Shamanic tourism and the commercialization of Ayahuasca

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Anthropology, Ayahuasca

Article and Pictures by Evgenia Fotiou
PhD in Anthropology and Latin American Studies

Article published in the magazine
DEVELOPMENT, TOURISM AND CULTURE FROM THE PERIPHERIA
June 2008 Edition
Huaraz, Perú

When you visit Iquitos it’s nearly impossible to not hear of ayahuasca, usually with a generous dose of hyperbole. Especially in the last few years, after the first Amazonian Shamanism Conference held there in 2005, hundreds of people flood Iquitos in the summer months in search of this plant sacred to the indigenous people of the Amazon. In the last years, it has also appeared numerous times in popular media. Ayahuasca, just like all psychedelics of plant origin, is viewed with great ambivalence in the west. It is either viewed as a powerful medicine and a panacea, or as a potentially dangerous hallucinogen whose use should be at least regulated if not banned.

Iquitos is the gateway to ecotourism and most tourists do not stay in the town long, but rather visit the nearby National Reservation or one of the numerous ecotourism lodges that are located in the surrounding area. Most of these lodges offer ceremonies or retreats, the latter costing around $700-$l500 a week and some even specialize in shamanic tourism. Lodges have websites and trips can be booked over the internet even though they can be cheaper if booked locally. Tourists who speak Spanish and are on a budget seek to participate in ceremonies with independent local shamans who charge much less than a lodge.

This article is based on data collected during my 18-month fieldwork for my doctoral thesis on shamanic tourism in Iquitos. I chose to use the term shamanic tourism as opposed to the often used term drug tourism because while the latter is associated with the recreational consumption of drugs, it is hard to say this for ayahuasca since it is sought after with different motives. The unpleasantness of the experience, physical and psychological, disputes any claims for recreational use of ayahuasca as well. The people I interviewed come from all social strata and walks of life. Many travel to Iquitos specifically to take ayahuasca, while others hear about it while traveling and decide to try it. Contrary to what would be expected, many of these participants have never tried other hallucinogens. This sacramental use of ayahuasca is only embraced by a small, but increasing, part of western society and a fraction of the tourist flow in Iquitos.

Their motives vary but there are some common themes. One of them is the need to reconnect to an archaic past, a desire of continuity of consciousness from ancient times. There is also a desire to be more connected to nature and less destructive to the planet and reintroduce the sacred into their lives. Most participants seek ayahuasca ceremonies because they provide the ideal setting for personal transformation. Because this type of experience challenges preconceived notions about the world and oneself, in proper context, it can be a powerful tool for restoring both individual and group equilibrium. A vast majority of participants in shamanic ceremonies are motivated by a desire to be healed and have reported successful healing from both psychological and physical ailments. Ayahuasca is especially effective in healing issues caused by traumatic experiences as well as depression and drug addiction.

Even though these motives are legitimate and people have certainly benefited from their experiences with ayahuasca, I would like to stress the lack of context or framework for western people in making sense of the visionary experience. In indigenous cultures there is a very specific geography and structure of the other worlds the shaman visits in his/her trance, a structure that is learned during their apprenticeship. On the other hand, westerners interpret their visions in a more personal or psychological way. Some interpret them as manifestations of their subconscious mind. While traditionally shamanism was a healing force for the community, in this context it becomes about healing the individual.

Effects of shamanic tourism
The increase of western interest in shamanism and the growth of shamanic tourism have brought a great increase in the number of shamans in the city of Iquitos as well as surrounding communities. Shamanic tourism brings much needed revenue to the area of Iquitos. While a few years ago, there was little interest by young people to apprentice and become shamans, the possibility of a steady income provides great incentive. The problem is that most of them do not apprentice for a few years as it was customary and the majority tend to be inexperienced. This abundance of shamans has also created competition between them for the limited number of tourists. Some gain prestige by working with tourists, travel to the west to lead ceremonies and have achieved recognition in western ayahuasca circles.

Despite the fact that most westerners pursuing ayahuasca experiences have read about it in the abundant literature, misconceptions about shamanism abound. They believe that this form of shamanism has been practiced exactly this way for thousands of years. They overlook the historical and cultural context of shamanism, such as Amazonian cosmology, which does not fit life in the west. They also ignore the ambiguous aspects of shamanism, such as sorcery, even though it is becoming a more prominent topic of discussion. In addition, tourists have unrealistic perceptions of indigenous and local people. They romanticize them only to be disappointed in their first few days in Peru. Foreign concepts are adopted by the shamans in order to accommodate tourist expectations and needs. Notably, a shaman who I worked with would often refer to the body’s chakras, or energy centers, a concept taken from eastern spirituality.

An increasingly common phenomenon is that of the New Shamans (or as I like to call them, Gringo Shamans). These are westerners who have apprenticed with a local shaman and later create their own business, building lodges and hiring local shamans and staff. These shamans have an advantage because they can communicate better with the tourists for two reasons: language, and the fact that they can convey certain concepts more easily to them.

Criticisms

Ayahuasca tourism has been criticized for marketing native spirituality and degrading Amazonian traditions. Others believe that it can help preserve indigenous cultures, especially in the context of ecotourism managed by indigenous people (i.e. in Ecuador). The truth depends on the context and falls somewhere in between. None of the two is really true for Iquitos because we are dealing with mestizo shamans who have introduced Christian elements and marketed Ayahuasca before tourism was even in the picture. Shamanism has been a profession rather than an integral part of the community life for a long time.

Westerners see no conflict in the appropriation of indigenous knowledge. They believe that it is universal and everyone has a right to it. This is a general tendency of the New Age movement that has been heavily criticized. While New Age adopts certain elements of indigenous knowledge such as shamanism, it is rare that westerners will make the necessary sacrifices and adjustments to their lifestyle to fully follow that path. For example, it is very common that westerners will not follow the strict dietary restrictions that are required before and after an ayahuasca ceremony, very often rationalizing their choice. Shamanism, in this context, is not viewed as a way of life but as a commodity. This is not surprising since global culture cannot capture the holistic nature of indigenous knowledge because there is a lack of context for belief and application.

