Pacha Manca to honor the Living and the Dead

On Monday I was invited to my new friend's, Paco and Celia's house for lunch. I thought I was just going to join them at their dinner table. On the way over however, Paco told me they were having a Pacha Manca. I said "Like a for real Pacha Manca" and he said yes, not just in a pot, but like the one in the ground. YIPEEEEEEE!!!! I was so excited, and felt so priveleged to have Paco and his family invite me to observe one of their traditions. Paco and Celia were there, along with Frank their two year old son, but so was the rest of Paco's family about twenty of us. Celia told me that for just about all big gatherings the family meets and they decide what to eat or do ahead of time. Pacha Manca was the choice this year. The Dia de Los Santos is to remember thso who are living and the Dia de los Muertos is to remember the dead, which usually involves going to the cemetery or other burial site.

Pacha Manca is a language off shoot from the Quechua Pacha Mama or "mother earth". Pacha Mama or the mother earth was the Inca goddess that protected and oversaw the harvest and fertility. The ancient Incas made offerings to her for a bountiful harvest and fertility in child bearing. Paco and Celia explained it to me this way: You make an offering to mother earth by digging a hole and using incredibly hot rocks, and place meat, potatoes, fruit, and vegetables inside of it (that is the offering) then you cover it with ruffage, and burlap sacks, then dirt...then you wait. Two and half to three hours later, your offering is returned as a delicious and succulent meal, a gift from the mother earth of everything smoked/steamed.

As we, yes I got to participate in the "unearthing" it was so exciting, and the smells were just undescribible. The men dug around and removed all of the dirt. Then there were layers of paper, cardboard, and wood or what ever else they could throw on top. Next was a layer of wet alfalfa, then fava beans still in the shell that had steamed open. Then a layer of hot rocks. We had to wear those thick work gloves to reach inside. Then underneath was a pot for each family with meat in it. There was chicken, pork, and lamb. All self-basting in this juicy marinade/sauce that the meat had been in since the night before. There were even whole trout laid out on some of the rocks. As each family took their respective pot, a layer of just about every potato in Peru was exposed. There were camotes or 'Sweet potatoes" which were brown on the outside then a layer of purple over a bright orange potato-ness , white and yellow ones, and even the little purple ones that are native to Peru and rare to the rest of us. There was even a layer of apples (whole) that had been thrown in and steamed/smoked. Each woman had a meat pot, and an empty pot to collect their potatoes. When we got to the table each family divided up their pot and then went around to the other families sharing their meat and potatoes as each family had contributed something different. All topped off with cucumber and tomato salad, and this green Peruvian chimichurri sauce (green). Then we sat, prayed giving thanks, and we ate, until we couldn't eat any more. The "mother earth" had provided us with a bounty beyond measure.

Frank, Paco and Celia's 2 yr old son, preferred to just throw his at people who walked by or were sitting near, so he lost his offering and was put down to take a nap. Oh and when I picked up my fork, Paco leaned over and said "Lisa, Pacha Manca is meant to be eaten with your hands," so I did. After dinner we played soccer on the field that is below Paco and Celia's house with Frank, Lucas, and Kenneth (two of Paco's nephew's), Celia was the goalie.