Salka Wind Ayni Page

Ayni is the Andean concept of 'reciprocity', which provides the foundation for how the Andean people relate to each other as well as how they relate to Nature (they don't see themselves as being separate from Nature). With ayni you don't receive something without giving something in return, nor give something without receiving in return. It takes two to have ayni, for ayni is a way of relating, and it takes at least two to have a relationship. My Western culture is very skilled at technology, at coming up with ways to reach specific goals, but it is not so skilled with relationships. As a consequence, we have technology that does wondrous things for us as individuals but we tend to not notice the effects our technology has on the rest of Nature until the consequences come back to hurt us individually, and we do all we can to make sure we are the last one's hurt by what we are doing. In a similar fashion, I have noticed that many people have viewed Andean mysticism as a way of accomplishing certain, rather magical seeming, outcomes. In other words, they view it as a technology, and they remove it from the larger context of relationship, or ayni. When that is done, whatever you have is missing a fundamental aspect of its true nature.

Ayni is relevant at all levels of relationship. In the Andean villages the people work on projects on each other's land, helping each other and benefiting from each other's help. During the Inca empire the villages would send people to work on government projects and in return the government would store enough food to see the people through up to five years of drought. People wishing to be healed by a paq'o give the paq'o a gift and receive healing in return. Paq'os give gifts to the Apus and the Apus tell them what a person needs to be healed. In all of these exchanges, what is given is not a payment, it is a balancing of the relationship, which keeps energy flowing in a circular fashion between the participants.

The Andean culture, the Andean people, have given us a wonderful gift. They have opened their hearts to Westerners who have come to learn their ancient ways of relating with love and respect to Nature. They have shared their ways of cleaning people of hucha (heavy energy), of healing, of connecting to the trees, and the wind, and the rivers, and the Apus, and Pachamama, and the stars.

Mini-sermon: please know that to learn the Andean way involves being loving and impeccable in the ways of ayni, not as a nice after-thought but as perhaps the most fundamental aspect of that way. If you seek information, training, whatever on Andean mysticism I recommend you explore to what degree ayni with the Andean people is being nourished. If your teacher, for example, is not walking her or his talk, is not insuring that the Andean people benefit from the sharing of their knowledge,then he or she is not doing the walk at all. If you feel like you have gained anything from the beauty of the Andean way, please find a way to give back to the Andean people at a level where balance is achieved. Thank you. Oakley.

Links to Organizations Involved in Ayni with the Andean People

If you know of other organizations that might belong on this list please contact me at info@SalkaWind.com.

Kenosis Spirit Keepers. I must admit this is my favorite organization as I am its vice president, but please check out the others and give to the one(s) that are the best fit to how you would like to help the Andean people. The mission of Kenosis Spirit Keepers is 'to honor and preserve the integrity of indigenous wisdom and sacred cultural practices by providing cross-cultural exchanges, education, and community-building opportunities'.
Heart Walk Foundation. I have met Penelope and Tim Eicher, and Alejandro Trevisan (an advisor to the foundation). They are very good people and I strongly support what they are doing, which includes helping the people of Q'ero.
Ayni Projects
Casa Ecologica Cusco (see 'Shopping Ayni' below).

Shopping Ayni

One way to support the continuation of the Andean culture is by purchasing hand-made craft items from vendors in Cusco (goodness knows you will have an opportunity to do so if you go there). There has been an interesting shift in the weavings since I first started going to Peru. Anthropologists have helped some of the Andean weavers reconnect to the use of dyes from indigenous plants, versus using the commercial dyes that they can buy in the market. The resulting weavings are remarkably beautiful and have the added bonus of not bleeding their colors when washed. The two places I know of where you can buy these items practice fair trade with the indigenous artisans who created them. I have provided the names and addresses of these places in Cusco, but please be aware that shops come and go there and change locations rather frequently.