Indigenous people themselves have reacted to this in several ways. New Age and the adoption of indigenous spirituality is seen as a form of cultural imperialism putting indigenous spirituality in a position where it can be commodified and this has been widely criticized especially by Native Americans. In Ecuador ayahuasca rituals were offered as part of ecotourism but became controversial after some participants became out of control. It was believed that sacredness was not respected anymore and they stopped offering them. Now tourists are allowed to observe ceremonies but not participate in them.

There is no easy answer to the dilemmas that shamanic tourism presents. Some have easier solutions than others. For example the issue of safety has been brought up. In my experience this can be easily solved with some basic precautions and screening of participants, some lodges already do that. When it comes to the commercialization of indigenous knowledge and the loss of authenticity, things get a bit more complicated. According to the critics, westerners have no place in ayahuasca ceremonies. This implies that cultures are bound entities and their integrity should be protected by all means possible. Human history shows that this was never the reality and cultures were in constant contact and flux. Denying this would be like asking to put indigenous people in a museum to preserve them for our viewing pleasure. We forget sometimes that they too are people with the same desires, material or other, as ours. On the other hand we could be a bit more respectful when we partake in indigenous spirituality. Following the dietary restrictions and being respectful during the ceremony are a minimum. In other words, if you are interested in the path of ayahuasca, tread lightly and try to be aware of your impact. Last year in a bar in Iowa I saw a statue of a Native American with a sign attached to it: “Do not touch Indian, very fragile”. Maybe we should all keep the metaphorical message of this sign in mind.

Anthony Henman and the San Pedro cactus

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Anthony Henman, Cactus, Trichocereus

Interviewed by Bia Labate
2012
Originally published in Portuguese in REVER – Revista de Estudos da Religião [Journal of Religious Studies] (2004)
Source: Erowid

Anthropologist Anthony Henman is one of those extreme characters who make us ask, “Why do I carry on with the life that I have?” He’s one of those hybrid people, whose cultural identity is imprecise, of the type who “goes a bit native” (despite his almost 1.90 meter height and pink skin). A mixture of Brazilian, English, and Argentinian, he divides his time between a cottage in Wales and a penthouse in the charming colonial neighborhood of Barranco in Lima, which serves as the basis for his trips to the interior of Peru in search of the San Pedro or wachuma (Echinopsis pachanoi = Trichocereus pachanoi) cactus.

Henman examining cactus.
Photo by Bia Labate

Born in 1949, Henman has been a pioneer of the sociological discussion on psychoactive drugs in Brazil. A former professor at the University of Campinas, he has edited two compilations and written three books and several articles on psychoactives. His best-known work is probably Mama Coca, published in London under a pseudonym in the late 1970s. This is one of the first contemporary academic written discussions to address the issue of the indigenous uses of coca leaf (Erythroxylum coca) and criticize the authoritarian and ethnocidal rhetoric contained within the political agenda of the so-called “war on drugs”. His curriculum vitae also includes research in Brazil on the use of diamba (Cannabis sativa) among the Tenetehara Indians of Maranhão, guaraná use among the Sateré-Maué, the União do Vegetal ayahuasca religion, and heroin and cocaine use in Europe and the United States, as well as an analysis of harm reduction policies (public strategies to reduce the problems caused by the consumption of psychoactive substances instead of demanding their complete ban).

Beneath disheveled gray hair, Henman unceremoniously declares that he has definitively abandoned the academy. Above all he is an empiricist; or, in other words, a lover of plants. His favorites are coca and San Pedro, which he lovingly grows in his magic garden and prepares using techniques he has invented himself. He usually consumes San Pedro solo, in addition to the coca leaves he chews daily, as is customary in various traditional populations. It would be difficult to detail his vast curriculum of psychedelic experiments, which includes a near-overdose on heroin when he was researching “junkies”.

The father of six children and the ex-husband of four women of various nationalities, Henman is a charismatic man who knew how to exchange the heavy taxes and European winters for the heat of the Peruvian cholitas [women]. He gave this interview during a visit to São Paulo in early 2004.

Bia Labate: What is the San Pedro cactus?

Anthony Henman: San Pedro includes several species of a genus that was formerly called Trichocereus and is now part of the Echinopsis genus. There are at least three main species: E. pachanoi is originally from Ecuador and northern Peru, extending to Huarás and Huánuco; E. peruviana [= T. peruvianus] begins in the department of Lima and is found up to Cuzco; E. lageniformis [= T. bridgesii] grows around Lake Titicaca and reaches La Paz. In southern Bolivia and northern Argentina there are another two or three species about which little is known. There are considerable differences between them: while some measure 5-6 meters, others never reach 1.5 meters; some have trunks 30 centimeters thick and others only 7 centimeters. There are species with four, five or even twelve segments or lateral divisions. The number of thorns also varies greatly. But all species contain the same psychoactive ingredient, mescaline, which appears in much the same concentration, about 0.12% of the fresh plant material. An active dose of mescaline is about 300 mg, so to have a good effect it is necessary to process 250 grams of the plant in its raw state.

[Continues here.]

Chavín de Huántar: Evidence for an Evolved Shamanism [abridged]

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Chavín de Huántar, John Rick

by John W. Rick (University of Stanford)

Original Article:
2006 Chavín de Huántar: Evidence for an evolved shamanism. San Diego Museum Papers 44: Mesas and Cosmologies in the Central Andes, pp. 101-112.
Available at Amazon.

Introduction

Chavín de Huántar is an early monumental site in the Peruvian Andes that has long been associated with shamanism in the literature of anthropology and Andean archaeology. The site can be described as a series of temples that were founded in all likelihood well before 1,200 B.C., and saw a continuous program of expansion and elaboration until somewhere around 600-500 B.C., after which investment in further construction and ritual activity rapidly declined. (Good, although contrasting general sources on Chavín are Rowe 1962, Lumbreras 1989, Burger 1984, 1992, Kembel and Rick 2004, Rick 2005.)

