My previous blog post used the example of Eastern Island to illustrate certain fundamental issues in human civilizations, such as population pressures and selection factors which catch up sooner or later with all of us. This post, written for the same discussion group, discusses similar experiences and issues in Peru, Columbia, Ecuador and Panama, all of which we visited before Easter Island. Some of these cultures did not do quite as well as Easter Island did (before outsiders took them away to be slaves).
Brian Josephson emphasized the need for more triadic thinking. He reminded me of the little book One, Two, Three, Infinity by George Gamow, which I remember reading in bed back when I was twelve (1959 or 1960). Gamow argued that human cultures have often been held back by humans not deeply apprecuating that the next number up after 3 is not just infinity. But often enough, like Brian, I have seen a great challenge in getting people to think all the way up to 3, let alone 4.
I was serious in that past email about the "holy trinity" of "carbon, silicon and dark matter." But I mentioned seeing a lot of other meaningful trinities in our cruise through Latin America, which ended four days ago (unless you count Easter Island tomorrow). Believing that "soul" or "psi" is an essential part of life, I have always tried to be open to direct experience "in four dimensions" in all such excursions. This is personal stuff, not proper disciplined third party science, which I do at other times.
Our first port of call after we left from Fort Lauderdale was Santa Marta, Columbia. My wife Luda usually does incredibly detailed and creative planning for these things (also keeping costs way down), but this time she just suggested we walk around town, using some maps she printed out but nothing formal and nothing using money. At first, I wondered whether she intended this as a kind of rest, nothing but a walk to the local cathedral, through the park, with trips to two local free museums. Visut to cathedral and park sounded so lame and mundane, but OK for a restful stroll.
By now, I should have known better. The park and the cathedral were as ordinary and commonplace as a 400kv power line. Despite the tourists in the middle part of the cathedral, the big chapel on the left flank with statues to Mary at front and Santa Marta to the left were powerful gateways to a major lobe of the noosphere, linking to many powerful swirling strands of thought and feeling from across Colombia, somewhat held in balance at this point. This was the first of many "places of power" we engaged with on this trip. No matter how good we are at thinking out of the box, remembering nature and the stars, and focusing attention out of local limitations.. there is still no substitute for actually showing up in four dimensions to such gateways. Obviously the Catholic holy trinity was represented here, and more than familiar to us both. The park was also a kind of serious place of power. When we arrived, the teachers' union held a major open event there, connected to national politics and thoughts about the future of education, and there was also a stall representing the Kogi tribe explaining their cosmology and methods to train the soul.
At museums, and listening to experts hired by Holland America, we also learned about variations to approaches to drug use, an unavoidable issue these days (though I go to extremes to avoid it in my own life, for complex reasons).
I certainly avoid even mild use of cocoa leaves in tea, said to be safe and sold even in Catholic convents, but we saw two major instances in museums of tribes processing those leaves with gragments of shell or other alkali materials, generating true cocaine, a basically pure short circuit of the primary reinforcement centers of the brain. Somewhat less problematic is the historic use of psychedelics akin to psilocybin, LSD and ketamine, which do have some short circuit effect, but mainly force open the input channels to tge brain, analogous to forceful opening of the pupil; fully sane people have no use for that, but it probably has use in therapy of extreme rigid folks (still not as good as some new nondrug nonDBStechnologies at MIT media lab).
Other Catholic places of real power on this trip where two-way communication occurred -- Trujillo, Peru, where Luda and I were invited to the special santa merced event in the cathedral in the main square (Trujillo like Arequipa being one of the two roughly million person cities, second only to Lima); Guyaquil, Ecuador, where a little chapel near the lighthouse had more power than the main cathedral (despite two pointers it had to local esoterica). We did not go to central Lima this time, since we were there in 2016, and wanted to see new things closer to Callao the port.
The first nonCatholic place of spiritual power was the meeting house on the main San Blas island of Panama, the main meeting site of Kuna or Guna people. (Sadly, the islands are going under water due to global sea level rise, and their leaders told us they have just concluded a deal with Panama to evacuate completely to their holdings on the mainland. Those islands also contain a major refueling point for ships going to the Panama Canal.)
Maybe 1000 of us tendered to the island, but only two or three of us noticed and entered the meeting place, clearly both a spiritual and political center. One was the Holland American political science speaker, interviewing one of the leaders about climate change and the move. The meeting place was a big circle, mainly full of pews like a Quaker meeting place arranged roughly like a circle or octagons, low thatched roof, not ornate. In center, a few hammocks hung on posts which had a few posters on past leaders of the Guna. Two or three guys were in the hammocks, meditating.. and I feel sad I made no effort to connect that way. Later I heard that they are like Kogi in training youths selected young (8?) to 18, for what? How much mundane stuff, how much oral rote sfuff, how much actual psi? Westerners tend to be cynical, but I certainly saw some meditation. Later folks told me they have some deal with Christian missionnaries and such, not inconsistent with what Panama is, or with syncretism.
Post Panama Canal, we visited three ports in Cosfa Rico over three days, Golfito, Quepos and Punta or Puerta Arenas.
I dont recall deep human spiritual energy, but we did arrive in the midst of a major national strike. Politics and wildlife. Maybe there is more in my daily notes, for later in any case.
First port in Peru was Trujillo, former capital of a vast empire conquered by the Incas circa 1430 AD. We were part of a small group led by a member of the Moche people who built that empire, and played a major role in overthrowing the Incas circa 1530.
