– The Shipibo People and Tradition –
In the Amazon Jungle there are many different traditions in the medicine of Ayahuasca, each with its own knowledge and unique model of learning. Such as in Brazil the ‘Santo Daime’ or ‘Uniao de Vegetal’ churches, or in Columbia ‘Los Taitas’, or the numerous traditions of Ecuador.
In Peru there are several traditions highly recognized as sources of Ayahuasca medicine knowledge. The three traditions with the most notable success in the healing of disease and traumas are that of the common Mestizo, the Quechua Lamista, and the Shipibo peoples.
The Shipibo are one of the oldest and largest tribes of the Western Amazon basin with a population of ~35,000 and an ancestral territory that runs north and south of Pucallpa, along the Ucayali River. They were never conquered by the Inca Empire and resisted colonization by Spanish priests, and today the Shipibo people still maintain a strong connection with their language and their rich and mysterious culture and traditions. Most speak Shipibo as a first language, and Spanish as a second.
For hundreds, and potentially thousands of years, the Shipibo people have been highly respected by other tribal peoples throughout the Amazon – not only for their strength as warriors, but also for their knowledge of rainforest plant medicines and the high degree of spiritual attainment of their Shamanic Maestros and Maestras. Their deep connection with the nature of the rainforest infuses all aspects of their life – physical, cultural and spiritual.
The Shipibo also have a rich artisinal culture, and the craftsmen and women create strikingly beautiful works of pottery, woven textiles and beaded jewellery which incorporate designs reflecting the energetic expressions of the Shipibo cosmovision of the the plants, the healing Icaros and the spiritual world. Textile painting is done by the women, who from a young age learn from their mothers the practice of translating the energetic patterns into visual designs.
As with many tribal peoples in the Amazon the Shipibo have recently suffered significant erosion of their territories, declining access to food and water due to rainforest degradation, environmental pollution and climate change, and in general have poor access to education and modern health services. It is becoming more challenging for the Shipibo to live traditional rainforest lifestyles, and yet they lack the education and skills to thrive in a market economy.
The welfare of the Shipibo people is a key concern for us at Caya Shobo. We care a lot about our staff and their families, and we’re strongly committed to assisting and supporting all of the local people whom we have a close working relationship, by:
- ensuring they have access to comfortable housing, education and modern health-care services,
- providing support in helping them achieve greater levels of socio-economic integration with the world,
- honouring their traditions and helping to preserve their knowledge and way of life.
We invite all guests at Caya Shobo to take time to get to know the indigenous and local people working here. While they may be shy at first, they have a wealth of knowlege and joyful energy to share, and a more rich perspective on life than many of us Westerners have ever or will ever encounter elsewhere.
Meeting Walter you immediately recognize his natural warmth and humility as a person, as well as his impressive capability as an experienced Onánya Maestro healer. His beautiful, lower toned voice and variety of melodic Icaros can transport you to a place of peace and reconciliation with your life’s experiences and your healing path. Walter is always solid in the middle of the storm.
Maestra Maricela is a highly experienced Shipiba Onánya curandera and Raomi herbalist. Born in the Alto Ucayali river village of Roya, south of Pucallpa, her father Nicolas Vardales is a well known Shipibo medicine man with a strong famileal lineage of medicine knowledge. At age 13, in receiving treatment for some serious health issues of her own, Maricela began to learn about the healing properties of Amazonian medicine plants. She continued dieting with different master plants until she started working with Ayahuasca in her early 30’s.
Immersed in the medicine world her entire life, Maestra Lucinda is the eldest daughter of renowned Shipibo Onánya Maestro Pascual Mahua Ochavano, born in the Shipibo village of Paoyhan or ‘Water of the Pearls’ located on the banks of the beautiful Ucayali river, north of Pucallpa. When she was a tiny infant of 4 months old her father opened her first learning dieta to bring her the advanced knowledge of the Noya Rao “Tree of light” of her ancestors.
Orlando also belongs to the famous family Mahua. His great-grandfather Manuel Mahua was renowned as one of the most powerful Onánya shaman in the entire history of the Shipibo tribe. Manuel’s daughter Manuela, grandmother to Orlando, is also a well – known living Onánya Maestra. Manuela brought up Orlando from early childhood and opened his first medicine plant dieta at age 7. 
Fernando Levi, also born in the village of Paoyhan, is the grandson of Pascual Mahua, and, like his father, his grandfather and many generations before him, Fernando has inherited the Shipibo name “Sani Piko” which means “The Great Medicine Men.” This legacy of ancestral knowledge and the discipline Fernando has brought to developing its power within himself is clearly evident in his Icaros, in his medicine and also in his extensive knowledge of master plant dieta for healing and learning.
Francisco (or Pancho) has been working with the Shipibo medicine path since his early 40’s, and is now in his late 60s.
Rafael was born into a family of Ayahuasca Curandero Medicos in the Shipibo village of Santa Rosa de Dinamarca, 5 hours journey by riverboat to the south of Pucallpa. Growing up immersed in the world of Ayahuasca, he observed his parents and the men and women of his extended family always working in healing ceremonies and guiding plant dietas. At the age of 18, his curiosity to learn more about this path inspired him to open his first plant dieta, and he has since been learning and dieting with different master plants over the past 15 years.
As a teenager, Pablo felt the call of the medicine, but without access to knowledgeable teachers in his own family or community, he pursued his own learning path with Ayahuasca in the way of the ancient Shipibo Maestro Onánya – by entering the jungle alone and following the call of the plants in isolation dieta.