Glossary:

Agua (AH-gwah)

Agua is the Spanish word for “water,” and in Antigua, Guatemala, it refers most immediately to Volcán de Agua, the towering volcano that dominates the southern horizon. Despite its name, the volcano is associated with devastating mudflows rather than calm water, most notably the flood that destroyed the old colonial capital in the 16th century.

Aguardiente (ah-gwar-dee-EN-teh)

Aguardiente is a strong distilled alcoholic drink widely consumed in Guatemala and throughout Central America. Traditionally made from sugarcane, it is often shared during celebrations, rituals, and communal gatherings. Aguardiente carries connotations of warmth, release, camaraderie, and the fine line between ceremony and excess.

Apsaras (up-SUH-ruhs)

Apsaras are celestial nymphs in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, often associated with water, clouds, and the heavens. They are depicted as graceful dancers and musicians who move  between the divine and human realms. Apsaras embody beauty, movement, and the fleeting nature of desire, appearing where art, seduction, and the sacred intersect.

Bharatanatyam (bah-rah-tah-NAH-tee-yum)

Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form originating in South India. It combines precise       footwork, hand gestures, facial expression, rhythm, and narrative devotion. Movement becomes a form of embodied prayer and storytelling.

Bindi (BIN-dee)

A bindi is a mark traditionally worn on the forehead in South Asia, most commonly between the eyebrows. It has roots in ritual and symbolism, associated with focus, protection, and inner awareness rather than decoration alone. It is a form of personal and cultural expression, shifting between sacred meaning and everyday adornment depending on context.

Black Llama (BLAK LAH-mah)

The black llama is a domesticated camelid found in the Andean regions of Peru, bred for carrying loads, wool, and companionship. In Andean culture, llamas are closely tied to daily survival, ritual life, and a black llama, in particular, can carry symbolic weight, often associated with protection, endurance, and offerings made to Pachamama.

Bordados con rosas (bor-DAH-dos kon ROH-sas)

Bordados con rosas is a Spanish phrase meaning “embroideries with roses,” commonly referring to floral embroidery found in Guatemalan textiles. The rose motifs are hand-stitched into garments such as huipiles, using color and pattern to express beauty, care, and regional identity. These embroidered roses carry memory and continuity, transforming cloth into a surface where lineage and devotion are patiently worked by hand.

Bromeliads (broh-MEE-lee-adz)

Bromeliads are a family of tropical plants found throughout Peru, from cloud forests to the Amazon basin. Many grow attached to trees or rocks, collecting rainwater in their central rosettes and creating small ecosystems for insects and amphibians.

Cafuné (kah-foo-NAY)

Cafuné is a Brazilian Portuguese word meaning the gentle act of stroking or playing with someone’s hair. It refers to a quiet, affectionate gesture shared between close people. English has no single word that fully captures this intimacy.

Campesinos (kahm-peh-SEE-nos)

Campesinos is a Spanish term referring to rural agricultural workers or small-scale farmers, particularly in Latin America. The word carries social and cultural meaning beyond occupation, often linked to land-based knowledge, subsistence living, and community ties.

Castañaya (kah-stah-NYAH-yah)

Castañaya refers to the Brazil nut, harvested from towering trees in the Amazon rainforest.
The nuts are gathered from the forest floor rather than cultivated, tying their harvest to intact ecosystems and seasonal rhythms. Castañaya carries meanings of abundance, interdependence, and the deep relationship between forest, people, and time.

Chandan (CHUN-dun)

Chandan is sandalwood paste traditionally used in Hindu rituals and daily devotional practice. It is applied to the forehead, deities, or ritual objects for its cooling, calming, and purifying qualities. Beyond fragrance, chandan signifies restraint, clarity, and a quiet settling of the senses before prayer or attention.

Chaquaría (chah-kee-ah-REE-ah)

Chaquaría refers to small, brightly colored beads used in Indigenous and mestizo ornamentation in parts of Mexico and Central America. They are commonly woven or stitched into jewelry, clothing, and ritual objects. Beyond decoration, chaquaría often carries symbolic meaning related to protection, identity, and story.

