Ayahuasca has been used by a wide range of native shamanic traditions across the upper Amazon basin, throughout Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. It has over 40 names, and it is practiced by at least 75 different indigenous tribes across the Amazon.
Each tribe has their own unique way of working with ayahuasca, as well as other medicinal plants known as ‘Plantas Maestras’ or ‘plant spirit doctors’. Within their specific ceremonial rituals, each tradition will undertake noticeable differences in their approach, intention, and execution.
The Shipibo & Ayahuasca
Some traditions work with Ayahuasca in an all-inclusive setting by collectively chanting and dancing to the forest spirits. In contrast, the Shipibo follow a more contained, solitary-focused ceremony, whereby each participant is guided to ’go within'. This approach helps to initiate a process of deep self-reflection, and self-inventory.
Known as the ‘River Dwellers’ or ‘River People’, the Shipibo originate along the Ucayali River in the Peruvian Upper Amazon. They are one of the few cultural groups that have managed to maintain their language, art and plant medicine traditions.
Due to their advanced plant knowledge and shamanic capabilities, the Shipibo have cultivated one of the most comprehensive healing systems in the Amazon. They have developed an effective co-creative healing process where the healer, the spirit of ayahuasca, other plant spirits, and the participant coalesce together to liberate the mind, body and spirit.
The Onanya Maestros
In the Shipibo tradition, healers are known as ‘Onanya’ maestros, which translates to “one who knows" or “ancient doctor”.
They follow a strict apprenticeship path within the ‘Plant Dieta’ discipline, lasting many years before they are granted permission to serve the medicine—an essential and necessary requirement when working with such powerful and complex medicinal plants.*
*In the midst of the cultural shifts of the modern age, many shamanic traditions, including the Shipibo, have struggled to maintain their original instructions and practices. The loss of transmission through generations has led to shortcuts, ultimately compromising the integrity of the work. Consequently, it has become increasingly important to preserve these time-tested techniques, so that they may continue to serve as a healing force for generations to come..
Onanyas heal their patients in a multi-faceted way, working both in the physical and energetic realms to clear dense, ‘negative’ energies. They work in conjunction with many other medicinal plants and trees which they honour as sacred, intelligent and highly conscious spirit beings.
We can think of Onanyas as advanced energy healers. They are able to identify discordant energy which is trapped in our system, such as blockages, traumas, as well as any discrepancy in our vitality and life-force. With the guidance and healing qualities of the plants, they can cleanse our system to bring our overall state into more balance and harmony.
This is a medicine technology that has the capacity to heal at the root-DNA level. It can be seen as entering a timeless capsule where you have the opportunity to let go of the unwanted parts of your being and align with your authentic self.
The Shipibo Healing System
The distinctive sound technology used in ceremony (icaros) are closely connected a complex cosmology, in which ayahuasca plays a central role. It serves as a nexus for a much larger system of other plant-spirit teachers that are also powerful in their own right.
Icaros: The Language of the Plants
Icaros are multidimensional songs or melodic prayers that are infused with vibrational healing. A co-creation between the Maestro and the spirits of nature. The power of the Icaros can stem from the forces of plants, deities, ancestors, elemental and archetypal energies.
These sacred songs weave an energetic container in order to open doorways to the etheric worlds, and create a synergistic healing path for those journeying within.
By learning to commune and listen deeply to plant beings, the Shipibo have mastered the ability to invoke the spiritual wisdom of the plants, and channel them through melodies, rhythms, and words.
When working with Ayahuasca, the maestros are able to enter into altered states of consciousness. They call on these connections with their plant allies and open their bodies and voices up as channels for the healing vibrations to move through them. This results in a spontaneous flow of musical tapestries sung in the moment, in order to achieve the energetic work required.
A Sound Healing Technology
Shipibos have developed a unique way of working from a kind of sonic library where they use a set of melodies and frequencies to produce certain energetic effects. They release, clear, imprint, and empower the individual with a combination of words and meanings that are always unique to the work being done.
Symbols with meanings are combined with melodies and rhythms in direct response to what is being felt and seen by the maestro, who in turn, is being guided by the plants.
It is the quality and depth of the maestro’s connection to the various plants that bring the medicinal qualities and powers to these songs. His sacred vocabulary, his ability to invoke the consciousness of these beings, and the sincerity of his prayer all play an important role.
The Icaro is the spiritual force that weaves an energetic design or blueprint into the subtle bodies of the receiver. These designs serve as gateways to certain inner landscapes, etheric worlds, as well as vehicles for the participant’s experience.