Andean Spirits: Evocations & Pathworking

I’ve decided that there’s not enough information or discussion out there on this topic and I’d like to help change that. I plan on updating about once a week with information about ritual with an Andean deity. So, weekly, I’m going to do spirit work and post about it.

Although I’m (part) Peruvian, I haven’t been raised in the culture so I don’t know all the ins and outs of the folk traditions. That said, I have family that were definitely involved in witchcraft (including one they call, “Brujo An—”), family that is terrified of witchery, and I have spent time learning in Peru, talking with more knowledgeable people, and certain places online.

Please forgive me, in advance, for not writing out all the bells and whistles of ritual. My focus here is on the pantheon(s), and the spirits, not on folk traditions. There are very few folk traditions I am comfortable writing about, and it’s likely that none to hardly any will appear here. Just here for the spirits!

This thread is here and not under Evocation, Entities, and Spirit Work because, “Please place anything related to ancient mythological pantheons into its own specific category.”


I look forward to posting an update tomorrow, just wanted to have a clear topic before I start posting the content!

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Oooo, very cool! :sunglasses:

Thank you for posting about practices outside of Europe and Hoodoo!

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Tumi - 1

Disclaimer: Not Quite a “Deity” This Time

First let’s clear up that I’m not actually sure if I’ll be meeting with a god–Tumi–for this one. That said, I’m going to try later and see what happens.

I’ve decided that Tumi will be the first because he’s a pretty distinct figure that can be recognized at a glance and, to my knowledge at least, a thing that Tourists are into even when they don’t really get why.

^ That is how he is often depicted. Let’s get into some brief background too though.

Tumi is a figure that Tourists are often exposed to because of… colonization and conquistador culture!!! There are 2 main prongs to this. First, Tumi is really deeply tied with sacrifice. Second, Tumi is considered “good luck.” What’s that mean? It means that at present, colonizer culture is all too happy to market something with a deep history, past, and meaning as a relic of what once was (the worship of a polytheistic pantheon for example). And they are an excellent emblem of “conquistador” culture because of all the civilizations they’ve survived (especially the Incas when they were/are renowned for their conquering skill).

Aside from being a staple of tourism and a token signifying two seemingly different sides of the coin of life (sacrifice and health/fortune), details on these topics can provide a lot of insight into the reality of “Tumi”.

Tumi History & Associations

While Tumi is often seen on trinkets (and as wall hangings, statues, and the like) in Peru, and is often associated with the Incan civilization, those are not his true roots. The Moche civilization used tumi knives long before the Incan Empire existed. The Incans were not even anywhere near being the next large or known culture/civilization in the area. Yet today, Tumi is too often claimed as an Incan artifact without any discussion about his prior uses and origin.

Tumi’s association with sacrifice comes from tumis being used in actual sacrifices. Tumi statues used have a semi-circular blade on them which was used to sacrifice (they slit a lot of throats with them). The Moche, and yes later the Incans, used him as such. For this reason, he’s especially associated with animal & human (yes, human!!) sacrifice. Tumis are also tied with the (Incan) god Inti because they were used in his offerings. Some people call Tumi a god himself, although it’s not as well circulated as deities that were in the Incan pantheon. This probably has a lot to do with Tumi being a figure and pre-existing the (original) Incans (who basically elevated themselves to godhood but we’re not talking about that right now).

As he is associated with death, Tumi is also associated with health and the preservation of (human) life, regeneration, and became known as a health & healing, fortune deity/figure along the way. Outside of their role in sacrifice, at some point, tumis became tools that were routinely used to de-possess people (which means to release evil sprits within them) and notably for lobotomies (yes, seriously, they had some amazing doctors) in the Incan civilization.

Tumis were crafted to be used in ceremonies, rituals, scarifies, and medical practices. The god, “Tumi,” was not always a god, but instead a tool used across many civilizations, cultures, and times. In present day, Tumi is still not firmly spoken of as a “god” but is depicted as one and alongside them pretty frequently.


This information is not at all a complete view of “Tumi.” It my presentation of what is relevant to my craft and my attempt at a short piece on the topic of “Tumi.” (I’m not here for knife history, I’m here for magick as it relates to Andean Spirits.)

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Amachay & Ayacucho - 2

This is an “egregore.”

So it hasn’t been a week yet, but I thought I’d throw in a post about something a little different. Last year, I visited Peru for a few weeks with my mom, grandfather, and his partner. My grandfather was raised in Lima, Peru. His mother (indigenous), however, comes from Ayacucho.