Choquequirao (choh-keh-kee-RAH-oh)

Choquequirao is a vast Inca ceremonial complex set high above the Apurímac canyon.
Often called a “sister city” to Machu Picchu, it remains remote and lightly restored, accessible only by long trek. After Machu Picchu was abandoned during the Spanish conquest, Choquequirao became a refuge and stronghold for Inca resistance, continuing to be inhabited and used long after other centers fell.

Ch’ulel (CHOO-lehl)

Ch’ulel is a Tzotzil Mayan concept referring to soul or vital life force. It animates humans, animals, landscapes, and even objects. Illness is understood as the loss, weakening, or imbalance of ch’ulel.

Coatlicue (kwah-TLEE-kway)

Coatlicue is an Aztec earth goddess whose name means “she of the serpent skirt.” She embodies both creation and destruction, birth and decay. Her imagery confronts the raw cycles of life without comfort or metaphor.

Copal (koh-PAHL)

Copal is a tree resin burned as incense in Mesoamerican ritual traditions. Its smoke is used for cleansing, prayer, and marking sacred space. Scent becomes a vehicle for intention and communication with the unseen.

Cosijo (koh-SEE-hoh)

Cosijo is a principal Zapotec deity associated with rain, lightning, and thunder. He governs storms that bring both fertility and destruction, holding power over agricultural fate. Cosijo embodies the volatile forces of nature that must be respected, appeased, and lived with rather than controlled.

Coyolxauhqui (koy-ohl-SHOW-key)

Coyolxauhqui is the Aztec moon goddess whose myth centers on dismemberment and defeat. Her story expresses cycles of violence, loss, and renewal. She embodies fragmentation as a cosmic and symbolic process.

Cozobi (koh-ZOH-bee)

Cozobi is a Zapotec maize deity associated with corn, fertility, and sustenance. As the life-giving crop at the center of daily survival, maize embodies nourishment, continuity, and communal balance. Cozobi represents the intimate bond between people, land, and seasonal cycles.

Curandera (koo-rahn-DEH-rah)

A curandera is a traditional female healer found in many Latin American cultures. She works with herbs, ritual, prayer, and intuitive knowledge. Healing is understood as restoring balance between body, spirit, and community.

Datura (duh-TOOR-uh)

Datura is a genus of highly toxic plants used historically in ritual and medicinal contexts. It is known for inducing altered states of consciousness. Its use carries both sacred significance and serious danger.

Devi (DAY-vee)

Devi is the Sanskrit word for goddess, referring both to specific deities and the feminine divine principle. She represents autonomous power, creativity, and cosmic energy. The term embraces multiplicity rather than a single form.

Dreamstories (DREEM-stor-eez)

Dreamstories refers to narratives drawn from Australian Aboriginal Dreaming traditions, which describe ancestral events that shape land, law, and identity. These stories are not myths of the past, but living accounts of creation that exist outside linear time. They encode knowledge of place, morality, and relationship through symbol, song, and movement.

Drumstick (DRUM-stick)

Drumstick refers to the long, slender seed pod of the moringa tree, commonly used in South Indian cooking. Despite its name, it has no connection to percussion and is named purely for its shape. It is valued for its earthy flavor, nutritional richness, and everyday presence in dishes like sambhar.

Estrela-do-campo (eh-STREH-lah do KAHM-po)

Estrela-do-campo is a Portuguese name meaning “star of the field,” commonly used for wildflowers found in open grasslands of Brazil.
The name reflects both the flower’s radiant form and its tendency to stand out against sparse terrain.

Faqir (fuh-KEER)

A faqir is a Muslim ascetic, particularly within Sufi traditions. The term emphasizes spiritual humility and reliance on the divine rather than material poverty. Faqirs often embody devotion through simplicity, song, and wandering.

Flecos (FLEH-kos)

Flecos is a Spanish word meaning fringes or tassels, often found on garments, shawls, and textiles. They add movement and rhythm to clothing, responding to wind and motion. In traditional dress, flecos carry both decorative and symbolic weight, emphasizing flow, edges, and transition.