Although it is one of many such centers of the Central Andean Formative Period—and not the largest—it can be distinguished by the complexity of its architecture. In particular, it has a complex of underground passageways known as galleries—and a large amount of finely crafted carved stone “art” used to decorate a variety of architectural contexts (Figure 2). The prominent and widely-recognized iconography of Chavín led to the classification of a wide variety of styles of art, in materials including ceramic, metal, textile, wood, shell, and mud friezes, as belonging to a supposed Chavín “culture” (Burger 1988). Elements of this broad-ranging, but stylistically affiliated corpus have been linked to shamanism, and by extension the prominent sites of the period, including Chavín itself, have been inferred to have seen shamanistic activity. This article will review this claimed association of Chavín de Huántar with shamanism, summarize the evidence related to this belief, and explore the nature of any such activity that might have taken place at the site.

An important caveat to this article is that I do not claim to be a highly knowledgeable student of shamanism, and so I am not attempting to update general perspectives on the subject. It is more than apparent that this is a voluminous and controversial subject matter, in which modern attitudes towards shamanism and a variety of stances about the nature or existence of shamanism in different times and places make writing about this topic particularly treacherous. My point in engaging the subject is primarily to contribute to the understanding of shamanistic-like activity at Chavín, and more particularly, to point at ways that shamanism might be transformed and used to promote socio-political change in societies that are witnessing the beginnings of strong authority. My argument will be that while there may well have been shamanism behind the material culture and function of this center, it was far removed in character and intention from most classic examples of shamanism.

Shamanism and Chavín—What is the Evidence?

The prehistoric case for shamanism is always complicated by the inferential processes of archaeology—from the material record we must infer behavior and (tentatively) belief, and then from those inferences come to a further conclusion about whether shamanism can be asserted. Chavín de Huántar is frequently cited as a locus of evidence for shamanistic behavior, but it is really only a few repeatedly cited phenomena that form the basis for this claim. I will quickly review and update this evidence en route to a more in-depth evaluation of the possible role of shamanism in Chavín. But first some further understandings about shamanism and archaeology are essential.

[continues…]

Rick, John W.
Associate Professor at University of Standford
Ph.D. Michigan, 1978
John Rick’s research focuses on prehistoric archaeology and anthropology of hunter-gatherers and initial hierarchical societies, stone tool analysis and digital methodologies, Latin America, Southwestern U.S. Rick’s major research efforts have included long-term projects studying early hunting societies of the high altitude puna grasslands of central Peru, and currently he directs a major research project at the monumental World Heritage site of Chavín de Huántar aimed at exploring the foundations of authority in the central Andes. Other field projects include work on early agricultural villages in the American Southwest, and a recently-initiated project on the Preclassic and Early Classic archaeology of the Guatemalan highlands near Panajachel, Atitlan. Current emphasis is on employing dimensional analytical digital techniques to the study of landscape and architecture, and on exploring the contexts and motivations for the development of sociopolitical inequalities.

Hikuri and Other Teacher Plants in Cinema

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Film

[PART I]

PEYOTE QUEEN
1965 / 8 mins / United States / Experimental
Director: Storm de Hirsch

Summary: A further exploration into the color of ritual, the color of thought; a journey through the underworld of sensory derangement.

HIKURI NEIRRA (PEYOTE DANCE)
1978 / 32 mins / Mexico / Documentary
Director: Carlos Kleiman
Summary: The film shows how, during the feast of corn or Hikuri Neirra peyote, the Huichol people fulfills an agricultural ancestral ceremony. The documentary records every stage of the festival: rites, dances and songs are offered to the earth, rain, sun and fire.

MARA’ACAME, SINGER AND HEALER [HUICHOL]
1982 / 47 mins / Mexico / Documentary
Director: Juan Francisco Urrusti
Summary: The activities of Don Agustin Montoya de la Cruz, “Tepu” (Mara’acame Huichol), socially recognized as a singer and interpreter of dreams, are told in this film. It also describes in parallel the Huichol healing ceremonies practiced in the community and the Tatei Neixa & Wimakuarra rituals.

THE DOORS
1991 / 128 mins / United States / Fiction
Director: Oliver Stone

Summary: Oliver Stone’s hallucinatory bio-pic of the seminal 1960s rock group The Doors. Stone cuts a jagged swath through Morrison’s life, starting with a childhood memory where Morrison sees an elderly Indian dying by the roadside. It picks up with Morrison’s arrival in California and his assimilation into the Venice Beach culture, followed by his film school days at UCLA; his introduction to his girlfriend Pamela Courson; his first encounters with Ray Manzarek; and the origin of The Doors — made up of Manzarek, Robby Kreiger, and John Densmore. As the fame of The Doors grows, Morrison’s obsession with death increases.

PUERTO ESCONDIDO
1992 / 110 min / Italy / Fiction
Director: Gabriele Salvatores

Summary: Mario leads a normal life, working in a Milan bank. His daily routine is shattered when he witnesses a murder and is shot himself by the killer, a deranged police commissioner. To save his life, he must abandon his life and flee to Puerto Escondido, Mexico. When he runs out of money he teams up with Alex and Anita, a couple of Italians that will lead him on to a series of adventures and encounters with drug dealers, corrupt police officers and other weird characters.