Anyone familiar with Peruvian history knows at least a bit of the Ayacuchano history. Including, perhaps, that it was known for witchcraft. When Peru was at war, fighting for freedom, Ayacucho defeated the Spanish and was the reason for Peru’s freedom. But that isn’t the whole story, the whole story involves quite a bit of folklore, magic, witchcraft, the dead, spirits, sacrifice, and a desire–a need–to live and persevere.

Before Ayacucho had its name, it was " Huamanga. The significance? In Quechua, Ayacucho means “death corner” more commonly translated as “corner of the dead.” And Huamanga (“waman kay”) means “land of hawks” due to (pre-/Incan) legends and the (creator) god Wiracocha/Viracocha.

There was a lot of sacrifice in Ayacucho, there was a lot of death. “Perlas challay” is a phrase from a song (blended Quechua and Spanish) that has always stayed with me. It’s a phrase similar to “libation,” or what is given to honor those who have died (for a cause). A drink for the ground, for those buried within it, for the dead. The lore though, is that the Spanish were scared beyond belief of what went on in Ayacucho. That they witnessed magic acts that scarred them indefinitely and that ultimately killed them. The lore is that the people (of Ayacucho) brought demons to the war, and won with the aid of their interactions with “magic.”


Now, Ayacucho is known for having amazing crafts, and great culture that’s true to both the past and the present.

So, here’s Amachay!

A beautful “craft” I own from Ayacucho. It’s made of 100% naturally occurring materials by a master crafter who learned the passed down techniques of his ancestors and continues to grow in fame. When I saw the (saqra) mask, I needed it. I wanted to name him something related to protection, but when I searched through Quechuan names, words, phrases, and the rest nothing felt right. So I asked him, “What’s your name?” And later I heard it, Amachay. A word that roughly translates to “protect/ion,” a word basically unlisted unless you’re hunting for it online that seems much more scarcely used than its counterparts.

Amachay is both physical mask and “egregore.” He’s a dear protector and a spirit I love wholeheartedly. He eats wayward spirits that wander into my space and has a place on the wall above my altar. I’m not sure if he’s always nearby, or mostly chills with the mask figure, but he’s very dear to me and very protective as well. Aside from eating up lesser spirits in my space, he also helps clearing out energy too by taking in darker energies. He doesn’t “transform” them though, that’s just the stuff he’s made of. His presence isn’t dark or scary (to me, at least) but it can be heavy.


This morning I learned my (Peruvian) great-grandmother was from Ayacucho, a place that always keeps me thinking of it, a place known for its “craft.” This woman spoke the indigenous language, was related to someone called “(el) brujo Andres,” and was terrified of being creamated becuase “no soy bruja,” “no me quemes” “solo queman las brujas” (I’m not a witch, don’t burn me, they only burn witches.)

So I guess I just wanted to post my little tiny slice of Ayacucho today. My great grandmother passed away about 2 years ago, it was a death I was warned about. I wish I’d been able to speak with her more about certain things, but I think she preferred to leave certain things where they “belonged” or in the past. She was a Quechua singer (well known at the time in Peru) with her second longterm partner (not my grandfather’s father, he was from the first).

Here’s the song I referenced, “Adios Pueblo de Ayacucho.”

If anyone is interested in Amachay, I can post more/perhaps I can hang with him on the astral and post about it. I have a book I’m going to post the cover of, it’s a really cool depiction of the Spanish being tortured and mascaraed. As of now, I’m planning a post on Viracocha for this coming week. He’s both pre-Incan and Incan; a creator deity.

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So…a book on history. There’s an English version too but I happen to have the Spanish copy (picked it up in Peru for less money than the used-in-academia-English one).

The image/art is cited in the second picture. It’s actually made by the Church lol, trying to show evilness and all that but really I find it a stunning depiction of what was to come for them.

I’ve blocked out a (historical) political section because politics aren’t allowed, but the rest is pure historical and the line at the bottom is some names of indigenous groups/peoples from the areas because they aren’t talked about enough. I think it’s important to remember there was a time before the Incans and even during their reign, other indigenous peoples existed.

The book has reminded that those doing the “craft” were commonly referred to as “hechiceros” as opposed to any number of other words. In Quechua though, other words apply (like saqra/sakra and laya/layqa/layka though there are more).

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