Communion With The Infinite The Visual Music of the Shipibo tribe ...

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Communion With The Infinite The Visual Music of the Shipibo tribe of the Amazon
Posted by admin on Friday, September 5, 2008 12 Comments

by Howard G Charing
Eagles Wing

The Magical Art of the Shipibo People of the Upper Amazon Underlying the intricate geometric patterns of great complexity displayed in the art of the Shipibo people is a concept of an all pervading magical reality which can challenge the Western linguistic heritage and rational mind. These patterns are more than an expression of the one-ness of creation, the inter-changeability of light and sound, the union or fusion of perceived opposites, it is an ongoing dialogue or communion with the spiritual world and powers of the Rainforest. The visionary art of the Shipibo brings this paradigm into a physical form. The Ethnologist Angelika GebhartSayer, calls this visual music. The Shipibo are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Peruvian Amazon. These ethnic groups each have their own languages, traditions and culture. The Shipibo which currently number about 20,000 are spread out in communities through the Pucallpa / Ucayali river region. They are highly regarded in the Amazon as being masters of Ayahuasca, and many aspiring shamans and Ayahuasqueros from the region study with the Shipibo to learn their language, chants, and plant medicine knowledge. All the textile painting, embroidery, and artisan craft is carried out by the women. From a young age the Shipibo females are initiated by their mothers and grandmothers into this practice. Teresa a Shipiba who works with us on our Amazon Retreats tells that when I was a young girl, my mother squeezed drops of the Piripiri (a species of Cyperus sp.) berries into my eyes so that I would have the vision for the designs; this is only done once and lasts a lifetime. The intricate Shipibo designs have their origin in the non-manifest and ineffable world in the spirit of the Rainforest and all who live there. The designs are a representation of the Cosmic Serpent, the Anaconda, the great Mother, creator of the universe called Ronin Kene. For the Shipibo the skin of Ronin Kene has a radiating, electrifying vibration of light, colour, sound, movement and is the embodiment of all possible patterns and designs past, present, and future. The designs that the Shipibo paint are channels or conduits for this multi-sensorial vibrational fusion of form, light and sound. Although in our cultural paradigm we perceive that the geometric patterns are bound within the border of the textile or ceramic vessel, to the Shipibo the patterns extend far beyond these borders and permeate the entire world. One of the challenges for the Western mind is to acknowledge the relationship between the Shipibo designs and music. For the Shipibo can listen to a song or chant by looking at the designs, and inversely paint a pattern by listening to a song or music.

