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Today we woke up at 7:30 a.m. The morning light came in through the curtains and warmed the room. Our bodies have naturally adapted to the sun-up to sun-down rhythm of the place. We got dressed and walked through the garden path to the house for breakfast at 8 o'clock. The block of artesenal cheese that Felipe had brought was on the table, next to a loaf of bread which had cheese baked inside. Rosa served us each a slice of quiche which was green with herbs. We asked what the herbs were and Rosa explained that it was a special herb to keep our digestive systems healthy. Even when we weren't aware of it, Rosa and Antonio were always looking out for us. We had tomato tree juice and coffee to drink. Everything was delicious.
Aida did Sisa's hair up in pigtails and then Sisa put on a striped winter hat with three pom-poms on top and a Tweety Bird emblem on the front. She looked so cute. The shape of the hat reminded us of the surrounding mountain ridges. At around 9:30, we got into the truck with Felipe, Rosa, and Sisa. Rosa and Sisa sat in the way back, presumably so Sisa wouldn't be tempted to try to shift the car into 4 wheel drive. Sisa had a small stuffed dragon toy that she was playing with. She was fidgeting with the plastic pupils on its eyes. She eventually ended up pulling the pupils off of it, and then somehow seemed surprised. We surmised that she probably had not owned it for long, or it would have lost its eyes way before now. Today we would be learning about the various facets of an organization called UNORCAC (Union de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indigenas de Cotacachi or Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi). UNORCAC serves 41 indigenous communities in the Cotacachi area and focuses on infrastructure, social and economic programs, and cultural preservation. Otavaleños have historically been good businesspeople, and their organization into home-grown associations such as UNORCAC has helped them to fight conditions of discrimination and poverty that they have faced. By banding together 41 communities under the same umbrella organization, it gives them the political power that they each lacked individually. In 2001, UNORCAC helped with the formation of Runa Tupari, the indigenous tourist organization through which Adventure Life booked our stay with Antonio and Rosa. It also runs various other projects throughout the area, and these were some of the places that we would be visiting today. We headed into the city of Cotatachi. We parked the car on a the street and entered a food processing plant called Sumak Mikuy Microempresa Comunitaria. Local farmers bring their uvilla fruit, peppers, mora (blackberries), and some other produce here to be processed and packaged for sale. The uvillas are dehydrated and sold like raisins. They are also made into marmalade and sold in a glass jar in a small reed basket. We toured the factory and saw some modern stainless steel industrial equipment as well as posters which showed how to tell when your fruit is ripe for processing. The place was spotless, and no work was currently in progress. We bought a bag of dried uvillas, some uvilla jam in the reed basket, and some hot pepper jam. When we walked back to the car we noticed the now-familiar 8-pointed star motif etched into the sidewalk. Next we made a quick stop at a UNORCAC business office where Rosa talked to a couple of people. After that we went to a local women's center. Here there is a computer lab where women from the community can learn to use computers and the internet. There was a sign hung up which basically said that the vast knowledge of elders is sometimes not valued because people think that if they can't read and write, they can't possibly know anything. It seemed that this place existed in defiance of that statement; as if to teach the community to read and write so that their knowledge will be respected and passed on to future generations. With the internet they can spread their knowledge limitlessly. Traditional Otavaleño clothing was displayed on mannequins. Next to these were cases filled with locally made natural products for sale, including aloe vera creams, papaya shampoo, and chamomile. A woman came out and showed us some books that they had published. We decided to buy a couple: one on medicinal plants, one on typical recipes, and one of floral embroidery patterns which I planned to give to my mother for her crafts. The woman explained that the women's center is really trying to strike a balance between traditional knowledge and modern technology. She explained that 28 midwives work in conjunction with the center. They perform indigenous customs such as rubbing a cuy (guinea pig) over the pregnant woman's body and then reading its entrails. They also educate people about the medicinal uses of plants. After leaving the very interesting women's center, we drove to the outskirts of town down picturesque dirt roads through small agricultural communities. We arrived at the the Cotacachi ethnobotanical nursery, established by UNORCAC and INIAP (Instituto Nacional Autonomo de Investigaciones Agropecuarias or Autonomous National Institute of Agricultural Research). This organic garden contains a wide variety of plants which are useful within the culture of the indigenous population. A woman wearing