Glossary of Sacred Terms
Glossary of Sacred Terms
This glossary defines key Quechua and lineage-rooted terms used across the Munay Live ecosystem. Each term links to deeper resources, practices, or the Five Doorways Method™. These are living words from living traditions, still used by practitioners and communities today.
Andean & Quechua Terms
Quechua is the indigenous language family of the Andes, still spoken by approximately 8-10 million people across Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Argentina.
Munay (moo-nigh)
Unconditional love, transformational love, love as cosmic force.
One of the three fundamental powers in Andean cosmology, alongside Yachay (wisdom) and Llankay (sacred work). Munay is not sentimental affection. It is the creative force that binds the universe together.


Yachay (yah-chai)
Wisdom, knowledge, deep knowing.
Not mere information, but clarity restored. The knowing that was always there. In Andean cosmology, Yachay is associated with the upper world (Hanaq Pacha) and represented by the condor.
In the Five Doorways Method™, Yachay corresponds to the Remember doorway.
Kawsay (cow-sigh)
Living energy, life force, vital essence.
The animating energy present in all things. The universe itself is called Kawsay Pacha, the living world of energy.
In the Five Doorways Method™, Kawsay corresponds to the Reclaim doorway.
Hucha (hoo-cha)
Heavy energy, density, energetic weight.
Often mistranslated as "negative" energy. Hucha is energy that has become stagnant or accumulated. It is heavy like compost is heavy, not evil. In Andean practice, hucha is offered to Pachamama who transforms it back into sami.
In the Five Doorways Method™, Hucha corresponds to the Release doorway.
Llankay (yan-kai)
Sacred work, right action, service, embodied practice.
Wisdom made manifest through the hands and body. In Andean cosmology, Llankay is associated with the lower world (Ukhu Pacha) and represented by the serpent.
In the Five Doorways Method™, Llankay corresponds to the Integrate doorway.
K'anchay (kan-chai)
Light, illumination, radiance.
Both physical light and spiritual illumination. The inner light that emerges through awakening.
In the Five Doorways Method™, K'anchay corresponds to the Awaken doorway.
Chakaruna (chah-kah-roo-nah)
Bridge person, one who walks between worlds.
An intermediary between realms: human and spirit, living and ancestors, ordinary and non-ordinary reality. The chakaruna does not belong fully to either world but moves between them.

Ayllu (eye-yoo)
Community, kinship group, extended family network.
The fundamental social unit of Andean civilization. Ayllus operate on principles of ayni (reciprocity). In spiritual contexts, ayllu extends to soul kinship: those connected by shared purpose and spiritual resonance.
Ayni (eye-nee)
Sacred reciprocity, mutual exchange, balance.
The fundamental organizing principle of Andean cosmology. All relationships require balanced giving and receiving. Living in ayni means maintaining right relationship with all beings.
Sami (sah-mee)
Refined energy, nectar, light energy.
The complement to hucha. Where hucha is heavy and dense, sami is light and flowing. Sami nourishes the luminous body and supports vitality, clarity, and spiritual connection.
Pachamama (pah-chah-mah-mah)
Earth Mother, World Mother, Mother of Space-Time.
Not merely the physical planet but a living, conscious being who sustains all life. She is the ground beneath your feet, the food you eat, the body you inhabit. When releasing hucha, it is offered to Pachamama who transforms it back into sami.
Apu (ah-poo)
Mountain spirit, sacred peak, lord.
Mountains in Andean cosmology are living beings with consciousness, personality, and power. Apus serve as protectors, teachers, and sources of spiritual energy.
Paqo (pah-ko)
Andean priest, shaman, medicine person.
A practitioner of Andean spiritual arts who works with living energy (kawsay), performs ceremonies, clears heavy energy (hucha), and maintains relationship between humans and the spirit world.
Despacho (deh-spah-cho)
Offering, dispatch, ceremonial bundle.
A prayer bundle containing symbolic items arranged with intention and offered to Pachamama, the apus, or water spirits. Used for gratitude, healing, life transitions, restoring ayni, or releasing what no longer serves.
Healing Arts Traditions
Munay Live practitioners carry lineages from wisdom traditions across the globe.
Sangoma (sahn-goh-mah)
A traditional healer and diviner in Southern African Nguni cultures. Sangomas undergo rigorous initiation (thwasa), practice divination using bones, communicate with ancestors, and perform healing ceremonies.
→ Find practitioners with Sangoma lineage
Seiðr (say-thur)
An Old Norse form of shamanic practice involving trance work, prophecy, spirit communication, and working with fate. Associated with the goddess Freyja and practiced primarily by völvas.
→ Find practitioners with Norse lineage
Soul Retrieval
A shamanic healing practice addressing soul loss: the phenomenon where parts of vital essence fragment during overwhelming experiences. The practitioner journeys to locate lost soul parts and facilitates their return and reintegration.
Lineage
The unbroken chain of transmission from teacher to student through which sacred knowledge, practices, and energetic capacity are passed across generations. Authentic lineage involves extended apprenticeship, initiation ceremonies, ongoing supervision, and relationship with a community of practice.
Metanoia (meh-tah-noy-ah)
A Greek word meaning transformation of mind, spiritual conversion, or fundamental shift in consciousness. Not simple change but complete reorientation of one's way of being.

Practice & Methodology Terms
Somatic
From the Greek "soma" meaning body. Somatic practices work directly with the body's sensations, postures, movement patterns, and nervous system responses rather than primarily through verbal or cognitive processing.
Trauma-Informed
An approach recognizing how overwhelming experiences reshape the nervous system. Key principles: safety first, choice and agency, transparency, pacing, window of tolerance, and cultural awareness.
→ Find trauma-informed practitioners
Embodiment
Inhabiting your physical form with awareness rather than living primarily in your head. Embodiment is foundational to lasting transformation: without it, insights remain abstract rather than changing how you move through the world.
Integration
The process by which insights and shifts from healing work become stable, embodied, and expressed in daily life. Integration is where transformation either solidifies into lasting change or dissipates back into familiar patterns.
The Five Doorways Method™ addresses integration through the Llankay/Integrate doorway.
Living Language
These definitions are offered with humility. Language from living traditions cannot be fully captured in glossary entries. If you encounter these terms with practitioners from their source traditions, trust their guidance over these definitions.




