AUGUST: MONTH OF VENERATION OF THE PACHAMAMA

PACHAMAMA: (MOTHER EARTH) 0R MAMA PACHA 

She is a totemic Goddess represented by planet Earth, to which Indigenous gave presents. These offerings were in farming and breeding ceremonies, some are still going on in the Andean world. It’s South America and central Andes beliefs nucleus.

Pacha is a word in Aymara and Quechuan and it means “earth, world, universe, time, age”. 
She is a protector Goddess and a giver. She gives shelter to human beings, makes life possible and allows fecundation and fertility.  For these gifts, the priest of Meridional Puna needs to offer to Pacha for what he gets, and not only in determined places and time, but in every cultural event, so it can be mutual.

THE DEVOTION

As a tradition from Quechuans, Aymarans and other peruvian indian groups from the Andean region, people offer presents such as llamas (to bleed them), coca leaves, sea shells (mullu) and the llama’s fetus to fertilize the earth. This kind of offerings is called “Corpachada”.

The chase Spanish newcomers did to native beliefs with the Discovery of America, (called the prosecution of Idolism). And Goddess Pachamama, sometimes became Virgin Mary because of religious Syncretism (this is the combining of different beliefs, in the theology and mythology of religions). 

Nowadays, Quechuans, Aymarans and other peruvian indian groups from the Andean region, keep the tradition and rituals with Pachamama. It has spread to Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile and Norther Argentina.  

Pre-Columbian beliefs are still alive in many places. Ancestral rituals connect the human being with nature. Earth becomes important. Pachamama lives Hanaq Pacha (Quechua, meaning "world above"), Ukhu Pacha ("world below"), and Kay Pacha ("this world"). The fruits are given to men so they can be fed. This ritual is mutual, and is made of oblations, thankfulness, and payment to Earth. This celebration is in August. People have offering rituals thanking the earth and asking for blessings. Before this, they pay Pachamama in material things like coca leaves, crafted plantain leaves, chichi (a liquor made of corn), grape wine, cherry and tokens of jungle seeds called “Huayruros”. There is also rice, llama wool, starfish, sweet cookies, and many others. Payments are according to the place, the territory and even the green floors matter. 

PACHAMAMA: THE RITUAL

The central ritual to Pachamama is the Challa or Pago (Payment). It is carried out during all of August, and in many places also on the first Friday of each month. Other ceremonies are carried out in special times, as upon leaving for a trip or upon passing an apacheta. According to Mario Rabey and Rodolfo Merlino, Argentine anthropologists who studied the Andean culture from the 1970s to the 1990s, "The most important ritual is the challaco. Challaco is a deformation of the Quechua words “ch'allay” and “ch'allakuy”, that refer to the action to insistently sprinkle. In the current language of the peasants of the southern Central Andes, the word challar is used in the sense of "to feed and to give drink to the land'.

The challaco covers a complex series of ritual steps that begin in the family dwellings the night before. They cook a special food, the tijtincha (different kinds of corn).  The ceremony culminates at a pond or stream, where the people offer a series of tributes to Pachamama, including "food, beverage, leaves of coca and cigars. 

A bowl of dirt on the right of the stone is there to represent Pachamama, because of her status as a Mother Earth. Many rituals related to the Pachamama are practiced in conjunction with those of Christianity, to the point that many families are simultaneously Christian and Pachamamistas.

                                                                     

WRITTEN BY ADRIANA MARTINEZ CASTRO

GOOD BYE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 (2ND PART)

In this post we will study nowadays and the most common expressions used in football during world cup and in our daily life.  I’m talking about the vocabulary present in every game and we lived all the football World Cup 2018. In the end, I’ll give you some details and Football vocabulary and just out of curiosity, some curiosities about the Football World.

 Let’s get started!!💓

WHAT WE LEARN NOWADAYS: COMMON PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS IN SPANISH COMING FROM FOOTBALL.

HOW TO USE THEM. 

USAR LA CAMISETA (Wearing the shirt): It is very important to wear the colors of the team you like or the colors in the flag or uniform of your country. This also means you have to give all for your company, or an institution, or any mutual project. 

(Colgar los guayos (col)/botines (Argentina) / tenis (Guatemala y México)) To Hang your Soccer cleats : In Colombia, this means to die. Literally. In Argentina they say: To hang your sneakers “Colgar los tenis “. There isn’t a softer way to say this. It also means leave, or retire, stop playing (metaphorically), stop doing something for good.

