The sky looks more blue than ever; A different energy is breathed, towns and cities wake up immersed in a mist that emerges from chimneys and windows and intoxicates locals and visitors. This is not due to any meteorological phenomenon, but to an ancestral tradition: it is Pachamama Day.

"La Pachamama", or Mother Earth, is the most popular of the mythological beliefs of the Andean region that still survives strongly in many places in northern Argentina and the South American Andean region. "Pacha" in Aymara and Quechua means earth, world, universe; while "Mama" is a mother. Hence comes Mother Earth Day.

 

pachamama day The "Pachamama Day" is a celebration that is held to thank, ask and bless the fruits that Mother Earth offers us / Photo: Daytours4u

 

Offerings and ceremonies

Legend has it that August is the ideal time to worship Mother Earth, a time of gratitude for crops and good weather, for animals and the abundance of soil. Therefore, on the first day of this month the ritual of gratitude to the earth is revived, a rite that survived the Spanish colonization and crossed borders.

The rituals of this tradition varied over time, taking different forms and enriching themselves with the cultural, historical and social legacies of different communities. Thus, according to the ancestral customs of each person, the mode of celebration changes.

 

pachamama day On August 1 the ritual of gratitude to the earth is revived, a rite that survived the Spanish colonization and crossed borders / Photo source

 

There are basically two types of ceremonies, in homes, with private and family offerings, and in community, where the ceremony is led by Andean priests or the elders.

Smoke is a typical symbol of this celebration. It is part of a purification process and the tradition’s trademark that must be done with muña muña, a very popular herb in this part of the region, although incense, myrrh and sandalwood are also used. The home, business, work space and even the closest people and loved ones must be smoked, all this done in order to remove the bad energies and start a new cycle.

In the first hour, he thanks and apologizes to the Pachamama in a community prayer: the garbage is collected from the corners, it is placed on a shovel with embers and plants are added to the area. The ceremony begins when the cacique nails a knife in the east side of the well, as a defense in case something bad comes out of the interior of the earth. Then he or she begins the cleaning tea offering, which serves to prepare and clean the body of those who participate in the ceremony. This infusion is made based on 7 natural and medicinal herbs typical of the Puna (rica rica, copa copa, añagua, tola, chuchicaña, Puna flower and coca leaves).

In the provinces of northern Argentina such as Jujuy and Salta, the Pachamama is worshiped with the performance of thousands of years old ceremonies, in which all kinds of food, drinks and coca leaves are offered to the "Mother Earth". The centers where the festival acquires greater relevance are: Purmamarca, Tumbaya, Valle Grande and in all the towns of the Puna Jujeña.

In other communities, at midnight on July 31, or before dawn, families, and neighbors gather to open a well in the ground to be adorned with serpentine and confetti. It is corpachada. There the "first fruits" of the food prepared to offer to the Pacha are placed: a clay pot with cooked food, a little chicha, coca leaves, lit cigarettes that stick in the earth, bits of colored alpaca wool. You should never miss something red, it is the favorite color of the Pacha! They are offerings that are made to the earth to thank it for all that it gives to us.

 

 

pachamama day In the “corpachada” the red color should never be missing, it is the favorite color of the Pacha / Photo source

 

Faith centered on Pachamama coexists in many cases with Christianity. There are then syncretisms between beliefs: for example, in Bolivia, Pachamama is identified with the Virgin of Copacabana in La Paz, and the Virgin of Socavón in Oruro. In Peru, Pachamama is identified with the Virgin of the Candelaria.

Keep in mind that Jujuy is the National Capital of Pachamama, which is why administrative and school dismissal was decreed on August 1 because the Pachamama ceremony constitutes a ritual of ancestral origin.

 

Ritual at home

If it is difficult for you to move to a natural space to offer to Mother Earth, do not worry, you can perform your own ritual at home:

- Use a bottle or flower pot full of dirt, there you proceed to make a hole, it is recommended to do it with your hands to connect with the energy of the ritual.

- A kind of well is made, and food and drinks are poured for the enjoyment of the Pachamama.

- The food option is extensive, one can place anything from fruits to Creole foods and seeds. In the case of drinks, chicha, natural juices, honey, wine, even coca leaves are suggested.

- Then we proceed to cover it with dirt and flowers.

Every year more people join in and they learn to leave our daily work and reflect and realize who we are, where we are and have this gesture of recognition and thanks to Mother Earth, which we say is humanity, the earth, the air, the animals, the water, the fire, which is everything that makes our life.

 

 

By: Nathaly Bosch, Venezuelan, social communicator by profession and curious traveler by choice. Spanish editor for Daytours4u.