a hooded sweatshirt over her traditional Otavaleña attire opened a large wooden gate and led us around under an arbor of flowering plants and into the grounds. The sun was very strong as it was now midday, and we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. She explained the uses of all of the various plants. Some are made into tea, some are rubbed onto the skin and applied topically, etc. We saw quinoa and bright pink amaranto, which has the most protein of any plant. We saw peppers, carrots, cabbage, peas, rosemary, anise, chamomile, etc. The colors of the flowers and fruits were beautiful. The soil was rich and dark, fertile from its volcanic origins. A sign informed us that the "Ecological Levels Garden" represents the three distinct altitudinal levels found within the Andean valleys. You could see the surrounding mountains and volcanoes in the distance, semi-obscured by white puffy clouds. We saw a rather large green frog in among the rows of plants, and I took a photo of him. This nursery cultivates and cares for these plants, and members of the community can get seedlings or seeds here to plant on their own property. Rosa said that many of the plants in their garden originated here. As we walked around today, she collected seeds and stored them in the hood of Sisa's sweater (which Sisa was wearing at the time). We met an American Peace Corps volunteer who is helping to make sure that the gardens remain organic. We couldn't help but think that our dear friend Mukul in India would be in his glory here, with his love of gardening. As we walked back to the truck, we saw a mural of a happy bumble bee which announced fresh honey for sale. We got back into the truck. Sisa fell asleep on the drive back to the house. We passed through the village of Quiroga and we laughed that the lighted digital clock always says 19:00. We stopped near the central square as Rosa had an errand to do. I got out of the car and took some photos of the Catholic church and the square. When we got home I texted our goddaughter Aracely in Guatemala because it is her 5th birthday today. I went outside to write in the journal while Craig took a shower. I sat outside on the ground and opened my notebook. Max the dog came over to keep me company. As I was writing about the morning's events, Antonio's mother surprised me by leading one of the cows by a rope around its horns to the outdoor sink. It stuck its snout into the end basin, which was full of water, for a drink. This caught me totally by surprise. I guess I had never wondered how they water the cows. When it had quenched its thirst, she led it back to the field. A minute later she returned with the other cow and the same series of events transpired. By the time Craig was out of the shower, lunch was ready. We went inside and took our seats on the bench at the dining room table. Fresh orange juice was poured into our glasses. We started out with some leftover soup from last night. Then we had some tuna, potatoes, and noodles. After lunch it was my turn to take a shower. It was certainly more inviting to shower in the afternoon, when the air in the room was warmer from the sun. Craig had learned that flipping the Frankenstein-esque switch in the shower provided some degree of warm water, as long as you didn't turn the pressure up too high. After my pleasantly warm shower, Craig and I sat outside and addressed and wrote out some postcards. Young chickens pecked around on the patio. Later we got into the truck with Aida, Sisa, Rosa, Aida's two cousins Delia and Celestina and a little boy from next door. Felipe drove us off in the direction of the alpacas in the upper altitude outskirts of their village. Through the patchy clouds, the sunlight dappled the surrounding green mountains, and offered glimpses at the nearby towns and cities shining in the distance. We proceeded up the dirt roads until we got to a section where it was too narrow to pass in the truck. So Felipe parked the truck and we all got out to walk around. A herd of sheep came towards us from the other direction. They sniffed around Felipe's camera case, which he had put on the ground. We saw a young girl and boy walking down the street, as well as an old man who was carrying a heavy load of firewood on his back. We got to a vantagepoint from which we could see the alpacas in their corral in the distance up the mountainside. Aida and her teenaged cousins were being very giddy and happy. Despite Aida being a mom, she is very youthful. Sisa toddled around with her "wawa", a cloth doll. The scenery was gorgeous and the sun was low in the sky. Aida showed Craig some videos on her phone from Sisa's second birthday party just a few weeks ago. We saw a rainbow and the girls said that it was a feminine rainbow because it wasn't bright. It started to rain and the light was very surreal. Felipe got some photos and so did we. The light and shadows were stunning. When we got back into the truck and drove back toward the house, we saw another rainbow. This one was also feminine, they said, because it didn't touch the ground. We hadn't known that rainbows have genders. Aida showed Craig some more videos and photos of Sisa's birthday on her phone, and Sisa looked on with interest. When we got back to the house, we took pictures of Fuya Fuya, and snow-capped Cayambe in the waning light. Aida peeled potatoes in preparation