Sanctuary

The Sanctuary Project

In the summer of 2004, Carl Greer, a teacher and graduate of the Healing the Light Body School, received karpays (shamanic initiatory rites of passage) from the Q’ero, direct descendants of the Inka and master shamans of the high Andes. These rites of passage took place at ancient sacred sites in and around the Sacred Valley of Peru. To understand the importance of the karpays, one must have an understanding of the history of the Q’ero shamans.

Carl at the beginning of his journey

Don Humberto	When the Inka were forced to flee the cities during the Spanish Inquisition, they went into hiding at high altitudes, places where the Inquisitors could not reach them. In the cities, they’d been spiritual leaders and lived in temples of gold. But to preserve and protect the traditional medicine teachings, these Inka shamans traded their temples of gold for simple huts and homes built in caves. Because of their sacrifice, the spiritual traditions of the Inka remained safe and were passed down orally in Q’ero villages built at an altitude of 17,000 feet.

Today, due to modern economic and ecological realities, many Q’ero villagers are leaving the high mountains to build a new life in the cities. The core objective of The Sanctuary Project, sponsored by the Four Winds Society, is to help preserve these spiritual traditions for future generations of shamans and to share them with others. Envisioned by Alberto Villoldo, the Sanctuary was built in Ollantaytambo, Peru. The Sanctuary is not only a physical place that offers healthy meals and lodging to shamans and their families so that they may continue to practice and share their medicine ways, but it is also an archive containing photographs and stories of Inka shamanic traditions.		Doña Bernadina

Carl and photographer Christine Paul		To help further this goal of preserving and sharing the medicine teachings of the Inka, Carl and the Q’ero shamans consented to have their work together, which is traditionally done in private, documented by photographer and Healing the Light Body School graduate Christine Paul

What follows is documentation of Carl’s experience along with a description of the rites and rituals of the Q’ero. The Q’ero shamans who participated in this photo documentary include Don Humberto, Doña Bernadina, Doña Julia, Don Francisco, Don Pasqual, Don Mariano and apprentice-shamans Rolando and Vacilio.