The Traditional Offering Ceremony of the Andes: How to Maintain Balance Between the Material and Spiritual Worlds
In traditional Andean cosmovision, the natural world and the divine are united, and offering ceremonies are seen as a part of the reciprocity system between the material and spiritual worlds. Haywarikuy (offering gifts in a sacred manner), ayni (reciprocity), ofrenda (offering), and despacho (message) all are words used for the sacred offering ceremonies of the Quechua, Quichua, Aymara, and other indigenous peoples in the Andes region. These types of ceremonies take on various forms all over Latin America (and by other names around the world), however the focus here will be how this ritual presents itself in the Andes region.
Purposes of Offering Ceremonies
Due to the very nature of the ceremonies, material evidence of the sacred offering rituals in the Andes tends to be scarce, however, scholars have dated these types of ceremonies back to at least the time of the Inca (1100-1535 AD), and many believe there are pre-Inca origins for these rituals. Offering ceremonies have been passed down through generations.
Representation of an ancient offering ceremony at the Huaca Pucllana pyramid, Miraflores district, Lima, Peru. (SL-Photography / Adobe Stock)
