My Midwifery Muse in the Sacred Valley, Peru.
Have you ever found yourself in a place or in the presence of someone you have felt has permanently imprinted on you?
Since I was a teenager I have longed to travel, to explore and immerse in different cultures, with Machu Picchu being on the top of my bucket list. So, when I came across a midwifery study tour to Colombia & Peru combining both my passion for midwifery and my wish to visit this place that calls to many souls.. I said YES! ... But this blog is not dedicated to my experience of this wonder of the world, there was another day, more humble that preceded this that had me musing.
August, 9th 2025
.. a day on the itinerary of my midwifery tour, one I knew I was excited by, to listen and learn about traditional rites of passage, but unexpectedly became a personal highlight of my entire trip!
….on this day I sat in circle with other midwives of all generations in a little town called Pisca in the Sacred Valley of Peru in the presence of Cynthia Ingar – an Andean woman, mother, birth guardian, anthropologist, and teacher of ancestral woman medicine & tradition.
Here, I felt myself crack open…
Surrounded and held by the Andean mountain ranges, tears spilled and dripped off my chin uncontrollably for an hour as I felt an enormous sense of gratitude and blessings for this moment and her teachings and the journey I had manifested for over two decades was about to begin.
At first embarrassed by my sudden and uncontrollable release of emotion amongst a group I had only just met days prior, quickly turned to surrender as Cynthia spoke of honouring our internal waters, and allowing everything to keep flowing, rather than stay stagnant, that all emotions are allowed for they are clarity and purification.
On deep reflection I have asked myself, was it by chance, it was a full moon and the month of mother earth, when she renews herself and is open to receive? Had all the incremental changes I had made in both my personal and professional worlds led me to this very moment in time, feeling a profound home coming to myself and my path with women?
Cynthia graciously gave her time, explaining the Andean connection to the natural world, and their spiritual beliefs and importance of reconnecting with the sacredness of our female bodies and honouring rites of passage. From pregnancy to postpartum, she shared her birth wisdom, firstly talking about having a process to connect to the womb space – our energetic/emotional centre that stores all of our experiences.
She explained to us how they start by talking with girls about their moon time when they start menses. During pregnancy women wear a Chumbe - a traditional woven belt with symbols in the first trimester as a spiritual guardian for protection for “the baby to stay” and to keep the womb warm. She then went onto demonstrate setting up an alter as birth preparation. This practice invites new mothers to see their living space as a temple, and to connect with their ancestors through symbols of the elements, and to bring in their spirit baby.
The right side of the alter honours the elder male ancestors:
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Father (Air): Feather – to honour the relationship with grandfathers – the winged ones who fly more lightly and have a wider view of life keeping balance
Father (Fire): Candle – as a reminder of creation, coming back to the place of living in the physical body, balance & play, finding joy and connection with our inner child (girl)
The left side of the alter honours the elder female ancestors:
·
Mother (water): Jar of water – all of life is sacred, all of our internal fluids, bleeding, tears, everything keeps flowing, reminding us to move through with our emotions
Mother (earth): Corn – symbol of fertility: of our dreams, of our relationships or our projects - giving thanks for all the blessings and teachings of our daily lives
Birth is always a ceremony in traditional Andean culture, and babies deeply respected as fully conscious beings, worthy of the same respect from interference, be it word, touch or technology as the mothers holding them. Hearing her describe how women transcend to other realms during birth and in the postpartum period as they transition through this rite of passage was beautiful. Western cultures have a way to go to embrace this language, and heartfelt belief, even though so many describe having an out of body experience and/or don’t identify with the new version of themselves as they transverse motherhood.
At the heart of Andean culture, are three symbolic realms of consciousness based on Inca cosmology. Cynthia talked us through how women enter these different ‘pacha’ (time/space/reality) during birth and menopause, and in knowing this, giving a new perspective on how we can in practice better accompany women.
· Hanan Pacha (the spiritual world above, the stars and cosmic beings – a belief where babies come from and where we return afterlife).
· Kay Pacha (the present/material world – embodied; feeling all the senses, co-existing with nature),
· Uku Pacha (the underworld, or world within – mysteries, and connection to ancestors)… we come here when we have deep emotional experiences, and when transitioning between seasons.
We learned from our guides over the days we explored the Andes, that these realms have shaped the spiritual and everyday lives of the Incas, influencing everything from their sacred temples to their advanced engineering and agricultural techniques. Animals symbolised the interconnectedness of these realms, with three totem Andean animals embodied and representing each level.
The Upper World (Hanan Pacha) was symbolised by the condor, the largest flying bird in the world – (hence the feather on the alter) who was seen as a sacred messenger, and was believed to transport the dead to the afterlife.
The Present World – the world of the living. Where humans and nature co-exist (Kay Pacha) – The Inca’s saw the puma, a large mountain lion as the embodiment of strength, wisdom and resilience. A guardian of balance, and a spiritual guide who ruled over the earthy realm urging humans to walk their path with courage, and an unbreakable connection to the earth.
The Underworld (Uka Pacha) the mysterious and ever transforming world represented by the snake, a wise creature, embodied the infinte cycle of life and rebirth. In Incan belief, life did not end with death; it merely transitioned into a new state. Even today, the snake remains a powerful symbol of transformation, renewal, and the endless cycle of existence, reminding us that every ending is simply the beginning of something new.
Cynthia closed our circle, with drumming and held space, asking each of us to connect to our womb space, to sit here, with the keeper of our emotions and experiences, and in this moment eyes closed, my internal waters flowed again. Listening to her melodic voice and the rhythm of her drum feeling more connected to my own thread of ancestry, and the extended fabric that connects us all as women no matter our nationality or belief system.
This is spirituality and medicine at work.. and belongs to us all.