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As an astonishing demonstration of this I witnessed two Shipiba paint a large ceremonial ceramic pot known as a Mahuet. The pot was nearly five feet high and had a diameter of about three feet, each of the Shipiba couldnt see what the other was painting, yet both were whistling the same song, and when they had finished both sides of the complex geometric pattern were identical and matched each side perfectly. The Shipibo designs are traditionally carried out on natural un-dyed cotton (which they often grow themselves) or on cotton dyed in mahogany bark (usually three or four times) which gives the distinctive brown colour. They paint either using a pointed piece of chonta (bamboo) or an iron nail with the juice of the crushed Huito (Genipa americana) berry fruits which turns into a blue- brown-black dye once exposed to air. Each of the designs are unique, even the very small pieces, and they cannot be commercially or mass produced. In Lima I met with a woman who had set up a government funded community project which amongst other matters established a collective for the Shipibo to sell their artisan work and paintings. She tells that a major USA corporation (Pier 1 Imports), enamoured by these designs ordered via the project twenty thousand textiles with the same design, this order could never be fulfilled, the Shipibo could simply not comprehend the concept of replicating identical designs. The Shipibo believe that our state of health (which includes physical and psychological) is dependent on the balanced union between mind, spirit and body. If an imbalance in this occurs such as through emotions of envy, hate, anger, this will generate a negative effect on the health of that person. The shaman will re-establish the balance by chanting the icaros which are the geometric patterns of harmony made manifest in sound into the body of the person. The shaman in effect transforms the visual code into an acoustic code. A key element in this magical dialogue with the energy which permeates creation and is embedded in the Shipibo designs is the work with ayahuasca by the Shipibo shamans or muraya. In the deep ayahuasca trance, the ayahuasca reveals to the shaman the luminous geometric patterns of energy. These filaments drift towards the mouth of the shaman where it metamorphoses into a chant or icaro. The icaro is a conduit for the patterns of creation which then permeate the body of the shamans patient bringing harmony in the form of the geometric patterns which re-balances the patients body. The vocal range of the Shipibo shamans when they chant the icaros is astonishing, they can range from the highest falsetto one moment to a sound which resembles a thumping pile driver, and then to a gentle soothing melodic lullaby. Speaking personally of my experience with this, is a feeling that every cell in my body is floating and embraced in a nurturing all-encompassing vibration, even the air around me is vibrating in acoustic resonance with the icaro of the maestro. The shaman knows when the healing is complete as the design is clearly distinct in the patients body. It make take a few sessions to complete this, and when completed the geometric healing designs are embedded in the patients body, this is called an Arkana. This internal patterning is deemed to be permanent and to protect a persons spirit. Angelika Gebhart-Sayer, Professor of Ethnology, University of Marburg writes that Essentially, Shipibo-Conibo therapy is a matter of visionary design application in connection with aura restoration, the shaman heals his patient through the application of a visionary design, every person feels spiritually permeated and saturated with designs. The shaman heals his patient through the application of the song-design, which saturates the patients body and is believed to untangle distorted physical and psycho-spiritual energies, restoring harmony to the somatic, psychic and spiritual systems of the patient. The designs are permanent and remain with a persons spirit even after death.. Whilst it is not easy for Westerners to enter and engage with the world view of the Shipibo which has been developed far away from our linguistic structures and psychological models, there is an underlying sophisticated and complex symbolic language embedded in these geometric patterns. The main figures in the Shipibo designs are the square, the rhombus, the octagon, and the cross. The symmetry of the patterns emanating from the centre (which is our world) is a representation of the outer and inner worlds, a map of the cosmos. The cross represents the Southern Cross constellation which dominates the night sky and divides the cosmos into four quadrants, the intersection of the arms of the cross is the centre of the universe, and becomes the cosmic cross. The cosmic cross represents the eternal spirit of a person and the union of the masculine and feminine principles the very cycle of life and death which reminds us of the great act of procreation of not only the universe, but also of humanity, and our individual selves. The smaller flowing patterns within the geometric forms are the radiating power of the Cosmic Serpent which turns this way and that, betwixt and between constantly creating the universe as it moves. The circles are often a direct representation of the Cosmic Anaconda, and within the circle itself is the central point of creation. In the Western tradition, from the Pythagoreans, and Plato through the Renaissance music was used to heal the body and to elevate the soul. It was also believed that earthly music was no more than a faint echo of the universal harmony of the spheres. This view of the harmony of the universe was held both by artists and scientists until the mechanistic universe of Newton.

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Joseph Campbell the foremost scholar of mythology suggests that there is a universe of harmonic vibrations which the human collective unconscious has always been in communion with. Our beings beat to the ancient rhythms of the cosmos. The traditional ways of the Shipibo and other indigenous peoples still reflect the primal rhythm, and their perception of the universal forces made physical is truly a communion with the infinite. Article Source: Communion With The Infinite The Visual Music of the Shipibo tribe of the Amazon Category: Shamanism, Visual Art Tags: art, quiquin, shipibo
Comments

