Coca Leaf Divination in the Inca Empire
Coca leaf divination was the central ritual art of the Inca priesthood. By scattering, blowing, or arranging coca leaves on a woven cloth and reading their patterns, trained specialists known as altomisayuq and pako (or paqo) priests were able to diagnose illness, divine the outcome of wars, locate lost objects, identify thieves, and obtain the assent of the gods on major decisions. The practice was not a peripheral folk custom: it was the official technique by which the Inca state validated decisions from the Sapa Inca downward.
The use of coca in Andean ritual predated the Inca by many centuries. Earlier Andean civilizations including the Wari and the Tiwanaku cultures used coca as a sacred substance, and the Inca inherited and codified these older practices. The chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega recorded that coca was so sacred that the leaves were touched to the mouth, forehead, and heart before being eaten, and that the most important rituals always began with an offering of coca to the apus.
The Mechanics of the Reading
A coca-leaf reading (sometimes called kuka qhaway in Quechua) was performed by a specialist who had been trained from childhood in the art. The diviner began by ch’allasqa — pouring a small libation of chicha or wine onto the ground as an offering to Pachamama and the apus. The diviner then took a small pinch of coca leaves — usually three, sometimes more — and either:
- Scattered them on a clean woven cloth and read the pattern in which they fell.
- Arranged them in lines according to a formal pattern and interpreted the relationship between them.
- Blew on them with the breath and listened for a “response” in the rustle.
- Placed them in the mouth and chewed them slowly, then spat them onto a cloth and read the resulting pattern.
The diviner interpreted the size, shape, color, position, and orientation of the leaves to determine the answer to the question. The leaves of a healthy coca plant have distinct veins; the diviner would read whether the veins pointed “upward” or “downward,” whether the leaves were broken, whether they lay close together or apart, and so on. A reading of “good” leaves was a positive sign; a reading of “bad” leaves required further ritual.
Political Uses of Coca Divination
Coca-leaf divination was used to make important political decisions. Before going to war, the Sapa Inca would consult the diviners to determine whether the apus favored the campaign. The chroniclers report that, on several occasions, the diviners returned unfavorable readings, and the planned campaign was abandoned or postponed. The reading of the coca leaves thus functioned as a kind of oracle through which the priesthood could limit royal power.
Coca divination was also used to diagnose illness. The diviner would chew the leaves and then examine the patient’s urine or, in some cases, blow the smoke of burning coca leaves onto the patient’s body to determine which huaca or apu was responsible for the illness. Once the cause was identified, the appropriate sacrifice or offering could be made to restore balance.
Coca in Daily and Ritual Life
Beyond divination, coca leaves played a central role in the reciprocity that structured Andean social life. Two people who met on a path would exchange coca leaves as a gesture of mutual recognition. A laborer who worked for another would be paid in coca. A marriage was often ratified by an exchange of coca between the families. A traveler setting out on a long journey would be given three coca leaves to chew on the way.
The ritual and social uses of coca were so intertwined that the Spanish chroniclers had difficulty distinguishing the sacred and the secular functions. To the Inca, the two were inseparable: the leaf was sacred precisely because it was so thoroughly integrated into the rhythms of work, hospitality, and travel. Coca divination was, in this sense, a way of consulting the apus about every important turn in life.