Wishing You Munay

Munay is a Quecha word with several meanings.  The most common meaning of munay is "to want".  But, just as in Spanish, "to want" can have a special meaning as in Anchata munayki or "Te quiero mucho" or "I love you a lot" [1, 2] .   It can also be used as a noun to describe the state of being in love.   When combined with the word niy, which means "to say or to tell" as in niyta munay, it means "to mean" or "to say what you want (mean) to say". 

Munay means more than to want, to love, and to mean.  It conveys a feeling that is intertwined with the word that is almost hard to express in English.   It makes me feel, when I hear the word, that there is an urgency in the wanting, the loving, that comes from deep within.  To say that it means to want or to love with willpower doesn't motivate the right feeling.  It is more of a feeling of to want or to love with ones whole being.   When a Q'ero becomes a shaman, a pampamesayuq he or she does so with munay [3].

Isn't thinking in another language fun!  I love it!  Sorry, that's not the purpose of this post.  I just wanted to wish you munay today.  As you practice shamanism or paganism of whatever path Goddess and God have called you, may you do so with munay, with a feeling of love that emanates from your whole being.

Find love and purpose on your path my friend,

Dr. Dave


Notes:  

[1] Note that in Spanish the verb querer which literally means "to want" is used romantically to mean "I love you".  In fact, in Latin America you are more likely to hear people say Te quiero mucho than Te amo mucho when in English they would say "I love you a lot." in both cases.  After all, if one is to say "I want you" in English, the statement would probably convey a sexual connotation that doesn't exist in te quiero.

[2] A popular teacher of shamanism would have you believe that the "ki" at the end of "munayki" refers to the Japanese work "ki" as in Reiki with its meaning of "life force energy".  That is not the case.  "ki" is the second-personal singular marker or ending in Quechua.  That's all.  For example, the question "What is your name?" in Quechua is Ima sutiyki? and my response would be Ñoqa sutiy David.  Notice the change from second person singular to first person singular in the verb ending

[3] Pampa = flat land (think altiplano, the high plain between the West and East ranges of the Andes mountains.  Mesa = table or altar.  Yuq = possessive suffix, but in Quechua there really isn't a word for "to have".  Rather, Quecha speakers use a suffix that really means "with you".  So to ask, "Are you married?" or "Do you have a wife?" one would ask, "Warmi-yuq ka-nki-chu?" which literally means "Wife-with be-you?"  The shaman who is a pampamesayuq isn't one who own's or has an earth altar, but rather someone who carries an earth altar with him or her.  Quecha speakers linguistically recognize that we don't own or "have" anything, the stuff that encumbers us is just with us.  Consequently I don't think of my pampamesa as mine, but rather that it is something with which I have been entrusted for safekeeping and appropriate use.