The Great Web of Percy Harrison Fawcett

In the case of the medicinal herbs and food in South America, there are facts that have been reported during the first two decades of the twentieth century that should be seriously taken into consideration, facts that could bring into everyone’s memory the case of the Kallawaya doctors (Calahuaya medicos).

In the south of the town of Pelechuco, there is the village of Curva that was the home of the Brujas (gypsies) or the Kallawayas (Calahuayas) who according to the reports, they were having secret powers using the herbs. Colonel Fawcett recorded in his logbook during his fifth expedition routing to the “Roof of the world” in 1911 a true event that was described to him by Carlos Franck, a good friend of him and supporter of his plan. Carlos Franck had a daughter who was cripple since her birth suffering from a hip disease (disease of the bones). Nothing could be done for her even if she went to Germany for repeated operations. The modern science in that period managed to do nothing at all to fix her problem up and she was convicted to remain cripple for the rest of her life until a Kallawaya doctor visited her house passing through the town of Pelechuco. He show the girl's condition and offered to save her from her suffering so he gave a herbal prescription of a concoction preparation to her father and asked him to prepare it and give it to his daughter. Carlos followed exactly the instructions of the medico Kallawaya and in a very short time the miracle was done and his daughter was completely cured and lived a happy life for the rest of her life.

This case shows us the failure of the modern science in the beginning of the twentieth century to such a treatment and the success of the herbal medicines used in the serious condition of Carlos Franck’s daughter in returning her to a healthy normal life for the rest of her life. Carlos Franck was the man who offered his hospitality to Colonel Fawcett during his visits to Pelechuco as a point of vital importance commencing his expeditions and he had mentioned the story of his daughter’s problematic condition to him. For more information about this case, please read the book “Exploration Fawcett”, page 157-8 (Roof of the World - Calahuayas, the witch doctors of the Andes).

On the other hand, the story of the Kallawayas began earlier with fantastic unbelievable factual events in combination with their amazing herbal medicines that could do even miracles to human’s health conditions. The name Kallawayas in reality is derived of Kolla Wayas, which means in the old language of Quechua or Aymara the ones that carry grass and its Spanish derivation returns them in updating it so they are identified correctly as Kallawayas.

In a recent communication I personally had with Gonzalo, a very good friend of mine who is a Kallawaya himself, I was told about the following:

“Emmanouel, it is a great honor for me to be considered by you as a Kallawaya. The communities of Kallawayas are living permanently at the north of the principal city of Bolivia, which is the city of La Paz. I really wanted to give you the meridians in which these communities are to be found but unfortunately I do not keep in my hands the necessary data. However, it is enough far away and I calculate the distance to be about six hours by private car or approximately about ten hours by public transportation. These communities have a normal cultural practice, the use of herbs for all kinds of needs, so much as daily infusions, as well as to heal some diseases, but these practices although in some cases are very developed, are not performed by all the Kallawayas.

- To be Kallawaya, Gonzalo mentioned, one initially should be born with a kind of sign, something that would show that a person is chosen.

It would be long to explain the following story and what I saw there by the year 1984 of the last century and later when I had to pass through several tests to become a Kallawaya myself.

At the first sight, I had to participate in the baptism of the last Kallawaya, the unique last one; it was about a young woman of thirty years of age and she was not a known person until that moment, was also not a woman of sexually speaking and not prejudiced but simply was the chosen one so under the circumstances they baptized her by dressing her with ritual clothes and they said good-bye to her in the skirts of a snowed hill that was not of easy access (located on a mountain range of the Andes) instructing her to reach the summit in which she had to find a plant whose leaves were of high medicinal content and ritual. The young woman returned after three days having an impressive bluish color in her face. I saw it. She was the last Kallawaya.”

As my friend Gonzalo was anxious to tell me more details about them, he continued…

“It is a special interest for me to maintain this communication with you Emmanouel (he refers to me), and I believe that this is by your interest in the natural medicines of the Kallawayas that at this moment makes us widely known.

Perhaps, the difference is that I have lived twelve continuous years in the world of Aymara and Quechua farmers, which they belong to the Kallawayas.

In that experience, concerning the work I made, I was forced to accompany during these trips, the three old Kallawayas, of which only one lives today and I have been able to know the Kallawayas communities.

Under the circumstances, the world of the Kallawayas is a very particular and complicated microcosm, although it cannot be seen at the first sight. The community of San Pedro de Curva, perhaps one of the most important community of the Kallawaya, is not the most unique one.”

And my friend Gonzalo continued…

“Many things have been told about the Kallawayas so far. It is said that they were the medicos (doctors) of the Inca who were seen as an important equipment for them, like attending physicians.

It is also said that they were living in a community of wise people who woke up the jealousy within the Inca empire and for that reason, they were banished at a distant zone from the empire so to be dedicated to the development of their arts in parallel to their experience and that way would not be dangerous for the empire.

The certain thing is that they belong to the Andean world, which is a system of worthiness that has transformed themselves in mediators and catalysts of multiple known Andeans. I never have been in certain Egypt but I encounter similarity with that culture and the Andean, although this last one in an actual version.

The Kallawayas are medicos (doctors) travelers par excellence, they leave their community permanently and their agenda of trips takes them as far as to Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and some parts of Brazil. They have said that in the past, (when each trip was not possible to be made in a 4-Wheel drive vehicle) every trip lasted from three to five years but nowadays it lasts months.

At that time (February month), they come across with their community ceremonial workings, the development of agricultural works, the harvest of some plants, as well as the elaboration of some potions, and this work will keep them occupied until the end of the month when they will initiate their trips again to the cities of La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. It is then when I join them.”

Gonzalo has explained to me many important things with details about the life and work of these medicinal people who live in South America and called Kallawayas or Calahuayas as they are mentioned by Colonel Fawcett in his book “Exploration Fawcett” and they became known to the rest of the world by simple but worthy to be announced stories of therapeutic opportunities of their patients in their territory during the first three decades of the twentieth century including that one who was mentioned in Colonel Fawcett’s book with the happening of the story that was already explained with details in the beginning of this page.