Incaraqay

Incaraqay is a rural pueblo in Ayacucho. The people are farmers who grow potatoes, and raise sheep and cattle in the rolling hills and mountain pastures nearby. Milagros, Roxanna, and I took the PyE SUV driven by Raul out there last week. This is one of the pueblos where Milagros and Amanda have been working on mental health issues. This is also one of the few pueblos where men are a part of the small groups. There were about 11 people in the group. We started with a little ice breaker in which you had to pay attention. You told yours and then passed the yarn ball. At the end we wnet in reverse saying what the person ahead of us had said reiterating that the group was not just about us as an individual, but also the collective group. We had to tell our favorite food, and how we were feeling which is something that is ALWAYs integrated into the workshop. There was a moment when Milagros took out a piece a foam. She passed it to the members of the group and asked them to talk about what makes them or has made them mad or sad, and then instructed them to take it out on the foam as they talked. REALLY HIT IT she said. I watched these Peruvians try to get mad on the outside, but it was like they couldn´t do it. They could talk about their feelings, but were not quick redy to grasp the taking out of negative energy part. They couldn´t hit the foam hard, they just tapped it, and even got a little giggle out of it.
Toward the end of the meeting the women took off their mantas, which are the colorful pieces of cloth the wear around their back, and seem to use to carry everything from children to lunch and firewood. Two of them reached inside and pulled out bags of potatoes. Each person had brought something to offer for the meal. The meetings rotate to different houses. We usually only travel to Incaraqay once a month becasue it is a little further out. At the end of the meeting we all sat around eating trout, onion and tomatoe relish, and potatoes.