Fuego (FWEH-goh)

Fuego is the Spanish word for “fire,” referring to Volcán de Fuego, one of Central America’s most active volcanoes near Antigua. It erupts frequently, releasing ash, lava, and sound that remind residents of the land’s ongoing volatility.

Gajra (GUH-jruh)

A gajra is a garland of fresh flowers, most often jasmine, traditionally worn in the hair in South Asia. It is commonly used in everyday adornment, weddings, and religious offerings. Its fragrance often becomes a carrier of memory, intimacy, and devotion.

Ghee (GHEE)

Ghee is clarified butter widely used in Indian cooking, ritual offerings, and lamp lighting. It burns cleanly and is considered pure and sustaining. In ritual contexts, ghee symbolizes nourishment, continuity, and sacred fuel.

Gunpowder (GUN-pow-der)

Gunpowder is a South Indian spice mix made from lentils, chilies, and spices. Despite the name, it contains no explosives and is eaten with oil or ghee. The term reflects intensity of flavor rather than danger.

Hapé (hah-PAY)

Hapé is a sacred powdered snuff used by Indigenous peoples of the Brazilian Amazon in ceremonial and healing contexts. It is made from finely ground tobacco and medicinal plants and is administered through the breath to center, cleanse, and ground the body and mind.

Hibisco do mato (ee-BEES-ko do MAH-too)

Hibisco do mato is a Portuguese term meaning “wild hibiscus,” referring to hibiscus plants that grow uncultivated in fields or forest edges. Unlike ornamental garden varieties, it thrives without human care, shaped by climate and soil alone. The phrase carries connotations of resilience, untamed beauty, and life that flourishes beyond cultivation.

Howler (HOW-ler)

Howler monkeys are large monkeys native to the rainforests of Central and South America. They are known for their powerful, resonant calls that can travel several kilometers through dense forest, used to mark territory, maintain group cohesion,  and defining the soundscape of the forest canopy.

Huehuetl (way-WAY-tl)

A huehuetl is a tall, vertical ceremonial drum used in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican cultures. It is carved from a hollowed tree trunk and played with the hands during rituals, dances, and ceremonies. More than an instrument, the huehuetl carries rhythm as invocation, binding sound, body, and the sacred into a single pulse.

Huipiles (wee-PEE-lehs)

Huipiles are traditional woven blouses worn by Indigenous women in Guatemala and parts of southern Mexico. Each huipil is made by hand on a backstrap loom, with patterns, colors, and symbols that indicate community, region, and life stage. Traditionally, they carry identity, ancestry, and cosmology on the body.

Huitzilopochtli (weet-see-loh-POCH-tlee)

Huitzilopochtli is an Aztec deity of the sun and war, central to Mexica cosmology. He represents movement, struggle, and the daily rebirth of the sun through conflict. Ritual offerings to Huitzilopochtli were believed to sustain cosmic balance and keep the world in motion.

Inflorescence (in-flor-ESS-ence)

Inflorescence is a botanical term for a plant’s complete flowering structure. It describes many small flowers arranged in a patterned system. The term emphasizes collective emergence rather than a single bloom.

Junoon (juh-NOON)

Junoon is an Urdu word meaning intense passion or obsession that can verge on madness. In South Asian and Sufi traditions, it often describes overwhelming devotion or love. It suggests surrender to feeling beyond logic or restraint.

Kathak (KAH-thuk)

Kathak is a classical dance form from North India, historically developed by traveling storytellers. It is known for intricate footwork, rapid spins, and rhythmic dialogue with percussion. Kathak weaves narrative, music, and improvisation, allowing emotion and story to unfold through motion and timing.

Keffiyeh (keh-FEE-yeh)

A keffiyeh is a traditional Middle Eastern headscarf, typically made of cotton and patterned in black-and-white or red-and-white. It is worn for protection against sun, wind, and dust, and has long been part of everyday rural and nomadic life. It has also come to symbolize solidarity in Palestinian cultural and political contexts.

