Published in the Echo, Charlottesville, VA, March 2009
The Munay-Ki—The 9 Rites of Evolution
an article by Deborah Wray
an article by Deborah Wray
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It began on a warm breezy day in May of 2006. It all seemed innocent enough. My husband Jim and I had
been invited to participate in the making of a film. Films are made every hour of everyday in Los Angeles
where we lived, but we were not rolling out the door toward Hollywood stardom that morning. Instead we
were joining medical anthropologist, Dr. Alberto Villoldo and others in making a documentary and training
film covering the nine rites of the Quero shamans of Peru, the last of the Inca.
We were all familiar with eight of these rites having received them as part of our own shamanic training and
personal healing journey in Dr. Villoldo’s Healing The Light Body School. But legend and lore held there
would be a 9th and final rite. Traditionally the rites are transmitted directly from Spirit to the Inca Elders,
who in modern times have been directed to initiate others with these powerful attunements. This Spring the
shamans of the high Andes declared it was time. The 9th rite had come and a month from now Dr. Villoldo
and 25 students would receive the first initiation from the Inca Shamans on the sacred mountain of Ausangate
in Peru. Another group of 25 students to be lead by Linda Fitch would simultaneously be initiated on
Salkantay, the sacred mountain of the “wild feminine”. The video would conclude by documenting this
historic journey and the gifting of the rites. At the conclusion of this inspiring day in May as we quietly drove
up the Malibu coast toward home, my husband turned to me and declared, “We are going up the mountain! I
have waited my whole life to receive these rites.”
The nine rites are known as the Munay-Ki, which derives from the Quechua word meaning “I love you” or
“Be as thou art.” These are the nine rites of initiation to become a person of wisdom and power who accepts
the stewardship of all creation. Sacred rites are common to many shamanic traditions, although they are
expressed in different forms and styles depending on the culture. They derive from the Indus Valley and were
first brought to the Americas by the first medicine men and woman who crossed the Bering Straits from
Siberia 30,000 years ago. In Peru these ancient ones were known as the Laika, the Earth Keepers of old.
What Jim and I found most compelling about the history of the rites was that they were available to all. The
Laika have always been ordinary people who have desired to live extraordinary lives. Through prayer and
study of the wisdom teachings they gained great powers of healing, insight and grace. Some grew to become
renowned medicine men and women, while others lived quietly raising families and growing crops. The Laika
believed that people would seek out the rites and initiations of consciousness when they were ready, when
they were called. One thing seemed remarkably clear, in our lifetime many thousands of people were hearing
that call from Spirit and like us were healing old wounds to pursue paths of beauty, grace and power.
Three weeks before the departure date we were confirmed on the trip to Peru. Spirit had graciously opened a
door. The trip up the sacred mountains had been filled for months but now an opening for two had become
available. We were on our way. Jim had been studying the writings of Sri Aurobindo for 40 years and was
deeply intrigued by his discourses on what Aurobindo called the new Supramental beings, the next stage in the
evolution of our species. This was to be a new kind of human filled with light and fully conscious. Not until
our studies with Alberto had we heard any other references to an enlightened version of mankind. Yet here it
was in the 8th and 9th rites of the Muna-Ki, the energetic matrix or download for the creation of a new type
of human. The keys to the evolution from homo sapiens to homo luminous!
