SM33 C33.1 11-12-22 (1886)

The Gathering {Lakita has a vision. Most of this occurs in the back of a store in Puerto Maldonado, Peru 10pm – Lakita}

A very tall elegant spirit appeared in Lakita’s bedroom. She had long black hair, a golden headdress, a golden dress similar to a lightweight sari, and beautiful golden slippers with inset diamonds. Her movements were graceful while also powerful. This spirit was a spirit guide; her subject was a young girl. Lakita, the young girl, was in bed fast asleep. The woman touched the young girl gently and her eyes opened.

“Lakita, my wonderful granddaughter, I bring this vision to you.”

“Abuelita?” I did not recognize her voice and my eyes were fuzzy.

“Am I dreaming?”

“Please, no questions now, mi amor. We must travel somewhere asombrosa. I need you to be alert.”

Are you ready, mi vida?”

“Yes, Abuelita.” I rubbed her eyes. I felt very light. I stood up quickly. I have no idea what I am supposed to be ready for. Nana takes things more slowly for me.

“What are we doing?” I stretched and gave a slight grunt.

Abuelita gave me a stern look.

“I can’t see well. And I feel dizzy!” I still could see how she looked at me. Mami wants me to be polite to my elders, but this woman is pushing me when I cannot think straight. I will honor this woman like my mother. Surely, this woman was an authority.

As Lakita’s eyes focused, everything became less clear. She remembered falling asleep in her bed for a short nap. Lakita only knew one woman, Nana, to be her grandmother. She knew that Nana was clearly not her real grandmother but the woman called her granddaughter. Nothing around her seemed familiar. She became conscious that she was standing up in just her underwear and sat down.

“Abuelita, where are we?”

No questions now, mi amor.

Lakita sat up, “Ready.”

Lakita’s eyes began adjusting more and more. The woman looked familiar but she didn’t seem like a person.

“Do I know you?”

“Questions! … No questions now.” She spoke sternly.

“Will this take long? I have homework to do.” I was not being untruthful or coy. I had homework but I was homeschooled by my grandmother. Nana was very flexible with me.

“Mi amor, no questions now. I am going to show you something very important. Remember what you see but do not tell anyone yet. You will know when you can alert others. Now, I will take you to Puerto Maldonado, the hometown of our family.”

“How will I know? And Abuelita, I am not dressed.” I did not want to go out in my underwear. What is she thinking?

“Ohhhhh, mi amor. You are dressed. Mira, look and see.”

A brilliant reflecting cloud moved right in front of me. It was amazing! I got a glimpse long enough to see the black knit armor I wore and there was a black and white puma picture on the front of my shirt. I also had black boots, unlike anything I had ever seen before. It had claws on them.

“Wow!”

“Call me Abuelita. I am your spirit guide.”

“This this this … whatever THIS is, it’s incredible!”

“Mi amor, I need you to relax. Fix your eyes on something or close your eyes if you want… Breathe in… Breathe out. Slow your breathing down. Can you feel your feet? Can you feel your fingers?”

“Abuelita, Nana, and I do this in the morning, and Mami and I do this before bedtime.”

After a few minutes in silence, my spirit guide stepped forward and opened a hole in the wall. Then she held out her hand to me. Without hesitation, I put my hand in her hand and we walked into this black hole. After a short walk, she spoke.

“Lakita, this afternoon is coming to a close, you can see the sun setting over the town. If you look over to your right, you see three elderly men, shamans. Do you see them?”

“Yes, Abuelita.”

Mi Amor, do you know what a shaman is?”

“I think someone who does magic. But no, Abuelita. I am not really sure.”

“A shaman is someone who communicates and commands spirits. I know your mother has already taught you a lot about the spirit world and commanding spirits.”

“Yes, Abuelita. Like we do in prayer.”

“Si mi amor. But some people make suggestions in prayer. They do not command spirits or angels… These shaman, that are wearing a traditional Peruvian chuku and punchu, these men are here to command spirits!”

“Yes, I see! They are so colorful!”

“Yes, mi Amor! Each man has traveled a long distance for an evening service that has been planned for nearly a year. They arrived earlier today. And they took a short nap to freshen up.”

“Just like me.” Lakita laughed. I looked again and it puzzled me. “Abuelita. What are they eating? It looks good!”

“They are having fresh cuy chactado with mate de coca, an herbal tea. I used to make cuy for your mother. This dish was prepared by a young girl who is in the service of the local shaman, P’aqo. He is an important person for you to know but he is not here yet.”

“Why don’t you show Mami this vision?”

“Your Mami is busy now. Patience mi amor as I prepare you.”

