[Aztlan] lak'

[Hubert Smith]

I also prefer sedimentary greetings to the igneous variety.

Insofar as "Viracocha" goes, it was used in the East Slope valley we worked 
in as an honorific for white men or ranking mestizos. The background (as 
told to us) was that Viracocha was a major god who had departed and promised 
to return. Thus, the Conquistadors were called "Viracocha", etc.

We never experienced on Aymara or Quechua using it to refer to another.

Perhaps the New Age folks have a line on this?

Perhaps someone can help?

Hube



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hoopes, John W" <hoopes at ku.edu>
To: "Nick Hopkins" <nickhopkins at live.com>; <randa at armory.com>; "Aztlan" 
<aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: [Aztlan] lak'


> New Age writer Aluna Joy Yaxkin claims:
>
> "In Mayan tradition, there is a greeting that many people working with
> Mayan wisdom know of. It is the law of In Lak'ech Ala K'in, which means
> I am another yourself (A modern day interpretation). It also means I am
> you, and you are me (A traditional Mayan interpretation). We have come
> to understand that this Mayan greeting is an honoring for each other. It
> is a statement of unity and oneness. In Lak'ech Ala K'in mirrors the
> same sediment of other beautiful greetings such as Namaste for East
> India, Wiracocha for the Inca, and Mitakuye Oyasin for the Lakota. It
> doesn't matter which culture you come from. But when one of these sacred
> greetings is given, there is always an action of placing the hands over
> the heart."
> http://spiritlibrary.com/center-of-the-sun/in-lakech-ala-kin-the-living-
> code-of-the-heart
>
> What I'm curious to know is whether this interpretation has a basis in
> traditional usage or whether it's a modern invention.
>
> The New Age usage sounds a lot like the first line of the Beatles' song
> "I Am the Walrus" (1967).  Coincidence?
>
> John Hoopes
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org
> [mailto:aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org] On Behalf Of Nick Hopkins
> Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2009 1:39 PM
> To: randa at armory.com; Aztlan
> Subject: Re: [Aztlan] lak'
>
>
> Randa is right to question my restricted gloss of lak' as (only)
> "companion." Let me defend (and then abandon) that position.  Again with
> reference to the Cordemex (Barrera V. et al. 1980:436), there are two
> entries for lak'.  The first set gives "companion" as the first
> definition in sources from the late 16th to the 18th centuries, with a
> lot of sample phrases referring to spouses, concubines, brothers, and
> neighbors.  In 20th century entries, the terms "friend" and "colleague"
> are added to the meanings.  The second entry for lak' defines it as
> "otro, el otro de los dos, el otro que falta (other, the other of two,
> the other one that is lacking)."  Again, this usage is cited for sources
> from the 16th-18th centuries, but there is only one sample usage.  So, I
> would say that the primary meaning of lak' is "companion" (in its
> various senses), and "other" is secondary.  That said, one of the facts
> of life is that "words mean what they are used to mean."  If speakers of
> the lang!
> uage choose to emphasize the secondary meaning, it becomes the primary
> meaning.  So I am perfectly happy to accept that this expression can be
> taken in its most romantic sense, in lak'ech,  "you are my other, the
> other of two, the one that is lacking (for completion)."
> Thanks, Randa, for keeping us honest, as usual.Nick
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Windows Live(tm): Keep your life in sync.
> http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=T_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009
> _______________________________________________
> Aztlan mailing list
> http://www.famsi.org/mailman/listinfo/aztlan
> Click here to post a message Aztlan at lists.famsi.org Click to view
> Calendar of Events http://research.famsi.org/events/events.php
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Aztlan mailing list
> http://www.famsi.org/mailman/listinfo/aztlan
> Click here to post a message Aztlan at lists.famsi.org
> Click to view Calendar of Events 
> http://research.famsi.org/events/events.php
>
>
>