Dar bola (Give Ball):  Show interest or pay attention.

Sacar la roja (Red card) :Punish someone or kick someone from an activity.

Marca Personal (Personal Check): To control someone’s movements.

Embarró la cancha (Splattered the court with mud): Make difficult any situation.

Gambetear: To dodge a question or a situation.

Pegó en el palo (The ball hit the post) : To get almost a guessing, or to wriggle out.

Marcar la cancha (Out to mark political turf): Establish conditions, setting the rules. 

Pasarla por arriba (Gloss Over) : Gloss over, avoid, or wriggle out something.  

Le metió un golazo (He/She scored a goal): He/She did something difficult or unlikely. Something impossible.

Sudarse la camiseta (Sweating the Shirt ): Do a good job.

¡ Que autogol! (What an own goal): We use this when someone who did something wrong gets it back. 

Some examples for these expressions:  

More Vocabulary: ( Video)   

Mina: It’s an informal way to call a girl in Argentina. 

Volverse loco (Get Crazy): Have an irrational behavior.

Pibe: It’s a name for boys and men both young and adult.  

                                          FOOTBALL  VOCABULARY

I don’t really know how this works in other languages, but in Spanish there are some expressions for football moves. Today, I am going to speak about the more common exressions:

SCISSORS (LA TIJERA O TIJERETA): also known as Media  Chilean. It is a play used in football and consists of the player hitting the ball, lifting his legs in the air and crossing them - hence the origin of the name-, generally in a position parallel to the field and through the instep. Usually, the scissors serves as a pass or auction at a medium distance.

THE HAT PLAY (EL SOMBRERITO): The player kicks the ball over an opponent and and retakes control of the ball.

THE BIKE (LA BICICLETA): It is a dribble that consists of encircling the ball with the foot simulating a strike without it moving from its position in order to unbalance and deceive the opponent.

FLY LIKE A PIGEON (LANZARSE DE PALOMITA): a great stop made by the archer stretching in a lateral jump.  

LA CHILENA: For peruvians it’s called “La chalaca”. It consists of finishing the ball by pulling the body back to kick it at the height of what would be the head.

GREASE (LA VASELINA): Shooting a curve soft ball in the air over one or several players.  The goals made with this move over the goalie and touching ground before scoring are very classy if done softly.

DIVING (EL PLANCHAZO):  Diving to cut the ball with one or both feet in front, raising the toe and entering with the cleats of the boot in front, generally sliding on the grass.

FAINT OR DODGE (GAMBETA O GAMBETEAR): This is an indigenous dance from Uruguay and Argentina where they move their legs constantly and don’t fall ever. This term is used in Mar del Plata for dribbles and dodges. To mock the defender with dodges and dribbles.

CURIOSITIES OF FOOTBALL

The passion for football makes irreverent human beings and in turn believing entities of magic and rituals beyond all understanding, where the everyday becomes strange and religious in a practice given to superstition, let's look at some of these practices made before each match, be it local, national or international:

Make the sign of the cross, kiss a scapular, pray to the Lord: (Santiguarse, besar un escapulario, orar al señor): These actions are done by players from many different disciplines, to feel blessed and bless the game so everything goes well. It is also to invoke the Supreme Being for protection and help them make well for themselves and their own families. 

 First, the right foot: Many players enter the court with their right foot. This comes from an old superstition that everything must start on the right foot so everything goes fine. 

The underpants or the socks worn inside out: According to a very old belief, wearing clothes inside-out will have good luck all day long. It means success.

Underwear with something in blue: René Higuita (former Colombian archer), inventor of the scorpion move, had as a ritual to wear blue underwear. Oddly, this superstition for color blue, comes way back in time. We see that in the weddings (something, old something BLUE). This color means luck, but in medieval times it was related to Forces of the Evil. The merging of these  forces gave some magical and luck characteristics to this color as we believe nowadays.

The grass: This is the battlefield between two rivals. Lately it has gained importance in the magical rituals of the football players. Some pee on it (like cats do, to say they own it), touched or caressed before the game (it’s a belief for positive energy for having a good game), some other players add salt to the court (mostly in Mexico) because to us in this hemisphere, we shoo away bad luck with salt.  

Other Costumes people have: They take the flag to watch the game, and they avoid number thirteen in the tshirts (in Uruguay). Also they kiss the arches.  

💓I hope you enjoyed the reading💓

WRITTEN BY ADRIANA MARTINEZ