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The Shipibo
tradition follows that early in Shipibo
girls’ lives they are initiated by their
mothers and grandmothers into the practice
of textile design and pottery craft. A
Shipibo woman explained, “When I was a young
girl, my mother squeezed drops of the
piripiri berries (a species of Cyprus) into
my eyes so that I would have the vision for
the designs.”
It is like a rite of passage for a young
woman to be given the power by her elders to
execute the very important responsibility of
creating designs for the village. How
honored and empowered the women must feel!
The designs begin when the muraya (Shaman)
uses wild plants and meditative trance to
receive spiritual design messages from the
spirit world in the form of geometric
patterns of energy. The patterns emerge
through his mouth into a song or chant (icaro).
He then conveys the designs to the women
artists in the form of sound vibration.
Amazingly the Shipibo artist is able to
listen to an icaro by looking at the
designs, and paint a pattern by listening to
a song or music. “I witnessed two Shipiba (Shipibo
women) paint a large ceremonial ceramic pot
(mahueta), five feet high and three feet in
diameter. Neither woman could see what the
other was painting, both were singing the
same icaro, and when they finished both
sides of the geometric patterns appeared
identical and matched each side perfectly,”
explains Howard G. Charing, organizer of
Plant Spirit Medicine journeys to the Amazon
Rainforest and free-lance writer of
Amazonian plant medicines.
Then, retreating from the hustle of the
village to her secluded forest hut, the
woman takes refuge, and drawing on her shina
(intuition and creativity), elaborates the
design visions given to her by the muraya
into an intricate intertwining of geometric
shapes using simple basic colors, accented
with splashes of red, yellow, and green,
thus creating her individual expression of
the icaros.
No two designs are the same - all have the
unique touch of the individual artist,
personalized by her creativity and ability
to see the designs, yet holding the
spiritual power that connects Shipibo
village life with the ancient spirit world
and the power of the rainforest.
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The actual artistic process uses hand-woven
cotton, either natural undyed or dyed in
mahogany bark to bring a rich brown color.
The artist paints the fabrics with a pointed
piece of bamboo using the juice of the
crushed Huito Berry fruits, which turn into
a black-brown dye when exposed to the air.
The painting or embroidery of the patterns
begin in the center of the fabric with a
cross design (representing the physical
world) and intertwine bringing together the
inner and outer worlds as a ‘map of the
Cosmos.’ This Cosmic Cross represents the
eternal spirit of a person, the union of the
masculine and feminine principles or
procreation, and the cycle of life and
death.
Smaller patterns flowing within the
geometric forms represent the Cosmic
Serpent, radiating power as it moves
throughout the universe. Within the circular
forms is the center of creation surrounded
by the circle itself, the Cosmic Anaconda,
known as the great Mother Creator of the
universe by the Shipibo.
Believing that our physical and emotional
health are dependent on balance between the
mind, spirit and body, the shaman uses the
design messages to heal patients by chanting
the icaros, and infusing them into the body
of the patient to bring harmony, re-balance
and protect the persons spirit.
Visual communication with the spirit world
lives on in present day Shipibo life.
Shipibo women masterfully transform ancient
design messages into symbols that act as
channels connecting ancient culture with the
spirit world. Simple yet intricate geometric
designs covering the textiles, pottery, and
decorated faces mix form, light and sound
that extend far beyond the borders of the
fabric or clay to reach all beings, bringing
them into harmony with each other, and the
universe.
Manos de la Tierra (Hands of the Earth), a
non-profit organization of the Amazon Herb
Company, participates with the Shipibo,
Matses, Jivaro and Ashanika tribes to bring
the Amazonian women’s artwork and
handicrafts to the rest of the world -
enriching our lives with the cultural
diversity and spiritual tradition of ancient
tribal history while financially assisting
the village women and their communities.
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