DIABLA BLANCA (WHITE DEVIL)
2006 / 60 mins / Mexico / Documentary
Director: Laura Carmen Magaña

Summary: Travel from the Tokyo subways to the Mexican desert with psychedelic pleasure seekers Akira and Ken as they inadvertently discover the beauty of Huichol culture. In the morning mist of Mount Fuji, following an all-night purification ritual, the gods demand a mysterious sacrifice from Akira and Ken. To fulfill the gods’ wishes, the Japanese duo must journey to the wondrous ‘Land of Flowers’ or Wirikuta, the sacred peyote gathering place of the Huichol people. As they take on this unique challenge, they develop a deeper commitment to their shamanic practices, and personal dramas unfold. Both men must learn to let go of the past in order to complete their pilgrimage successfully. This documentary debut by Magaña tells an extraordinary story of spiritual awakening while respectfully portraying the peyote rituals of the Huichol people of Nayarit and Jalisco in the Sierra Madre.

PSZICHONAUTÁK
2006 / 41 mins / Hungary / Documentary
Director: Kovács M. András

Summary: Psychonaut: An Explorer of the Mind, who journeys into his/her psyche using hallucinogenic drugs or other consciousness altering techniques. Psychonauts believe that these spiritual experiences, when properly processed, lead to long-term and positive benefits in their everyday lives.

VENADO (DEER)
2009 / 79 mins / Mexico / Documentary
Director: Pablo Fulgueira

Summary: The Wirraritarie people must deliver offerings to the gods, traveling through over three thousand kilometers. The jicareros (responsible for this tradition) work for seven months every year, mainly all over central Mexico, to honour their customs. Venado (deer) is a portrait of the jicareros from the Great Deer Ceremonial Center from Cohamiata, filmed at their request with the purpose of preserving the tradition.

WADLEY
2009 / 60 mins / Mexico / Documentary
Director: Matías Meyer

Summary: A young man with a backpack walks all on his own into the endless Mexican cactus desert. He takes some peyote. How does he get out again? Pure cinema in the long-take tradition of Lisandro Alonso or Gus Van Sant.

AYAHUASCA/CHAKARUNA

AYAHUASCA
1971 / Documentary
Director: Nora de Izcue

EL VIENTO DE LA AYAHUASCA (THE WIND OF AYAHUASCA)
1982 / 85 mins / Peru / Fiction
Director: Nora de Izcue

Summary: A love story in the context of magic-religious beliefs of the Peruvian Amazon. Michael is a sociologist from Lima who travels to work in Iquitos, where he meets the young Nexy, who lives in fear of the yacuranas, mythological beings that threaten to take her to the depths of the river. Michael tries to help her with ayahuasca, administered by the healer Melito. The couple goes into the jungle following the treatment, but Nexy disappears. Michael participated in indigenous ceremonies and begins to understand the rituals and beliefs of that culture.

BLUEBERRY
2003 / 124 mins / Spain-France-United Kingdom / Fiction
Director: Jan Kounen

Summary: U.S Marshal Mike Donovan has dark memories of the death of his first love. He keeps peace between the Americans and the natives who had temporarily adopted and took care of him. The evil actions of Blount, a “white sorcerer” lead him to confront the villain in the Sacred Mountains, and, through shamanic rituals involving native entheogens, conquer his fears and uncover a suppressed memory he would much rather deny.

D’AUTRES MONDES (OTHER WORLDS)
2004 / 73 mins / France / Documentary
Director: Jan Kounen

Summary: A journey into the heart of Shipibo shamanism.

LA MEDICINA DEL PERDÓN (THE MEDICINE OF FORGIVENESS)
2005 / 20 mins / Peru / Documentary
Directors: Delia Ackerman and Alonso del Río

Summary: This film stars the shaman Benito Arevalo, a descendant of an ancient lineage of the Shipibo master healers. The film shows the magical experience of ayahuasca ritual to the world.

ENTER THE VOID
2009 / 154 mins / France / Fiction
Director: Gaspar Noé

Summary: The spirit of a man shot in a Tokyo drug deal roams the streets to fufil his promise of protecting his sister.

METAMORPHOSIS
2009 / 94 mins / United States / Documentary
Director: Keith Aronowitz

Summary: Metamorphosis is a documentary that follows several westerners as they undergo five Ayahuasca ceremonies and experience the gamut of emotions – from utter fear to outright ecstasy. It also explores the shamans who work with the medicine as well as all the key elements of an Ayahuasca ceremony.

DMT: THE SPIRIT MOLECULE
2010 / 75 mins / United States / Documentary
Director: Mitch Schultz

Summary: The film weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman’s groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, ayahuasca. Utilizing interviews with a variety of experts to explain their thoughts and experiences with DMT, and ayahuasca, within their respective fields, and discussions with Strassman’s research volunteers, brings to life the awesome effects of this compound, and introduces us to far-reaching theories regarding its role in human consciousness.

TEONANÁCATL

MARIA SABINA, MUJER ESPÍRITU
1979 / 80 mins / Mexico / Documentary
Director: Nicolas Echevarria

Summary: The only documentary on the Mazatec shaman Maria Sabina.

ALTERED STATES
1980 / 102 mins / United States / Fiction
Director: Ken Russell

Summary: An American researching different states of consciousness with the aid of mind altering drugs and an isolation chamber begins to experience disturbing physical changes in his body that point toward an evolutionary regression.

Creativity in Chavin: Interview with Marcia de Bernardo

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Art

By Carlo Brescia
Proof-read: Pippa Donati
Sculptures (by Marcia) pictures taken during the V International Sculture Symposium in Brusque – Brasil, 2005

Article published in the magazine:
DEVELOPMENT,  CULTURE AND TOURISM FROM THE PERIPHERIA
July 2005 Issue

The stone sculptures left by the Chavin civilization more than 2500 years ago are an important historical legacy where the Andean vision of the cosmos is clearly represented. In the mouldings, columns and tenoned heads, anthropomorphic creatures with jaguar fangs, condor feet and snake hair still seem to silently guard the archaeological ruins of the Chavin de Huantar Ceremonial Temple.

Today, Chavin in Los Conchucos would be a forgotten town if there were no mining and tourist activities in the region. Thousands of tourists, both Peruvian nationals and foreigners, come here all year round to visit the Temple along the recently constructed road, whilst trucks come and go from the mining site close by.

