Peace Pirates Blog - MAGIC MAMA Eco-Edu-tainer

Opening day of the first WaterWoman Festival in Vilcabamba, Ecuador began at 8:30 am with an Opening Despacho by the Q'eros. Here is a description of a Despacho from the International Q'eros Foundation:

The Despacho is a ceremony traditional to the Andes

The term Despacho refers to the act of making an offering. It is similar to a “give away”. It is a gift to Mother Earth Pachamama, the Mother star system Hatun Chaska, the Sun Inti and the Spirits of the Mountains Apus that places us in right relationship and right reciprocity. It establishes a linkage between our three centers of interaction and the physical Universe; our personal power, located in the solar plexus, our love, located in the heart chakra and our wisdom, sourced from our third eye, bindhu chakra. Despachos are fundamental ceremonies of the Q’eros, which involve an offering of the Mesa, or medicine bundle. This form is one of the primary ways the Q’eros manifest reality.

The ceremonies are an act of creating a mandala with prayer and intention through Kintus, sacred herbs, grains, food, jewels and other objects. There is a fire ceremony to conclude each Despacho. The fire reveals messages of affirmation that the ceremony has been received and accepted into manifestation. They are beneficial in aiding an individual’s process of manifestation and healing on the personal, planetary and universal dimensions.

Despachos are a co-creative process with the Paqos and the participants. Everyone is involved in the co-creation of the despacho.

It is an opportunity to become conscious of the acceleration an individual’s process of manifestation and healing on the personal, planetary and universal dimensions. Whether the individual is manifesting healing for themselves, or for health of a loved one for any thing, within the microcosm of the individual, to the planet’s health. Literally anything can be prayed and intended for manifestation.

The energy body (poqpo) of the person is woven into the Despacho itself and is connected energetically to all aspects of its representations. Thus, a certain harmonization occurs for the person to be able to live and experience of the prayer itself in physical form.

After the Despacho, Stacey Joy offered a morning Yoga class, followed by Ceremony of the Heart Breathwork by Christabel Zamor. Participating in the yoga session was a perfect way to lead into the breath work which was a really powerful, transformational experience for me. As a way to continue the breath work after the festival, I traded a Cat Hat for a CD created by Christabel's teacher.