Paper short abstract:

I examine the Andean concept of uywaña ("rearing mutually") in local practices towards the saint-gods, housed in the central church of Qaqachaka, an ayllu in the Bolivian highlands, which constitute the relational ontologies of the place: namely clothing and feeding the patron saint, Tata Quri.

Paper long abstract:

My focus on the Andean concept expressed in the verb uywaña ("rearing ourselves mutually") examines the rituals of practitioners towards their saint-gods, housed in the central church of Qaqachaka, an ayllu in the Bolivian highlands. I examine these within two ritual complexes that help constitute the relational ontologies of the place: in the practices of clothing and feeding the patron saint of Qaqachaka, Tata Quri, that happen weekly. My argument is that, through these practices, the saint-gods are transformed into persons (en Aymara jaqichaña), in counterparts to similar rituals towards the guardian mountains (called uywiri from the same verb) and Earth Virgin of the region. In the practices of clothing the saint-god, his old wrappings are removed and replaced with new layers, rather like the new meaty layer sought through the ch'iwu ritual complex for the carcasses of sacrificed animals buried on the guardian mountains. Evidence suggests that these rituals have Inka or pre-Inka origins, and address the saints as ancestral mummy bundles, although the practitioners do add new ritual elements constantly to the foundational ritual pathways. In the practices of feeding the god-saint, he is offered food and drink, again in memory of the ancestral mummies.