Munay-ki

The Munay-Ki are a series of nine Empowerment rites based on the initiatory practices of the Q'ero shamans of Peru, as taught by anthropologist Alberto Villoldo.^[1] "Munay" in Quechua means "love and will", together with "ki", from the Japanese word for energy, combine to give the meaning: energy of love.^[2] The Munay-Ki is a modern form of transmitting the initiation empowerments of the Q'ero, and are based on the traditional initiation ceremonies of Q'ero shamans.^[3] Four Q'ero shamans have come to the United States several times to personally transmit the rites in the past six years, and many initiates have gone to Peru to receive the rites there. These shamans are held in high esteem by the members and trainees of The Four Winds Society.^[4]

Origin

Villoldo learned and studied the rites of the Inca Shamans with a number of mentors over a period of years living with them in the Andes Mountains of Peru.^[5] As he describes in his book Shaman Healer Sage,^[6] he traveled for more than ten years with his first mentor Don Antonio Morales throughout the Andes and the Amazon to accumulate and distill the shamanic knowledge of these peoples. From this distilled knowledge of traditional shamanism, Dr. Villoldo gathered and assembled the Munay-Ki as a series of rites to initiate and empower students in their study and practice of shamanic healing.^[5] Some of the Munay-Ki rites are based on traditional Q'ero initiatory rites, though much simplified: for example, the Munay-Ki Earth Keeper rite is inspired by the Pampa Mesayoq^[7] "karpay" (initiation) of the Q'ero. However, where the Pampa Mesayoq initiation takes 2 - 3 hours, the Earth Keeper rite takes only a few seconds> ^[8]

Villoldo writes that the rites derive from the great initiations from the Indus Valley that were brought to the Americas by the first medicine men and women who crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia during the glacial period some 10,000 years ago, and who were known as the Laika, the Earthkeepers of old. ^[9] However, this account is disputed by archeologists on the basis it lacks any evidence and contradicts what is known about human migration into the America's over 40,000 years ago.

Purpose

The Munay-Ki rites are initiations intended to help the person receiving them to become a person of wisdom and power.^[9] Unlike traditional Q'ero initiations, which are given once the student has acquired the requisite skills to handle their impact, the Munay-Ki are given without any preparation or training. This has been controversial with many shamanic teachers who believe lack of preparation for an initiation can, and does, cause psychological difficulties for many people.

Bibliography

• Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas (hardcover); ISBN 978-0-609-60544-8
• "A Walk Between Worlds, Truth is Beauty, The Q'ero" ISBN 978-1-4415-3382-1

References