A group of locals from Chavin still continue sculpting stones representing the iconography around and inside the Temple, declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1985. Nevertheless, these artisans only copy what already exists without taking advantage of the immense source of inspiration that the Chavin iconography envisions, fusing elements from the mineral, vegetal and animal kingdom.

That is why it is important to mention a recent experience where training workshops on stone sculpture were carried out with artisans from Chavin. Not only was the artistic craft activity strengthened, but it was also renewed through the local artisans’ exchange of experiences amongst themselves, as well as together with the director of the workshops. The stone sculpture artist Marcia de Bernardo came from Brazil thanks to the Asociacion Ancash, an institution with social aims directed by a Peruvian anthropologist: Alejandro Camino Diez-Canseco.

Marcia, who has stone sculptures in Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and Peru, participated in this example of development intervention, related to the symbolic dimension of culture contributing directly to the strengthening of local identity and income generating capacities of the inhabitants, in a spirit of solidarity and mutual respect.

Marcia, How would you define your art? Where do you get your inspiration from?

My art is spontaneous, that is, I see the stones and immediately I want to transform them, to create new forms in relation to the feeling of the moment. It is inspired by nature, in its perfect and balanced forms. I always look for harmony between the lines and shapes of the stones.

Do you have different feelings with different types of stones?

The sculpture is always related to the material. When you touch the stone you feel the temperature, when you knock on it you hear its sound, when you find a crevasse, a crystal that inspires something in you, everything creates an energy that works together. Even the hardness of the stone defines the right equipment and the tools that allow me, or not, to express the idea in the material. It is the artist who always has to be aware of the essence of the stone and its smallest details.

What is creativity for you?

Creativity is when you create something new or experiment with the same thing differently, from another perspective. It is to perceive the forms that have been always present in nature, interpret them and recreate them in your own style.

How did you come to Ancash?

I met Alejandro Camino back in Nepal in 2002. I was in the Himalayas because I went there to meet my husband who was climbing the Lhotse, at 8502 masl, with other Brazilian friends. In 2003 I was invited by the Asociacion Ancash to carry out training workshops on stone sculpture with the artisans of Chavin de Huantar. I became interested in knowing more about the Chavin civilization and in exchanging knowledge with the local artisans.

What were your impressions of the Chavin stone art?

Chavin art is incredible and I was amazed by its symbols, beliefs and gods. What impressed me more was the graphic force of the stone carvings where you can see the expression of power, of feelings and of stories. In Chavin, the stone is the language that integrates humankind with the cosmos and the nature.

How were the workshops in Chavin carried out?

I was in Chavin a little longer than a month with the workshops lasting 25 days. The idea was to awaken the creativity and imagination of the artisans in order to make them continue to search for new forms to represent their ideas and feelings through stone sculpturing. To help them to realise that they have the freedom to recreate the iconography of the Chavin culture, not only make copies of it. I was able to tell them about the concept of art, showing them images of sculptures from all over the world, ancient and modern, and images of the stone sculpturing tools and safety equipment.

What material from the zone where they using?

In the workshop we worked stones already known by the artisans. The most used stone is the ‘Pasca’, found in red and grey but only in small fragments, which is not very hard. There is also the ‘Arenisca’, harder than the ‘Pasca’ but good for bigger works. In Los Conchucos and in the Callejon de Huaylas there are a lot of interesting stones to work with.

What did Marcia de Bernardo receive from this experience?

I perceived that there is a huge and rich potential future for the artisans, and that the rich and varied Chavin motifs can serve very well as a source of inspiration to a whole new generation of sculptors who will be able to make an important contribution in the future in their country and abroad.

As well, from my encounter with this ancient civilization I was very inspired by the direct carving of the stone. When I returned to Brazil I recreated in my own style many symbols of Chavin in my stone sculptures: the snakes, the cactuses, the pututu, the condor, the jaguar and the water.

How did you find our people in relation to yours?

Where I live we don’t have snow and the climate is less sharp and humid. I believe that the big difference is that living in the Cordillera you can perceive very clearly the forces of nature every day as you can feel the mountains, the river and the sky very closely. A similarity that I can mention is that the people that work with art need a lot of incentives and more information about the opportunities and alternatives to develop creativity in their work. Also, as I live in a bigger city, the days that I spent in the Cordillera gave me an excellent opportunity to recover values of simplicity and strengthen my contact with nature.

Marcia de Bernardo’s blog: http://marciadebernardo.blogspot.com/

Cosmocto – Visionary Art inspired in Chavin by The Frank Brothers

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Art

COSMOCTO – Visionary Art
The Frank Brothers
www.cosmocto.com

Daniel and David Frank

“We are struck by the energy of things… the pulse in the seed that signals germination, the whisper of spirit that guides leaves toward sunlight, the dynamic forces that twist wind into tornados, blast volcanic mountain tops skyward, devour stars and birth galaxies.

It is from here that we begin to paint. It is by this energy that painting flows through us toward the creation of a charged, symbolic iconography.
Visual Medicine.

We honor the flash that split the zygote in our mother’s womb. One spirit born in two bodies. Our work is an offering of our hearts and an aspiration towards ever increasing strength, grace, joy and faith, a celebration of divine magic and infinite love and an expression of gratitude to the spirit that animates this cosmic dance.”

