The Despacho
The Despacho ceremony is an Andean ritual offering, performed for balance, and as a gift for what we receive, and what we will receive. The act of making a despacho is a systematic process of balancing and honoring all life. It is a gift of reciprocity that is made to the energies themselves, and honoring the ancestors-those that have gone before us.
The offering is made of natural elements, each with a meaning of its own. Built in a systematic way, and used to bring right balance to the universe the Despacho ceremony can be done for specific issues such as clearing before a trip as well as community building for groups.
Complicated and beautiful, despachos are filled with the elements of life and honoring of all. They often take an hour and a half or more and the shaman holds an intention throughout. Every item placed in the despacho is prayed over, blessed and embedded with intent.
The kintu, a three leafed prayer bundle, is the foundation of the despacho. Each kintu is blown into and prayed over and laid in a specific pattern.
Similar to the way Tibetan monks build a sand mandala, a despacho it created in a beautiful pattern, that is then released. After building a despacho, it is burned in a very hot fire, which releases the prayers to the spirits on the smoke.
The offering is made of natural elements, each with a meaning of its own. Built in a systematic way, and used to bring right balance to the universe the Despacho ceremony can be done for specific issues such as clearing before a trip as well as community building for groups.
Complicated and beautiful, despachos are filled with the elements of life and honoring of all. They often take an hour and a half or more and the shaman holds an intention throughout. Every item placed in the despacho is prayed over, blessed and embedded with intent.
The kintu, a three leafed prayer bundle, is the foundation of the despacho. Each kintu is blown into and prayed over and laid in a specific pattern.
Similar to the way Tibetan monks build a sand mandala, a despacho it created in a beautiful pattern, that is then released. After building a despacho, it is burned in a very hot fire, which releases the prayers to the spirits on the smoke.