Kumkum (KOOM-koom)

Kumkum is a red powder made from turmeric or mineral pigments, used in Hindu ritual. It is applied to the forehead as a sign of blessing, vitality, and sacred attention. The mark signifies presence within ritual time rather than decoration alone.

La Mujer Espíritu (lah moo-HEHR ess-PEE-ree-too)

La Mujer Espíritu translates from Spanish as “The Spirit Woman.” She evokes the feminine spiritual presence that guides encounters with the Niños Santos, often linked in spirit—to the Mazatec curandera María Sabina, who spoke of the mushrooms as living teachers. The phrase evokes intuition, protection, and a guiding force that is felt rather than seen, often appearing in moments of transition or awakening.

Lingam (LIN-gum)

A lingam is an abstract symbolic form representing the Hindu god Shiva. Rather than depicting a figure, it signifies presence, generative energy, and consciousness itself. Worship focuses on experience and reverence rather than visual narrative.

Mansa Devi (MAHN-sah DAY-vee)

Mansa Devi is a Hindu goddess associated with protection, healing, and the granting of wishes. She is often linked with serpents, fertility, and transformation. Devotion to her blends fear, trust, and surrender to unseen forces.

Mimosa Flowers (mih-MOH-sah)

Mimosa flowers are delicate, spherical blossoms found on various mimosa species growing throughout the Amazon rainforest. They are known for their softness and sensitivity, with some varieties responding to touch by folding inward.

Muqarnas (moo-KAR-nas)

Muqarnas is an ornamental architectural form used in Islamic buildings. It consists of layered geometric niches that break solid surfaces into patterned light and shadow. The effect creates a sense of movement, infinity, and transition.

Nāda (NAH-duh)

Nāda is a Sanskrit term referring to primordial sound or vibration. In Indian philosophy and music, it is considered the source from which rhythm, form, and creation emerge. It links sound, consciousness, and the structure of the universe.

Nagarakatte (NAH-guh-ruh-KUT-tay)

A nagarakatte is a raised stone platform or shrine space found in villages of South India. It serves as a communal site for worship, rest, and gathering. Often associated with serpent deities or local spirits, it anchors sacred presence in everyday life.

Niños Santos (NEEN-yos SAHN-tos)

Niños Santos means “Holy Children” in Spanish and refers to sacred mushrooms used in Mazatec spiritual traditions of Oaxaca, Mexico. They are understood not as substances but as living teachers that offer guidance, healing, and insight when approached with reverence. The name reflects a worldview in which plants and fungi are sentient beings, deserving respect rather than consumption for escape.

Ocelli (oh-SELL-eye)

Ocelli are eye-like markings found in animals and plants, like that of peacock feathers. They often function as visual signals or protective illusions. Symbolically, they evoke perception, awareness, and unseen watching.

Oropéndola (oh-roh-PEN-doh-lah)

The oropéndola is a large tropical bird found throughout the Amazon rainforest, known for its striking yellow-and-black plumage. It builds long, hanging nest colonies woven from fibers, often suspended high in trees above rivers or clearings. Its liquid, mechanical calls shape the forest soundscape in the canopy.

Pachamama (pah-chah-MAH-mah)

Pachamama is an Andean earth mother deity revered in Indigenous cosmology. She governs land, fertility, and balance between humans and nature. Offerings express reciprocity rather than ownership or control.

Pajch’uls (pahch-OOLS)

Pajch’uls are ritual offerings used in Tzotzil Maya ceremonial and healing practices. They typically consist of assembled materials—such as candles, plants, or symbolic objects—prepared with intention for prayer or restoration. Pajch’uls function as vessels through which balance is negotiated between humans, spirits, ancestors, and the living landscape.

Pajé (pah-ZHEH)

A pajé is a spiritual healer and ceremonial leader among many Indigenous peoples of Brazil. The pajé works with plants, chants, breath, and ritual to mediate between the human, natural, and spirit worlds. The title reflects lived knowledge, initiation, and responsibility to community and land.

Pezelao (peh-zeh-LAH-oh)

Pezelao is a death deity in Zapotec cosmology from what is now Oaxaca, Mexico. He is associated with the underworld and the passage of souls rather than punishment or evil. Pezelao represents death as a continuation and transformation within a cyclical universe.

