Pancha Mama

Last Friday we attended a Pancha Mama (mother earth) celebration. From what I have gathered from talking with various people, Pancha Mama is part of the indigenous religion here. This religion has also be accepted, in various ways, by the Catholic church in Bolivia, and in some places there are even churches that practice a mix of both religions. According to my teacher, the Catholic church has been the only church in Bolivia to tolerate this religion.

Most of the people at the celebration did not, however, appear to be indigenous Bolivians. While there were Bolivians there, I think ¨hippies from Spain¨ was the most accurate description I heard of the majority of the people in attendance. There was lots of music, dancing and chicha (a local drink that tastes sort of like soured beer).

The actual ceremony itself consisted of burning an alter of various things and pouring out chicha. The alter was food for Pancha Mama and the chicha was drink. Four people (2 men and 2 women) were picked from the crowd to burn the alter and drink the chicha. They poured the chicha in all four directions (north, south, east, and west) around the fire and then drank the remaining chicha. Not to offend the hardcore Christians out there, but the ritual sort of reminded me of communion. I find it very interesting the many similarities that exist between religions; perhaps if people were willing to recognize these similarities there would be less need to prove that one has found the ¨right¨ religion, but I digress.

After the ceremony was completed, there was more dancing and chicha for all! A band consisting of wooden pipes and drums played while everyone (including us) did an interesting circle dance around the fire. It was a lot of fun, but we didn´t stay too late because we had to climb the mountain the next morning. Good thing we called it an early night, because we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into the next morning.

School has been good this week; still learning a lot. On Tuesday we attended a party at a preschool where our friend, Jessica, works. It was not a large party (just a group from our school and the teachers at the preschool), but it was a lot of fun! We learned traditional Bolivian dances and taught them a few of our own. Though I think the meaning of the Y-M-C-A motions was completely lost in translation.

This weekend we are looking forward to a party at the school, a soccer game (where we have been warned not to wear white), and a visit to the Inca ruins near the city.