Q
Glossary

 

QUECHUA

aji – chili pepper

apu - gods

awicho – mummies and human remains (grandfathers)

ayarachi – a musical ensemble

ch’uspa – multicolored bag of woven wool profusely decorated and fringed with threads

chinkaripuchinku – the disappearance or burial

chujcharutuchi – the haircutting ceremony usually before a child’s 7th birthday

chuño – dehydrated potatoes

compadres - friends

frailita – yellow-winged butterfly

hallpa hapinapak – part of a ceremony to safeguard and satisfy the earth

Hanan Pacha – The Upper World

huancabamba region in northern Peru and southernmost Ecuador where the Central and Northern Andes diverge

illa – a tiny alpaca

ira – panpipes with two rows of six pipes which usually play the melody line

iskaykapun – what was once one now is two but the two are like parts of a whole

k’anahushan – when the alpaca lifts its tail

k’ilo – bitter cold with a darkening sky

k’upakuy – to hit hard

kankachu – alpaca, llama, or sheep quarters roasted directly over coals

kanti – small wooden spindle

Kay Pacha – This World

khakaykuy – to imprison

khencha – an evil omen

khuya – bad luck

kunitan – right now

kuntur – condor

llijlla – woven shawl displaying elaborate embellishments made in two halves

luli – a small bird

makin aysarin – transferring powers and secrets of the profession to future practitioners

mayturapun – weakness of the arms and legs

mestizos – non-indigenous people

mikhuna – boiled water with potatoes and other tubers

misti ñawa – alpaca with light, almost blue eyes

naupa runa – very ancient men

palabranmantan – marriage contracted by parents

papalisa – high-altitude tuber

paqo – practitioner of spells and cures

paqarina – holes in the earth through which dead spirits communicate with the living

para pesqo – rain bird flies in harried and rapid way, and forms groups upon sensing rain

phorga – alpaca with extra toes thought to be lucky thus highly prized

phuka – most powerful and feared wind of the high outback

phuti – boiled water with native tubers and grain

pisititu – a little

sankayo – cactaceous plant with beautiful flowers

suri – alpaca producing finer wool, heavier, longer, and shinier

t’akankay – dissolving a marriage

t’ika - flowers

toktochi – flour and water with milk and eggs fried in oil

tutukas wayra - strong wind in the peaks of the cordillera that bellows and roars

tuwi – newborn alpaca

Ukhu Pacha – The Inner World

wallkita – small woven bag containing herbs hung around an animal’s neck for protection

warmisitunta – a girl who has reached womanhood

wayna q’ajcha wayra – another name for a very strong wind

yawal longani – alpaca or llama intestines stuffed with blood, flour, and salt

zampoña – panpipes