Popol Wuj (poh-POHL wooh)

The Popol Wuj is the foundational creation narrative of the Maya. It records mythic origins, cosmic order, and ancestral history. Storytelling itself is understood as sustaining existence.

Portadora de Historias (por-tah-DOH-rah deh ees-TOH-ree-ahs)

Portadora de Historias is a Spanish phrase meaning “Bearer of Stories.” It describes someone who carries memory, experience, and narrative across generations, places, or lives. The phrase suggests responsibility as much as voice—stories are not owned, but held, protected, and passed on.

Pujari (poo-JAA-ree)

A pujari is a Hindu temple priest responsible for daily rituals, offerings, and prayers. He maintains continuity through precision, repetition, and devotion. The role emphasizes service rather than personal authority.

Qadhifat Gunbulat (kah-DHEE-fat goon-boo-LAHT)

Qadhifat gunbulat is an Arabic-derived term referring to cluster munitions, weapons designed to release multiple smaller submunitions over a wide area. The phrase literally points to fragmentation and dispersion, emphasizing spread rather than precision. It evokes indiscriminate force, shattered landscapes, and the lasting harm that continues long after the initial impact.

Quetzal (KET-sahl)

The quetzal is a brightly colored bird sacred to ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Its feathers were reserved for rulers and priests. The bird symbolizes freedom, breath, and the sky.

Rangoli (RUN-go-lee)

Rangoli is a decorative floor art created with colored powders, rice, or flowers. It is made at thresholds during festivals and auspicious occasions. The patterns invite protection, abundance, and sacred presence into the home.

Rebozo (reh-BOH-soh)

A rebozo is a traditional Mexican shawl worn by women across regions. It is used for warmth, carrying children, and ceremonial purposes. The garment signifies continuity, care, and lineage.

Sambac (SAM-bak)

Sambac is a highly fragrant variety of jasmine used widely in South and Southeast Asia. It is commonly worn in the hair or offered in religious settings. Its scent is closely associated with devotion, sensuality, and remembrance.

Sambhar (SUM-bar)

Sambhar is a lentil-based vegetable stew originating in South India. It is seasoned with spices and souring agents such as tamarind. Often eaten daily, it represents nourishment, routine, and comfort.

Saree (SAH-ree)

A saree is a traditional South Asian garment made from a long, unstitched length of cloth. It is draped in many regional styles carrying cultural identity. The form balances elegance, movement, and ritual continuity.

Saudade (sow-DAH-jee)

Saudade is a Portuguese word describing a deep emotional longing for someone or something absent or lost. It blends love, grief, nostalgia, and tenderness into a single feeling. The word implies acceptance of absence rather than expectation of return.

Sempre-vivas (SEM-preh VEE-vahs)

Sempre-vivas is a Portuguese term meaning “ever-living,” used to describe flowers that retain their form and color after drying. They are common in parts of Brazil and are often gathered in highland regions for decoration and ritual use. Symbolically, sempre-vivas evoke endurance, memory, and life that persists beyond apparent death.

Sé que Dios nunca muere (seh keh DYOS NOON-kah MWEH-reh)

Sé que Dios nunca muere is a Spanish phrase meaning “I know that God never dies.” It expresses enduring faith and the belief in a divine presence that persists beyond loss, violence, or time. The phrase carries reassurance and defiance at once, affirming continuity of spirit even when the world fractures.

Songlines (SONG-lines)

Songlines are Indigenous Australian systems that map land through song, story, and ancestral journeys. They function as navigation, cultural memory, and spiritual geography. Movement through space is inseparable from narrative and identity.

Tabuleiro (tah-boo-LAY-roo)

Tabuleiro refers here to Parque Nacional da Serra do Tabuleiro, a protected national park in southern Brazil. The name comes from the Portuguese word for a flat plateau or tableland, describing the park’s elevated landscapes, forests, rivers, and escarpments.

Tahuayo (tah-WHY-oh)

Tahuayo refers to the Río Tahuayo and surrounding rainforest region in the Peruvian Amazon. The area is known for flooded forests, rich biodiversity, and communities whose lives are shaped by seasonal river cycles.