for dinner and we sat at the kitchen table flipping through the family's photo album. Antonio arrived at the house and announced that it was time to go see the yachak (shaman). Without time to prepare for an excursion, we headed straight to the truck. I realized that I didn't have much space left on my camera card. Luckily Craig had our old camera as a back-up, so we would still be able to document the visit. We never really knew from one moment to the next what would be happening, so it was not always possible to be as prepared as we'd like. Antonio, Rosa, Sisa, and Delia (one of the next-door cousins, age 17) climbed into the truck with us. Rosa brought some clippings of medicinal plants with her, and Antonio said that we needed to buy a pack of cigarettes for the yachak. Coincidentally enough, Sisa had extracted a brand new pack from one of the seat pouches in the truck, so we didn't need to stop anywhere to try to buy a pack. Felipe drove us the short distance to the house of the neighboring yachak. We got out of the truck and walked through a small compound of houses. We were led into a dimly-lit building constructed of cinder blocks. It was lit by a single light bulb. We walked across the dirt floor and sat down on a wooden bench. Our eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim light. Taita Manuel Flores (age 88), the yachak, entered and shook our hands. "Taita" is a term of respect in the Kichwa language, similar to "uncle." He was wearing traditional Otavaleño white pants and shirt, with a blue patterned poncho. A felt hat covered his long black hair, which was gathered in back into either a ponytail or a braid, we couldn't quite tell. He asked Craig if anything was wrong (which I interpreted as sort of asking the purpose of our visit). As we were just seeking a demonstration rather than help curing a particular ailment, we had nothing to report. He emptied a bag of round stones and a blue tinted crystal ball onto a tortora reed estera mat. Antonio handed us a candle and we were told to rub it on our hands, arms, and heads, and then to blow on it 3 times. There were some young boys milling about and watching the proceedings. We guessed that they were probably Taita Manuel Flores' grandchildren, or even great-grandchildren. The yachak sat on a wooden bedframe, facing us. Sisa sat next to Craig on the bench and kept touching him. She is definitely becoming more and more comfortable with us as our stay progresses. Antonio lit two candles and stood them up on the estera mat, lighting up the pile of stones. Antonio and Taita Manuel Flores spoke to us, and Felipe translated. It seems that Taita Manuel Flores was drawn to be a yachak at age 15; 73 years ago. Healing requires so much of him physically that he is no longer able to do it the way he once did. Now he mainly does demonstrations as opposed to healings, though he will perform healings when absolutely necessary (usually on children). He asked if we believe in Christ and then chanted a Catholic prayer. He was chain smoking the cigarettes Antonio had brought for him. Antonio would light them from the candle flames and present them to him. He smoke one after another. He also addressed the volcanoes and the mountains. The weaving together of the colonially-introduced Catholicism with traditional precolumbian rituals is always interesting. He chanted Catholic prayers in Spanish which were vaguely recognizable to us, and he also seemed to be speaking in Kichwa at times. He took large swigs of clear liquor out of a Fanta bottle that he then spat onto the rocks and candles. It smelled like very potent alcohol. He waved his lit cigarette around and chanted some more. Everything was very rhythmic and hypnotic. Antonio took the medicinal plants that Rosa had brought and lightly swatted Sisa with them, demonstrating how a healing might be performed on a child. He and Rosa led Sisa up to the yachak, but she was scared and started to cry. They handed us each a rock which we were instructed to rub onto our hands and heads. Craig said that his rock seemed to be freezing cold in his hand and burning hot on his head. I didn't feel much of a temperature difference, but it is hard to explain these things sometimes. On a previous trip to Mexico in 2005, a Mayan shaman told me that he thought I was ill. Several days after returning home, I was diagnosed with lyme disease from a tick bite. Coincidence? Once the yachak's demonstration was complete, we said our thank you's and goodbyes to Taita Manuel Flores and his family. He said that the community is afraid that his craft will die with him. He has been trying to train Antonio a bit in medicinal herbs. We got back into the truck and drove down the dirt road in the dark, back to Antonio and Rosa's house. Aida, who had stayed behind at home, had prepared dinner for us. It was potato and cabbage soup, rice, fresh lemonade, fried plantains, and chicken. Rosa showed us some embroidery she has been doing. White cloth was pulled taught in her embroidery hoop, where she embroidered a light green floral motif. After chatting with Felipe a bit, we headed back to our rooms after a brief look at the stars. We went into our room and I wrote about the visit to the yachak in my journal. We went to bed at 10:15. |
            Taita Manuel Flores the yachak (shaman)  
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