“Mira! Look now. He is here.” The spirit guide pointed to the left

“P’aqo is the tall one over there with the condor on his shoulder. You also see the three shaman talking. These are the same men you saw earlier to your right.”

“Abuelita, I still see them over there.” Lakita points left, in the direction of the men eating at the restaurant.

“Bueno, mi amor. But let’s concentrate on P’aqo and what he is doing.” The spirit waved her hand and the first view disappeared.

“Do you see the three hags?”

“What’s a hag?”

“These are ancianas, old women. These are women who chase the shaman and entertain them. They are holding the candles.”

As the two gazed at the view, Lakita saw three women with rough cracked ugly frizzy faces. The three shaman walked over to the table and each placed their bag there. One hag walked to the wall and lifted her dress. After she urinated into a cup, she placed the cup on the table and walked back to the other two women.

“They don’t look well.”

The three hags held candles providing a dim light that danced with a slight breeze, flickering and splintering the flames. The light was sufficient enough to show their advanced age, easily surmised by their faces and bent skinny bodies.

“The eyes can deceive you mi amor. These shamans are powerful controllers of spirits. They are called Master Controllers. It is a fancy title that means they are strong and powerful in the spirit realm. P’aqo is from this town but the other shaman is from the surrounding area. They are meeting for a serious matter.”

“Abuelita, I do not want to be impolite, but you need to show Mami this. I don’t understand!”

“No mi amor. You are much more powerful than your mother. I will teach you and you will learn from another teacher very soon. Don’t worry, I will talk to her very soon. But right now, I need to show you some very unpleasant things.”

“This evening, they are in this back room of a street store to command spirits to kill some people.”

“Why would they do this, Abuelita?”

“Lakita, these are evil men. Most shamans are women but in matters of death, mostly men carry out the summoning of spirits.”

Lakita was overwhelmed. Suddenly, the spirit guide’s face changed to a very stern look. “Pay attention child!” Lakita was shocked by the Spirit’s booming voice. She returned her gaze to the vision.

As I focused on what the men were doing, I noticed the man who was P’aqo whispering to the one who was dark-skinned. The three men grouped together in a small circle.

“Why are they getting together?” I was hoping that asking questions would keep my mind focused.”

“Mi Amor. To communicate with the other side requires connecting with the mountain spirits to which these shaman owe their power.”

“What are they saying, Abuelita?”

“They are naming the great spirits of the Andes mountains: Ayawhyto, Cavaldoyjo, Pompoquis, and Awarasso.”

Lakita and her spirit guide were silent as the men spoke aloud their words of homage in unison, repeating the names over and over. As the other Shaman chanted, P’aqo pulled out several objects from his chuspas and assembled them on the table. There were several bags, some cards, and a few small statuettes.

“What is in those bags?”

P’aqo took the cup the hag had placed on the table and mixed some ingredients from his pack. Once mixed, he used his knife to cut his hand and draw blood. P’aqo added four drops of blood and handed the cup to the man on his left. Each man took turns spitting into the cup, all the while requesting the presence of the spirits. P’aqo added some water and after mixing, each man took a drink until it was gone. The men continued chanting for about 10 minutes. As the connection to the spirit realm was made, the candles snuffed out.

“Lakita, the spiritual dimension is unfathomable by humans. It is not light nor dark. It is not hot nor cold. Heaven and hell are simply constructs of the Reality Master Controller. A construct can be an idea or something real. Every Controller establishes valid constructs and any subservient shaman must honor the construct.”

I obviously looked puzzled. “Whaaaaat?”

“P’aqo is a Master Controller. He is talking to one of his spirit servants in a spirit language. P’aqo has identified some people who had dishonored his reality and called this sacred meeting. Only you and the Master Controller can understand.”

“Yes Abuelita, I heard the list of people. I still don’t understand”

Lakita and her guide turned and looked down at the men.

“Emortis, this is P’aqo. I am calling you. Are you present at your place?”

In front of the shaman, a huge black and red fireball appeared but it did not disappear like in an explosion. Then a scratchy voice came from the flame.

“Snic Snic fim sen gru.” The fire spirit returned communication only understood by P’aqo and Lakita.

“Emortis, I command you to kill our subjects. As I have told you before, these require death.”

Lakita did not look at the spirit guide and asked, “Abuelita, am I one of those people?”

“Yes mi amor. That is what I feel.”

The fire spirit Emortis spoke in a dreadful tone, “Fre hoon sen fin gata tu!” Then he repeated some names I did not know and some names I did know. I was not scared but my mami and my name were in those names I knew.

P’aqo raised his fists to the sky. “Return the condor to its place next to Ayawhyto when it is complete. Emortis, you must not fail!”

My hands were dripping. I gripped my Abuelita’s hand tightly and began to pray.