Tehuana Dress (tay-WAH-nah)

The Tehuana dress is a traditional embroidered garment from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico. It consists of a square blouse and full skirt adorned with floral motifs. The dress symbolizes feminine strength and matriarchal heritage.

Templo Mayor (TEM-ploh mah-YOR)

Templo Mayor was the main ceremonial temple of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexica (Aztec) empire. It was a massive stepped pyramid dedicated primarily to Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war, and Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility. The temple embodied the cosmic order, uniting warfare, sustenance, sacrifice, and the balance that kept the world alive.

Tessellation (tess-uh-LAY-shun)

Tessellation refers to a repeating pattern of shapes that fit together without gaps or overlap. It appears in art, architecture, and mathematics across cultures. Poetically, it suggests meaning formed through repetition and alignment.

Tesserae (TESS-uh-ray)

Tesserae are small pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic used to form a mosaic. Individually they are fragments, but together they create meaning and image. They suggest how broken or separate moments assemble into wholeness.

Theerthum (THEER-thum)

Theerthum is sacred water used in Hindu temple rituals. It is usually sanctified through prayer, contact with the deity, or ritual offerings, and then shared with devotees. Receiving theerthum signifies blessing, purification, and participation in sacred presence.

Tonantzin (toh-nahn-TSEEN)

Tonantzin is a Nahuatl term meaning “our revered mother.” She represents the maternal earth and nurturing cosmic presence. Her worship later merged with Marian devotion after colonization.

Tonatiuh (toh-nah-TEE-oo)

Tonatiuh is the Aztec sun deity governing time and cosmic movement. He requires nourishment through ritual offering to sustain the world. The sun is an active, demanding force.

Trident (TRY-dent)

A trident is a three-pronged spear most closely associated with the Hindu god Shiva. Known as the trishul, it symbolizes the balance of creation, preservation, and destruction. The three prongs also represent mastery over time, ego, and duality, making it both a weapon and a philosophical emblem.

Tripuṇḍra (tree-POON-druh)

Tripuṇḍra is a sacred marking of three horizontal ash lines worn on the forehead or body in Shaivite Hindu traditions. It is traditionally made using vibhuti (sacred ash) and signifies devotion to Shiva. The three lines symbolize impermanence, detachment from ego, and the transcendence of the physical world.

Troubadour (TROO-buh-door)

A troubadour was a poet-musician of medieval Europe, especially in the Occitan-speaking regions of France. They composed and performed lyrical songs about love, longing, devotion, and moral ideals. More than entertainers, troubadours shaped a tradition where poetry, music, and lived emotion moved together as one art.

Tzotzil (TSOH-tseel)

Tzotzil refers both to a Mayan language and to the Indigenous people who speak it, primarily in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The language carries cosmology, ritual knowledge, and relationships between humans, land, and spirit. In Tzotzil worldview, speech, soul, and place are deeply interconnected rather than separate domains.

Vibhuti (vee-BHOO-tee)

Vibhuti is sacred ash used in Hindu ritual, especially in Shaivite traditions. It is traditionally made from burned offerings and applied to the forehead or body during worship. The ash symbolizes impermanence, humility, and the reminder that all form ultimately returns to dust.

Xolotl (SHOW-lohtl)

Xolotl is an Aztec deity associated with death, transformation, and the underworld. Often depicted with canine features, he guides souls through liminal passages. He represents movement across thresholds rather than finality.

Y el géiser hierve (ee el GAY-ser YER-veh)

Y el géiser hierve is a Spanish phrase meaning “and the geyser boils.” It evokes an image of pressure building beneath the surface until it erupts into motion and heat. Poetically, the phrase suggests latent energy, suppressed emotion, or inner forces reaching a moment of release.

Yūgen (YOO-gen)

Yūgen is a Japanese aesthetic concept describing profound depth that cannot be fully explained. It refers to beauty that is subtle, restrained, and suggestive rather than explicit. Meaning is felt intuitively rather than clearly stated.