12 Responses to Communion With The Infinite The Visual Music of the Shipibo tribe of the Amazon 1. Jay says: October 22, 2008 at 12:06 am In my travels and encounters with the Shipibo, I heard that the visual music element of their designs was folk-lore. I certainly would love to believe it is true, but the only reference to it that I ever seem to read is this singular one. I purchased several embroidered cloths from Shipibo women in Iquitos. Theyre beautiful, but code for an icaros melody? My information sadly differs. 2. Hana says: November 5, 2008 at 8:58 pm Hello, this is a wonderfull article, thank you very much. As someone who is involved in both, sacred medicine as well as in sacred art making, I found this very inspiring. But I found this after googling anaconda&ayahuasca. Could anybody please share with me the connection between the two? I became awed by serpents after a number of ayahuasca sessions and soon after that I was honoured to became a keeper of a pair of very beautiful and rare type of anaconda. They have a profound impact on my spiritual life. I am very keen to learn as much of indigenous wisdom connected to the Mother Anaconda. Could anybody please give me more information? Thank you very much, and blessings on your fantastic work, Hana 3. Matthew Levan says: November 26, 2008 at 1:58 am Thanks and blessings sent from my self to those who continue the tradition of visionary healing. El mundo es un lugar seguro porque el Shipibo. 4. Nicole Shands says: February 13, 2009 at 5:11 pm I saw a move within the last 5 months that was made around this belief. I do not remember the name for I am always finding jewels like this. I remember when they drank the potion and the visuals the used to attempt to show us what the person was see was incredible, terrifying, and beautiful all at the same time. It was energy personified as far as what I felt within myself in watching. In the movie one person was trying to steal the secrets to life and the other was protecting it. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful article. 5. Jimmy Robinson says: May 24, 2009 at 4:40 am In response to Nicole Shands comment: Renegade (a.k.a., Blueberry) is (probably) the movie to which you are referring. 6. Sasha says: June 22, 2009 at 10:56 am Alot of people say that the effects and visuals in the movie Renegade a.k.a. Blueberry,due to ayahuasca drinking are false,exagerate,bunt the real deal is more beutyfull !

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7. Gordon Kuhnd says: October 16, 2009 at 2:00 pm Ive seen the documentary Woven Songs, made by Anna Stevens. In this movie one of the female shamans, Augustine Herlina reads the shipibo weaving like a sheet of music. So, the Shipibo weavings are actual songs of the shamans ayahuasca visions. The only problem is that the majority of Shipibo weavers have forgotten how to weave their own visions. They merely just copy others weavings. Its becoming a forgotten artform. Augustine Herlinda is trying to hand down this tradition to her daughter. 8. patrick johnson says: November 22, 2009 at 8:22 am well jay, it must suck to be you. 9. patrick johnson says: November 22, 2009 at 8:37 am those patterns are still expressions nonetheless. the spirituality you seek isnt pristine 10. Kristi says: May 29, 2010 at 1:52 am I am happy to have found this article. I am working on a thesis about how energy (light) utilizes sound (music) and shape (geometry) in life and in spirituality. If anyone has doubts on visual music, look up the study of Cymatics. Its the same principle, using physical energy and physical matter to create shapes. Its been said that thats what the crop circles are formed with. There definitely seems to be hidden magic on this earth and in the universe that utilizes the triad; light (energy), sound (music, vibrational-frequencies) and shape (geometry, sacred geometry). 11. Pamela says: July 15, 2010 at 8:34 am In the 1970s we traversed the Amazon starting at Pucallpa and visited the Shipibo, staying for several weeks. I agree with what you are writing because I have seen it myself, when in the midst of an ayaguasca session, I saw the movement of the world as a geometric pattern, and the pattern was that same that is on the shipibo textiles. I heard the cicadas or whatever those grasshopper -singing insects are that sing so loud in the jungle, their song also took on visual movement and was the same as the patterns of shipibo textiles. These are geometric structures, that when in motion, allow for a way to communicate with other places in the universe. We are normally just unaware of it, with the help of Yaje, I saw . 12. Rosemary says: January 9, 2011 at 7:32 pm On one Ayahausca journey I saw that this pattern as shown on the Shipibo designs is the veil between the third (physical) dimension and the spiritual dimensions beyond. There are many dimensional realities, in the journeys it is a clear communion with with the spirits. Ask and you shall receive. If you need healing and insight beyond the logical minds restraints sit with a very experienced curandero, do the appropriate purification, stay in the heart center, trust and surrender. Most importantly it is between you and Spirit, this is not a journey for the faint hearted but truly worth the journey if you are called.
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