Pachakutic, which means "Earth changer" in Quechua, is originally a concept associated with

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

cultures, meaning a change in the sun or a movement of the Earth which will bring a new era. In its original context, it was associated with the type of

creation myth A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Cre ...

found in much of the pre-Columbian Americas in which the present World had undergone several previous cycles of creation and renewal, and the present age was likewise part of such a great cycle; ''pachakutic'' referred to the completion of these cycles and the coming of a new era. The concept has been adopted in recent times by certain political movements in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, particularly those seeking to advance

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

' rights. In this context it signifies the beginning of a new cycle and the desire for substantive change in the political environment — or ''pachakamac'', "turning the world upside-down". The '' Movimiento de Unidad Plurinacional Pachakutik – Nuevo País'' (''Pachakutic Plurinational Unity Movement – New Country''), an

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian political party backed by the indigenous communities, has adopted the word and its associated symbolism as its standard.

References

Inca mythology Indigenous American philosophy {{SouthAm-myth-stub

See also

References