More in: www.cosmocto.com

Smiling God / Dios Sonriente
– Dan Frank

Chavin Jaguar
– Dan Frank

Chavin Hawk / Halcón Chavín
– Dan Frank

Ascending Eagle / Águila en Ascenso
– David Frank

Chavin Eagle / Águila Chavín
-David Frank

EL CHAMAN
– David Frank

SEED 2 / SEMILLA 2
– David Frank

Thunder Ghost / Espíritu del Trueno
– Dan Frank

The Sacred Cactus in Andean Cultures

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Archaeology

“… The superstition that still these people have and still use a lot, and their rules is to drink, to know good or bad intentions of the other, a potion called the achuma, which is water that is mixed with the sap of certain smooth and large cacti found in tropical valleys. They drink and sing with great ceremony, and since it is very strong, those who have drunk are deprived of their senses and reason, and see visions. ”
– Father Anello Oliva, 1631

“San Pedro, huando, beautiful, cardo, huachuma – are- various names applied to this cactus… It is medicinal. It is diuretic. It is generally used in healing and witchcraft cases… San Pedro is an aid that someone uses to make the spirit more pleasant, more manageable…”
– Eduardo Calderón Palomino, circa 1970

Photograph of the eastern wall of Building B, Chavin de Huantar Ceremonial Centre, circa 1920. Observe the presence of the wachuma cactus in the right.

THE SACRED CACTUS

Scientific names of the 3 varieties: Trichocereus pachanoi, Trichocereus peruvianus and Trichocereus terschecki.

Common names: Wachuma, Huachuma, San Pedro, Giganton, Peruvian Torch

The sacred cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi, syn. Trichocereus pachanoi) is a fast-growing columnar cactus native to the Andes Mountains of Peru between 2000–3000 m in altitude. It is also found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador, and it is cultivated in other parts of the world. Uses for it include traditional medicine and traditional veterinary medicine, and it is widely grown as an ornamental cactus. It has been used for healing and religious divination in the Andes Mountains region for over 3000 years.

BRIEF GALLERY OF THE SACRED CACTUS IN ANCIENT MATERIAL CULTURE

CHAVIN
(12th century BC to 4th century BC)
At Chavín, power was legitimized through the belief in the small elite having a divine connection; shamans derived power and authority from their claim to a divine connection. The community believed in and had a desire to connect with the divine. With asymmetrical power, there is often evidence of the manipulation of traditions. Strategic manipulation is a vehicle of change which shamans could use to produce authority. During the Chavín horizon, large changes were taking place.
Source: Wikipedia

Representation of a Chavin Shaman holding a Wachuma/San Pedro Cactus

Source: Chavín de Huántar: Evidence for an evolved shamanism by John W Rick

CUPISNIQUE
(10th century BC to 2nd century BC)

Cupisnique was a culture that developed in the northern coast of Peru.

Cactus and Jaguar

Cactus and Deer

MOCHE

(1st century BC to 8th century AD)

In Moche, the presence of women healers and priestess in ceramics, walls and tombs along with the depiction of pieces of the cactus demonstrate the use of this teacher plant in this society.

Source: Museo Larco

Source: Museo Larco

NAZCA

(1st century BC to 8th century AD)

Likely related to the arid and extreme nature of the environment, Nazca religious beliefs were centered around agriculture and fertility. Much of Nazca art depicts powerful nature gods, such as the mythical killer whale, the harvesters, the mythical spotted cat, the serpentine creature, and the most prevalent of worshiped figures, the anthropomorphic mythical being. Much as in the contemporary Moche culture based in northwest Peru, shamans apparently used hallucinogenic drugs, such as extractions from the San Pedro cactus, to induce visions. The use of such substances is also depicted in art found on pottery related to the Nazca (Silverman and Proulx, 2002). Religious events and ceremonies took place in Cahuachi. The people worshipped the nature gods to aid in the growth of agriculture.
Source: Wikipedia

Shamans, rather than priests, were the officients in Nasca rituals. Shamans were the intermediaries between the spirit world and the everyday world. They often used hallucinogenic drugs to induce visions and to gain control over supernatural forces. The use of psychedelic drugs in ancient Peruvian society has been well documented for cultures such as Moche and Chavin in the north (Cordy-Collins 1977; Donnan 1978), and their use in the Nasca Culture was suggested as early as 1980 (Dobkin del Rios and Cardenes 1980; Dobkin del Rios 1982, 1984). The most likely source of hallucinogens was the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi) and perhaps floripondium (Datura arborea) (Sharon 1978:2; 1972) Mescaline can be extracted from the San Pedro cactus by boiling sections cut from this plant. Although neither preserved remains of the cacti nor the brew itself have been found in Nasca sites, representations of rituals on the pottery depicting people drinking cups filled with a liquid obtained from large storage jars are clearly associated with representations of cacti (Fig. 15).
Source: The Nasca Culture: An Introduction
Donald A. Proulx University of Massachusetts

The Archaeological Project at Chavin de Huantar: Interview with John W Rick

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Chavín de Huántar, John Rick

By Carlo Brescia
Photographs from the Chavín de Huántar Digital Media Archive at CyArk

Article published in the magazine:
DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE AND TOURISM FROM THE PERIPHERIA
August 2006 Issue
Huaraz, Peru

In a visit in 1994 to Chavín de Huantar, during a documentary recording for the Discovery Channel, archaeologist and anthropologist John Rick asked his colleague, Peruvian archaeologist Luis Lumbreras whether there was a good map of Chavin. There wasn’t. The Stanford University professor decided to design a project to develop the definitive map of the site. In 1995 he began and still continues today.

How has the internal map of the Chavin Temple been developed?

Well, it is very difficult keep control of space and dimensions in internal spaces, therefore we have been going deeper into electronics, testing new systems in Beta version. Two years ago we did a tri-dimensional scan of the site and took around 200 millions readings very quickly. Now we know the internal and external outline of the site at a detail, a level that few sites in the world have reached. We keep filing up the place this way, but around 6 years ago we began to give more emphasis to the conservation aspects, we still do excavations with research objectives but they are always oriented towards conservation. Chavin needs a lot of conservation, and any research must take this necessity into account.

What is the significance of the Chavin National Museum?

