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www.shamansociety.org 41 B O O K R E V I E W Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World Complementary Dualism in Modern Peru By Hillary S. Webb University of New Mexico Press. Albuquerque. 2012. Review by Bonnie Horrigan Those familiar with Andean spiritual phi- losophies have heard the phrase Tukuy ima ghariwarmi which means everything is man- woman. The book Yanantin and Masintin in the Andean World is a lived exploration of this concept. And by that I mean while the author examines the idea intellectually she also tries to experience it rst hand and allow herself to be spiritually and psychologically changed in the process. Consequently the book has an engaging depth and reach. The notion of complementary opposites is basic to indigenous Andean understanding about the nature of reality. Similar to the Chi- nese concepts of yin and yang opposites are vconceived as being connected and interde- pendent. Female does not exist without male male does not exist without female and the existence of both is dependent on the tension and balanced interchange between the two. As Hillary Webb explains According to the indigenous Andean worldview in its most idealized form existence is a collection of constantly changing circumstances and relationships between one thing and another are always in ux. The commitment is to nd the harmonious balance between two opposites because if one side is destroyed or denied the other side will suffer to an equal degree. The balancing this extending of reciprocity which is called anyi is a way of renewing the world. When Hillary rst asks Amado her Andean guide to explain yanantin he tells her that out of respect he cant. Instead he says she should download the information from the cosmos. When Hillary asks how Amado tells her that she should participate in a San Pedro cactus mescaline ceremony. Hillary is fearful at rst afraid that the hallucinogenic might destabilize her mind. But Amado tells her that consciousness rather than being something xed can participate with the rest of the world in a way that dis- solves boundaries between things while still maintaining its individual integrity. And thats when the adventure to fully comprehend yanantin and masintin the manifested experi- ence of yanantin begins. The next day Hillary and her two guides Amado and Juan Luis head for the moun- tains arriving in the dark. They build a re and partake of the ritual brew. The rst step in the ceremony is to practice forgiveness rst of self then of others. Then Hillary falls asleep. When she awakens she is acutely aware of feeling happy and sad at the same time. Good Juan Luis tells her. There are no contradictions. Everything is complemen- tary. Being happy and sad are states of mind. Its best to be in the middle. The book covers three trips to Peru several San Pedro ceremonies and the conse- quent changes of mind and heart that Hillary experiences. As she advances she begins to see that the world is not a mechanical conglomer- ate in which people and places and events are real and xed in time and space but that reality is actually very uid always in ux and very much dependent on the viewer. Amado tells her Everything you believe everything you know everything you experi- ence is not really yours. Nothing that you think is happening within you is actually yours. It could be real for the person who is next to you who is witnessing it. This is how we share realities. As Hillary learns to blur the boundaries between self and others she begins to see how two beings can inform and shape each other through their interaction changing both sides. The process unfolds in four stages tupay the meeting tinkuy the engagement taqe the merging and trujiy the separation and conclusion. When such an engagement is informed by the concept of complementary opposites real transformation can occur. While thoughtful and provoking the book is also easy to read and I highly recom- mend it. If I didnt know better I would say there is a little San Pedro cactus dust on the pages that somehow seeps into your skin. But that couldnt really happen could it REVIEWER BIO Bonnie Horrigan is the editorial director for EXPLORE The Journal of Science and Healing and the co-founder of the Society for Shamanic Practitioners. higher res. im age available