Munay-ki

The Munay-Ki are a series of nine rites brought from the Q'ero shamans of Peru to western society by Dr Alberto Villoldo, an american anthropologist who has studied the shamanic healing practices of the Amazon and Inca shamans for over 25 years. "Munay" means "love and will" together "ki" is from the Chinese word for energy. [Source?] The Munay-Ki is a traditional initiation ceremony of the Q'ero shamans. Four Q'ero shamans have come to the United States several times to give one or all of the rites in the past six years, and many initiates have gone to Peru to receive the rites there. These shamans are held in high esteem by the initiates and the trainees of The Four Winds Society.

Origin

Dr Villoldo learned and studied the rites of the Inca Shamans with a number of mentors over a period of years living with them in the Andes Mountains of Peru. As he describes in his book Shaman Healer Sage, he travelled for more than ten years with his first mentor Don Antonio Morales throughout the Andes and the Amazon to accumulate and distill the shamanic knowledge of these peoples. From this distilled knowledge, Dr Villoldo assembled the Munay-Ki as a series of fabricated rites Dr. Villoldo states are derived from Inca traditions.

Dr Villoldo writes that the rites derive from the great initiations from the Hindus Valley that were brought to the Americas by the first medicine men and women who crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia during the glacial period some 30,000 years ago, and who were known as the Laika, the Earthkeepers of old

[The following paragraph is strongly disputed. Source?] The Laika are currently the most serious of the black magicians found in Peru and particularly in the village of Wasao and are known locally as the spiritual mercenaries, black magicians who are willing to perform any spell or ceremony if you pay them enough. In Cuzco one of the worst insults you can call someone is Laika Machu which means "old black magician". The Laika are particularly disliked by the Q'ero because of their acts of working with "hoochas" heavy energies. The Q'ero say that there are no Laika in the Q'ero Community but sometimes the Laika come to Q'ero seeking power. They are turned away. The nine rites of the Munay-Ki were first given in 2006. Many of Dr. Villoldo's senior teaching staff resigned due to the fabrication of these rites.

George Schwimmer, PhD (www.LaikaShaman.net) notes that the rites are not symbolic but inner events which many initiates are aware of as they receive them. Dr. Villoldo merely changed some aspects of the outer (physical) ritual to simplify the transmission of the rites. The traditional ritual for transmitting the rites is taught at Dr. Villoldo's The Four Winds Society.

Purpose

The Munay-Ki rites are initiations, which Dr Villoldo says are intended to help the initiate become a person of wisdom and power. Dr Villoldo's reasoning is that it is possible to remove the external cultural aspects of traditional initiations and transmit the inner essence without any associated ritual or teaching. (The first two sentences below are disputed.) This is a controversial position within neo-shamanic circles. Some believe it is an evolution of traditional shamanic practice, while others hold it represents a "fast food" version of high commercial appeal but of little value. People who have received the Munay Ki rites generally report satisfaction with the results (source?).

Bibliography

• Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas (hardcover); ISBN 978-0609605448
• "A Walk Between Worlds, Truth is Beauty, The Q'ero" ISBN 978-1441533821