I believe that the Chavin Museum is going to be of great significance in showing how to work in a site in a way that permits people to reconstruct it upon different hypotheses and periods. In Chavin, an ideal conservation of the site can take place without any reconstruction, just revealing the site as it is, obviously stabilizing it but avoiding the reconstruction that has been done in many sites of the country leaving them as modern and not as prehistoric places. With digital technologies we can show in the new museum a virtual image of Chavin at 1200 BC, at 800 BC, at 600, 300. For that purpose you don’t have to modify it physically and impose a unique interpretation of the site. This can be done virtually without doing any harm. The reconstruction of sites is usually irreversible: when a mistake is discovered it is often too late to correct it.

Why do you work only 8 weeks each year?

The relatively short seasons obey to various reasons. First, we have limited funding. Second, in my experience it is more important to do a strong campaign but limited in extension than doing a long one with less people and emphasis. Then, archaeological works, especially in altitude, are very exhausting: for example, the Lima students that work with us after 6 or 7 weeks they have to take holidays to recover their strength. Finally, we have the rainy season: archaeological works in this zone during this time are a disaster; you can’t call them scientific because control is very difficult.

What would happen if the economic resources are doubled?

With more resources obviously we could work in more fronts at the same time, and more important is that we could use well-known experts in conservation, not only national but also international. There are many decisions that the site requires: for example, which wall is going to be kept, and how it is going to be preserved; the lithic art, how its future is going to be guaranteed without hiding it from the tourists, and things like that. There are solutions to many of these problems but for this we must bring international level consultants, foreign or national, and the latter are not necessarily cheap to hire. If we had more funds we could employ a higher level of expertise and also move on faster with the works. In fact, it helps in everything, up to a level where this is not necessarily positive, but we are not even close to reaching this level.

How does the National Institute of Culture (INC) relate to this project?

Well, in this project we obviously have to work with the permit of the INC. In times like these, we have good relations with the management staff of the site and with the INC of Huaraz. It is not always like this but at this moment it is very fruitful because we can support mutually with equipment, personnel, contacts, communications; there are many ways we can complement efforts and we need the personnel of the INC to conserve and protect the site while we are not here.

And the relation between the project and the local government?

The role of the project in relation to the local government is to try to help people understand the significance of the resources they have and their possible management in tourism, research and conservation. There is a very positive future for cultural resources in the area but the people of Chavin must accept that these are not resources that will simply generate money and wealth. It is required an investment from them, at least in understanding it, and possibly even a in economic terms. They can’t continue thinking that this is simply the goose who lays the golden eggs. It is not like that, nowhere in the world is it like that. We have to understand our past, appreciate it and assume the identity that it offers us, but we also have to give, to share efforts and work collectively. Sometimes the group work with the local government has been difficult, sometimes it hasn’t. We always expect an improving relationship.

What is the importance of Chavin in the Americas?

Chavin is a unique site and it is no common thing to say. Chavin has extraordinary subterranean galleries; there are around 2 kilometres of them: there is no place in the new world even approaching this number. Neither is there a place in the Andean region with lithic art of this form and age. Then, there are many characteristics of the site that teach us about the early stages of authority development in the Andes. The evidence found here is much clearer than in any other site and we can more or less understand which rites were being performed: why, what was the strategy of the priests… This is not simply an ancient church: this is a place where priests actually convince people of the difference between people inside a cult and people outside it. For these last ones, to join the cult in Chavin meant a lot in terms of social status. Chavin doesn’t only show us what rites were being performed, it also show us the way these rites changed the mentality of the Andean people in a process that lead up to the Incas, these latter probably being one of the most authoritarian cultures of the world. Hence, in Chavin we are in the transition from an egalitarian society to a more differentiated one. Chavin simply gives more proofs on how this process happened, more than in any other site that I have known, at least in the new world.

What is the significance of the San Pedro cactus in Chavin culture?

The use of hallucinogenic elements, like San Pedro or huilca, was very important for the priests in Chavin as they were literally intending to enter the mind of the people, and when I say people I don’t mean the commons, but people from higher ranks that came to Chavin on pilgrimage from far away places, of which we have very strong evidence. The task of the priests was to try to change their mentality, convince them of the power of the cult. They used many elements: light, sound, architecture and probably rites of various types of which we don’t know yet. But the psychoactive elements played a very important role: when used, imagination and suggestion have a very strong effect. In my limited experience, I see San Pedro as a drug that permits that increases the effectiveness of suggestion when trying to make a person see things that one wants him to see. Summed to the effect of psychoactives, sounds, strong lights and architecture, there was also the exploration of images that are the core of Chavin lithic and ceramic art. Many of these images are very complex, one has to explore them, and if these complexities are explored by suggestion of a priest or guide a very sophisticated message can be achieved, a message that unluckily nowadays we can’t see or understand. I believe that without the use of drugs of this type, in Chavin it would have been very difficult to achieve the conversion of people to a more complex system of authority in social and political terms.

Is there something you want to say about the new discoveries?

The recent discoveries that we have made, here in the Plaza de Armas of Chavin, indicate the presence of humans since 8 to 10 thousand years ago. This evidence, summed to the other one we have gathered over the last years, show that Chavin has a culture as old as 10,000 years. This changes much the perspective because now you can’t look for the origins of Chavin in other towns and places, like Caral or Las Aldas in the coast: Chavin has archaeological evidence of the first human presence in South America. What I mean by that is that the present inhabitants of Chavin must have a very profound pride of their heritage that isn’t only the temple, this is very important but now, together with the new discoveries, Chavin can become an archaeological centre of research, conservation and tourism. I foresee a very positive future for the town and the area.

After working 12 years here in Chavin, The things you have seen and lived have changed the way you see things?

I think I have entered in to the Andean thinking about the relation between humans and the environment, but with much more profundity in to the relation amongst humans. What are these relations? When is it legitimate to gain control over other humans? What powers must one have or master in order to reach this goal? What responsibilities come with this? I believe that my understanding of the human condition has increased by what I have seen in the Temple. I have to say, honestly, that the authority development process amongst humans has not always been a positive thing. We must not make the past a romantic icon when it is not necessarily one, we must learn from it if we want to have a society that addresses the necessities and wishes of everyone. The development process of political institutions is something we must understand as they still exist nowadays. If we don’t understand well how we reached this historic moment we will have to simply let history flow without control. I think it is very important for the future of humanity to begin controlling our destiny a little bit more than it has been done up to now.