In truth the immediate embodiment of the rites does not produce a Super Man or Super Woman (or
Supramental for that matter). None of us making the journey up the mountains of the sacred masculine
(Ausangate) or sacred feminine (Salkantay) expected to be leaping from glaciered peak to glaciered peek in a
single bound. What we all knew from prior experience with the rites was that to receive these quantas of
energy into our luminous energy fields (LEF) was like sowing a seed-bed with the potential for slow but
profound change. The first series of rites had consisted of installing protections to the LEF, opening our
ability to perceive the invisible worlds, connecting us to ancient healers for our personal healing, and installing
archetypal energies into the 7 chakras to bring harmony to our internal worlds. Rites 6, 7 and 8 connected us
to different levels of luminous beings within the lineage: The Day Keepers who assist in bringing balance to
the planet and who represent the healers and medicine people walking the earth; the Wisdom Keepers who
hold the wisdom teachings and have stepped outside of time into infinity; The Earth Keepers who are the
great seers and dreamers and guardians of our galaxy; and The Star Keepers who help anchor us safely in the
times after the great change of 2012 and re-inform our DNA, sending the physical body down the
evolutionary road toward homo luminous. What I found remarkable about this rite was the boost it gave to
my immune system and how robust and energetic I had began to feel. I also noticed that I no longer
experienced the events of my life on a purely personal level but more on the level of Spirit.
In the thin bright air at 15,000 feet our anticipation was keen. Today we would receive “The Creator” rite, a
name that was given later after the 9th rite had been experienced by many and mulled over by the Incan
Elders. Twenty five people from around the globe circled beneath the glacier dome of Ausangate and watched
as the brightness faded and clouds suddenly gathered. Within minutes we were pelted by hail and the
temperature steadily dropped. Our shamans sat in quiet prayer and we waited as the weather worsened.
Eventually it was decided to move the rites ceremony inside the big tent, and in the fierceness of wind and hail
the 9th rite blitzed down amongst us and was gifted through the Incan Elders, charging our luminous fields and
leaving none to doubt that we were in the presence of something wordless, wild and profound.
It has been nearly three years since the arrival of The Creator rite. To date The results and outcomes of this
gift from Spirit are as varied and unique as the individuals who have received it. Lives have been forever
changed and for some the growth and the effects of the Munay-Ki seeds have been challenging but ultimately
rewarding. Having received the 9 rites or Munay-Ki it is possible to gift them to others. The film that was
made documenting the rites is a template for how the rites are gifted once they have been received. From that
day in June 2006 until now Jim and I and many others have been gifting them forward and nurturing them
within. I find myself in daily gratitude for not only my own journey and the visible and invisible supports I
feel around me, for the inner stability and grounding I experience, but for all who are courageously growing the
seed-beds of our collective luminous becoming.
been invited to participate in the making of a film. Films are made every hour of everyday in Los Angeles
where we lived, but we were not rolling out the door toward Hollywood stardom that morning. Instead we
were joining medical anthropologist, Dr. Alberto Villoldo and others in making a documentary and training
film covering the nine rites of the Quero shamans of Peru, the last of the Inca.
We were all familiar with eight of these rites having received them as part of our own shamanic training and
personal healing journey in Dr. Villoldo’s Healing The Light Body School. But legend and lore held there
would be a 9th and final rite. Traditionally the rites are transmitted directly from Spirit to the Inca Elders,
who in modern times have been directed to initiate others with these powerful attunements. This Spring the
shamans of the high Andes declared it was time. The 9th rite had come and a month from now Dr. Villoldo
and 25 students would receive the first initiation from the Inca Shamans on the sacred mountain of Ausangate
in Peru. Another group of 25 students to be lead by Linda Fitch would simultaneously be initiated on
Salkantay, the sacred mountain of the “wild feminine”. The video would conclude by documenting this
historic journey and the gifting of the rites. At the conclusion of this inspiring day in May as we quietly drove
up the Malibu coast toward home, my husband turned to me and declared, “We are going up the mountain! I
have waited my whole life to receive these rites.”
The nine rites are known as the Munay-Ki, which derives from the Quechua word meaning “I love you” or
“Be as thou art.” These are the nine rites of initiation to become a person of wisdom and power who accepts
the stewardship of all creation. Sacred rites are common to many shamanic traditions, although they are
expressed in different forms and styles depending on the culture. They derive from the Indus Valley and were
first brought to the Americas by the first medicine men and woman who crossed the Bering Straits from
Siberia 30,000 years ago. In Peru these ancient ones were known as the Laika, the Earth Keepers of old.
