One of the most well-known and defining features of the Peruvian Andean worldview is yanantin, the belief that the polarities of existence (male/female, dark/light, inner/outer, etc.) are interdependent parts of a harmonious whole. This model of engagement is in stark contrast to the underlying Western philosophical viewpoint that the opposites exist in an eternal war for dominance.

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Between 2007-2009, as part of my PhD research, I traveled to central Peru to explore the degree to which one’s relationship with the world differs depending on whether one views existence as a “battle” or a “dance.”

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In the beginning, I imagined this investigation would be an entirely scholarly endeavor, in which I would maintain a certain emotional distance from my subject matter. That assumption would change real quick.

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On my first day of fieldwork, I asked my friend, Amado, a young shaman from the high Andes, how to define yanantin:

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“Out of respect, I do not define it,” he responded, his eyes drifting toward the mountains that surrounded us. “All I know of it is its mystery.”

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His answer took me aback, but I pushed on.

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“Would you be willing to let me interview you?” I asked him.

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An amused smile crossed Amado’s face as he turned to face me.

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“Yes, princesa,” he said. “You can interview me. But may I suggest that you download the information from the cosmos instead?”

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What followed was a highly personal journey into a new way of seeing and being. This included an eventual “download” gained by going into ceremony with the mescaline-bearing cactus, San Pedro and a deep dive into the “four stages of reconciliation” that opposing pairs must go through in order to transform from a relationship of antagonism into one of mutual support.

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From the Press

 

"An important book and a damn good read."
 

– Sacred Hoop magazine

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“An outstanding, important work ... In addition to adding to the ethnographic literature about these fundamental concepts that inform Andean world views, it adds a fabulous case example that will be cited long into the future”
 

– Bonnie Glass-Coffin, PhD, author of The Gift of Life: Female Spirituality and Healing in Northern Peru

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“Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World recounts the compelling scholarly and personal odyssey of Dr. Hillary Webb, an anthropologist who came to understand the Andean complementary worldview as a sophisticated and practical philosophical model and, in doing so, was transformed both personally and professionally. Many readers of this book will no doubt be transformed as well.”

– Stanley Krippner, PhD, author, Psychiatrist in Paradise: Treating Mental Illness in Bali