Different Meanings and Understandings of the Pachamama Phenomenon

Abstract

During the Synod on the Amazon (Rome 2019), there was a lot of misunderstanding concerning allegedly idolatrous practices performed in relation to wooden statues which by many people were seen as an idol of the Amazonian Pachamama. To respond to these accusations, one must first highlight the differences between  ways of understanding of the nature of the Pachamama and the corresponding believes among Andean people, and how Pachamama is seen outside the Andean world? If, under certain conditions, one can be inclined to accept Pachamama as an Andean deity, then the Amazonian goddess Pachamama appears to be a bizarre concept. Firstly, this article will attempt to explain how Pachamama was once understood and how it is interpreted today by the Andean Indians. Secondly, I will try to present how the idea of Pachamama as Mother Earth in terms of environmental protection began to be propagated in the world outside the area of Andean Indians culture and what the repercussions of this movement are. The search for answers, based on solid knowledge, allows us to indicate the difference between the appeal to symbolism and idolatrous religious worship.