The Andean Cosmovision of the Kallawaya

　　The Kallawaya ethnic group, based in the mountainous Bautista Saavedra region north of La Paz, traces its roots to the pre- Inca period. Like many aspects of Andean culture, the Kallawaya's practices and values have evolved through the fusion of pre-Hispanic and Christian religions. The term kallawaya means "land of doctors" or "herbalists from the sacred land of medicine,"and the principal activity of the Kallawaya involves the practice of ancestral medical techniques. The various rites and ceremonies related to these techniques form the basis of their local economy. The Andean cosmovision of the Kallawaya culture is a coherent body of myths, rituals, values and artistic expressions.