First we visited Temple of the Moon (political and spiritual capital roughly 0ad to 600), then nearby Temple of Sun (more political, to 900), then Chan Chan center of big Chimu empire.
By Chan Chan times, he reported a holy trinity of ocean (symbolized by sea otter), land (puma) and heaven or sky (bird). The Moche people have long memories, and even now are very careful in their relations to local archeologists who have great attachments to formal theories of the day.
Moche and archeologists agree that human sacrifice was a major part of the rituals at the Temple of the moon, depicted clearly in colorful murals. But who gets killed? There was a ritual combat contest (analogous to the game of capture the flag?). Losers get sacrificed. It would happen mainly in El Nino years, partly in hopes that the gods or god would stop the El Nino but partly to reduce pressures on resources which were suddenly not be enough to sustain the population. It is curious that major new ecological problems caused collapse of the old system in early 600s, exactly when Mayans experienced the same, and that the quetzlcoatl theme also penetrated, along with folk history talking of ancestors arriving by sea from the north. But archeologists warned them that Peruvian culture originated independently, and they should not cast doubt on the national story.
I remembered a previous trip to Kohunlich in Mayaland, where high civilization lasted about 2 centuries longer, where the quetzlcoatl theme was stronger, where selection for mathematics and spirit was also strong, not just ritual combat. The relation between priestking enforcers versus shamans was tricky, and a certain cactus juice was depicted in a colorful mural, but they said one would have to go to Chavin inland for more mathematical themes.
Museums declare authoritatively that the trinity of tribes like Moche was heaven, earth and underworld, and that sea otter represents underworld. Ironically, they seem to assume Moche must be like Mayans, even as they insist on no influence! I tend to believe the Moche who say the sea otter represents ocean, not underworld.
The Temple of the Sun period was more organized in any case. They proudly said that the ritual conflicts were abolished, after a kind of progressive military revolution in the 600s when super El Nino caused more disillusionment with old beliefs. But oops, discovery of bones prove some sacrifice of women and children. A warrior's response to another El Nino?.
The massive Chan Chan complex reminded me a little of the vast dig of terra cotta warriors in China. Our Moche guide pointed to the 17 big platforms where rituals were performed.
What kind of rituals, I asked? (No depictions of human sacrifice,) He looked embarrassed: actually, we know almost nothing . Until recently, the archeologists insisted that these buildings were just hotels for visitors to the capitol. But they gradually realized that they didn't have any of the features a hotel would have, and the altars really are a but small to be raised beds. But the official position is that we are still just guessing that this was a ritual and governing center, and we have no idea what happened.
But then.. his people knew. He showed us the pool where the light of the moon, their main ... had reflection captured in the surace, a major part of the nightly rituals. The paths by which the king and various others came. The murals depicting phases and asoects of the moon. And other stories of his people.
Circs 1460 or 1470, Incas, upset by the rebellion of the chimu, ordered burning of the royal mummies which were a central part of Chimu culture. They worked hard, maybe totally successfully, to wipe out the Chimu language itself. But tge Moche/Chimu kept alive the stories of their people coming from the north by boat, and their commitment to being people of the boat. When Pizarro came.. he is still viewed as a liberator, despute the horrid things Spanish looters did to melt and steal goLd and silver, washing away 2/3 of the Temple of the sun. And they speak Spanish.
The Temple of the Moon and chan chan were places of power, but places requiring caution as well.
Next, outer seaside Lima. Pachacamac and Larco Museum the highlights for here. Peruvian culture pre-Incas usually isthought of as north (Moche/Chimu), central (Pachacamac) and southern (next day). Incas were closest to central, and treated them better than other coastal groups.
Larco museum, a major creation of archeologists, very beautiful and very Hispanic. In addition to the theory of the three worlds, it depicted a yin-yang theory of life and creation with startling similarity to what I heard from the leader of a school of Qi Gong some years ago. Same old yin yang duality (but no reference to those words or China), depiction of a swirl or spiral of creation and energy. And ancient statues, some quite pornographic, clearly showing belief in underworld in this region. (Not sea otters!)
The big Inca Temple of the Sun in Pachacamac (older and probably more energetic than Macchu Pichu) was the only preColumbian site which felt like a Gateway as powerful as the stronger Hispanic sites. It is ironic how their successful harsh policies contributed to the growth of Spanish, which I view as a strong and clearcut positive development. That history should not be rewritten. Like the Chimu, they had their own varieties of human sacrifice, but apparently a lot more enlightened than earlier things.
At the entrance was a school the Incas brought for women. It taught many skills. The best students were married to Inca rulers or leaders.The worst were sacrificed. The middle were offered a choice of teaching or going home. So much better than selecting for strobg and stupid. One group of Quechua people, documented by the anthropologist Wilcox, had an intense and serious program of experiential spiritual training without drugs, a major and important plus.
Finally, we came to Paracas in the south, far more ancient than the others. Those people also have long memories. They are clearer than the Moche about arriving by boat from the North.. but in fact it seems they arrived initially to Moche, wandered south on the Andes and came down by water to Paracas. Pisco, wine growers. In El Nino years they would sacrifice not warriors or women and children, but the heads of politicians.
In 2016 we visited other parts of southern Peru. At Lake Titikaka, their holy trinity was pachatatta, pachamama and apus -- very much like the real beliefs of the yezidi kurd mountain people, much slandered by predatory disingenuous militants greedy for their land and their oil.
All for now. Again I apologize for sending out such a raw brain dump, but I dud put in cavears at the top...