Web Page of Stanford University:

http://www.stanford.edu/~johnrick/chavin_wrap/chavin/

Trichocereus pachanoii, looking into the past from the future

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Alejandro Camino, Trichocereus

Trichocereus pachanoii, looking into the past from the future
By Alejandro Camino Diez-Canseco
Translated by: Cristine Tamayo Potter
Sculptures and pictures: Marcia de Bernardo

Article published in
DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE AND TOURISM FROM THE PERIPHERIA
June 2005 Issue

“jaguar”

Connected, bound, genetically linked to the vastly diverse forms of life with which our species has interacted intimately during fifty thousand years of its existence, our present distancing from the natural world which surrounds us is a prelude to transformation or death.Throughout our pre- and stone age history, our curiosity and intelligence have led us to discover that, inside the vast world of animal and vegetable species, a few specimens revealed themselves to be endowed with a unique nature that made them sacred, communication vehicles that grant access to parallel or intersecting realities, many of which have a causal relationship with our own daily life.A world conceived as if it were solely constituted of a single living space, intensely dissected by the unimaginable dynamics of other dimensions. In other states of consciousness, one can accede to such multidimensional virtues as would allow us to penetrate popular mythos, such as the tales of the pink dolphins of the Amazon, that on moon-lit nights leave the rivers to capture maidens unaware. Those that are captured are taken to other worlds, hidden in the depths of the river, unknown by man. Limited to a world of anthropocentric theories and the routine nature of living to survive, the man who wanders will never discover the power of spellcraft, the force of the greatest storms over the human heart.

Take also the case of the jaguar, defined by a gaze that relects, in its impenetrable pupils, the power that comes from being capable of possession. The jaguar, its skin camouflaged by light and shadow, possesses certain souls known to be inmemorial descendants of the forest: shamans which cross from one world to another, manipulating forces and powers of the most varied nature.

Those that get to live the most diverse experiences, on the footpaths that are revealed by certain plants, do not feel superior. Their spirits are immersed in the incessant whirlpool of life and death, of the continuous transformation reflected in the transit of egg to tadpole and then to toad, or the intelligence that leads us to discover the power of manure to make the earth blossom.

None is more rich in the exploration of the other states of conscience and virtual and hypernatural realities than Banisteriopsis caapi, the ayahuasca vine or rope of the spirits, mother and teacher, tuned into since the time when man lived with the forest. What times those were! Full of labyrinths more seductive than the seeming dead ends and clouded destinies of a species whose intelligence has closed into itself. A species that did not search for the levels of cosmic consciousness in the life process that the elementary lichen or moss reflect from their most remote nanobes(1).

And also, there exists our connection with stone, dust and wind. And therefore the fascination in our prehistoric eyes towards those precious stones with which temples and the most visited oracles were built, like a hierophany on the crude face of this earth. The cult of stone is, and perhaps will be again, the most symbolic expression of a protocol of communion with nature, or with the power that transforms things, turning dynamic the process of life, death and transformation, making us feel the Earth rumble under our naked heels.

“pututu”

In Chavin de Huantar, the San Pedro cactus, wachuma or Trychocereus pachanoii, is the most visible door to the discovery of other states of consciousness, a process represented by the ubiquitousness of this cactus in Chavín iconography, staging its role as sacred vehicle and door opened towards knowledge to be revealed. This complex and, today, incomprehensible reality is, for our alienated contemporary world, a perhaps already belated proposal to enter a more fulfilling path with a wider variety of alternatives for the flow of existence: a more elementary dimension, closer to the ground and the wind that blows across the mountains. And, as well, not limited because of that, as the philosophers of the pure reason proclaim, or as revealed, for example, in the ponderous processes of knowledge and aknowledgement reflected in the intricate and elaborate indigenous Amazonian mythology. A proposal of transformation, an openness to the transit through other dimensions of consciousness, vastly diverse and infinite in nature. A proposal connected with the advent of hyperdimensional physics, that is breaking down the frames and principles of contemporary science.

Chavin then, bequeaths those lessons to us. Lost in time, but not for that reason alien to the long and convoluted human story and the many challenges with which it is presented. Lessons unheard of in a time borne down by the anthropocentric dogma of our singularity; a dogma also in process of collapse, taking with it seas, forests and deserts, a voracious consumerist hunger that will finally bring us to eat our own existence.

It is clear that the road our species has taken is lined by a thousand funhouse mirrors that ensure we stay on the deadly path drawn the day we lost consciousness of what we really are. And perhaps it is the secret held in each of the seven angles of the San Pedro cactus, each pointing towards the infinite pathways and multiple dimensions that can be open to this narcissistic primate about to jump to its death in a deep well of transparent mirrors.

We must, then, dig through all the thoughts of our ancient philosophies, lessons that graced these lands for thousands of years, and visions and understandings that lived and that were shared by hundreds of villages, tribes and kingdoms. Maybe they didn’t left us potatoes and maize, quinoa and alpaca, dances and textiles, and, among many other elements of our heritage, the respect and reverence towards our mountains. There are many ancestral values to be rediscovered. For a vast ignorant majority, faith misinterpreted as the removal of idolatry permeates their consciousness in a manner as lethal as the deadliest of modern drugs. The black flag of our scientific pseudo-ethics is casting an increasingly dark shadow. Unless it is the case that the night is always darkest before the dawn over the highest peaks of the tropical Andes, when the San Pedro cactus blooms and the mama quilla, or mother moon, bids farewell.

* *  *

(1) Nanobe: the most basic and simple expression of the forms of life on our planet and beyond, as has been demonstrated by rock samples brought from other planets.

“ojo de agua”