What Jim and I found most compelling about the history of the rites was that they were available to all. The
Laika have always been ordinary people who have desired to live extraordinary lives. Through prayer and
study of the wisdom teachings they gained great powers of healing, insight and grace. Some grew to become
renowned medicine men and women, while others lived quietly raising families and growing crops. The Laika
believed that people would seek out the rites and initiations of consciousness when they were ready, when
they were called. One thing seemed remarkably clear, in our lifetime many thousands of people were hearing
that call from Spirit and like us were healing old wounds to pursue paths of beauty, grace and power.
Three weeks before the departure date we were confirmed on the trip to Peru. Spirit had graciously opened a
door. The trip up the sacred mountains had been filled for months but now an opening for two had become
available. We were on our way. Jim had been studying the writings of Sri Aurobindo for 40 years and was
deeply intrigued by his discourses on what Aurobindo called the new Supramental beings, the next stage in the
evolution of our species. This was to be a new kind of human filled with light and fully conscious. Not until
our studies with Alberto had we heard any other references to an enlightened version of mankind. Yet here it
was in the 8th and 9th rites of the Muna-Ki, the energetic matrix or download for the creation of a new type
of human. The keys to the evolution from homo sapiens to homo luminous!
In truth the immediate embodiment of the rites does not produce a Super Man or Super Woman (or
Supramental for that matter). None of us making the journey up the mountains of the sacred masculine
(Ausangate) or sacred feminine (Salkantay) expected to be leaping from glaciered peak to glaciered peek in a
single bound. What we all knew from prior experience with the rites was that to receive these quantas of
energy into our luminous energy fields (LEF) was like sowing a seed-bed with the potential for slow but
profound change. The first series of rites had consisted of installing protections to the LEF, opening our
ability to perceive the invisible worlds, connecting us to ancient healers for our personal healing, and installing
archetypal energies into the 7 chakras to bring harmony to our internal worlds. Rites 6, 7 and 8 connected us
to different levels of luminous beings within the lineage: The Day Keepers who assist in bringing balance to
the planet and who represent the healers and medicine people walking the earth; the Wisdom Keepers who
hold the wisdom teachings and have stepped outside of time into infinity; The Earth Keepers who are the
great seers and dreamers and guardians of our galaxy; and The Star Keepers who help anchor us safely in the
times after the great change of 2012 and re-inform our DNA, sending the physical body down the
evolutionary road toward homo luminous. What I found remarkable about this rite was the boost it gave to
my immune system and how robust and energetic I had began to feel. I also noticed that I no longer
experienced the events of my life on a purely personal level but more on the level of Spirit.
In the thin bright air at 15,000 feet our anticipation was keen. Today we would receive “The Creator” rite, a
name that was given later after the 9th rite had been experienced by many and mulled over by the Incan
Elders. Twenty five people from around the globe circled beneath the glacier dome of Ausangate and watched
as the brightness faded and clouds suddenly gathered. Within minutes we were pelted by hail and the
temperature steadily dropped. Our shamans sat in quiet prayer and we waited as the weather worsened.
Eventually it was decided to move the rites ceremony inside the big tent, and in the fierceness of wind and hail
the 9th rite blitzed down amongst us and was gifted through the Incan Elders, charging our luminous fields and
leaving none to doubt that we were in the presence of something wordless, wild and profound.
It has been nearly three years since the arrival of The Creator rite. To date The results and outcomes of this
gift from Spirit are as varied and unique as the individuals who have received it. Lives have been forever
changed and for some the growth and the effects of the Munay-Ki seeds have been challenging but ultimately
rewarding. Having received the 9 rites or Munay-Ki it is possible to gift them to others. The film that was
made documenting the rites is a template for how the rites are gifted once they have been received. From that
day in June 2006 until now Jim and I and many others have been gifting them forward and nurturing them
within. I find myself in daily gratitude for not only my own journey and the visible and invisible supports I
feel around me, for the inner stability and grounding I experience, but for all who are courageously growing the
seed-beds of our collective luminous becoming.
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