Despacho
An Andean offering bundle, prepared by a specialist and given to the earth and the mountain spirits in thanks and request.
Also: haywarikuy, pago a la tierra, payment to the earth
A despacho, Spanish for dispatch, is an offering made in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, called in Quechua haywarikuy or a payment to the earth, pago a la tierra. A ritual specialist, such as a paqo or altomisayoq in Peru or a yatiri among the Aymara, prepares a bundle of small items: coca leaves, grain, sweets, wool, flowers, and then it is offered by burning or burying, to Pachamama, the earth mother, and to the apus, the mountain spirits. A despacho may be made for a harvest, a new house, a journey, a business or an illness, and the idea is reciprocity. The practice lives alongside Catholicism, and communities in the region differ in form. Cusco tour operators now offer visits, and elders have commented on this.