth. Elements to consider include the predominant color, the condition of the leaves (whether folded or not), their integrity, and the direction of their pointed tips. These details help interpret responses to the questions posed.

The answers can be open and descriptive, affirmative, negative, or contradictory. The reader, known as qhawaq, tosses a handful of leaves and gathers responses until a complete interpretation is formed. This process allows confirmation or contradiction of the responses obtained, providing a well-rounded vision.

Diagnosis

In traditional Andean medicine, coca leaf reading is used to identify imbalances in health and provide guidance on appropriate therapies. A specialist can recommend traditional treatments or, if necessary, refer the patient to conventional medicine for more specialized care.

This process goes beyond divination, as it establishes a deep interaction between humans and non-human entities such as Pachamama, the apus and other spirits, according to Andean cosmology, who are seen as active participants in the well-being and health of the community.