4th International Amazonian Shamanism Conference
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
1
129
221
Trip End
Ongoing
Iquitos,
Peru
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The name of this years conference was Magic, Myths and Miracles and was held from July 19th-27th at the El Parthenon Hotel. This was a wonderful event where we spent time attending the conference and participating in some Ayahuasca (vine) and Huachuma (Cactus) and coca leaf medicine ceremonies with shamans who are not usually easily accessible without apprenticing or doing dietas with them. We also ate some Peruvian mushrooms of the magic variety. Now we can´t imagine our lives if Mother Ayahuasca and the other sacred plants weren`t a part of them and we have much gratitude to them and to Pachamama (Mother Earth) for all the gifts we recieved this past week. We had so many wonderful conversations with the plants themselves and with conscious, awakened people about the plants and the work that healers are doing to help raise human consciousness. We ate nearly everyday at The Yellow Rose Of Texas and at La Noche on the boulevard even though it was Westren food because we always met some good people to talk to there. Transport to and from the conference was by mototaxi tuk-tuks.
The conference was opened by the illustrious visionary scientist, Dr.Dennis Mckenna, the late Terrence McKenna´s (ethnobotanist, philosopher, writer) brother. Mr McKenna presented a wonderful speech. Other presenters included a master of sound healing Dr. Richard Grossman, the brilliant entheo-scientist and lecturer, Ananda (by video), the Indiana Jones of Amazon Shamanism and noted journalist Peter Gorman, the Amazon's most famous visionary painter Pablo Amaringo, the filmmaker and director Jan Kounen who brought us the documentary Other Worlds about Ayahuasca and the Shipibo tribes and Renegade (Blueberry), the intrepid Victoria Alexander speaking on her research of Medieval Mysticism and Its Empirical Kinship to Ayahuasca, Dr. John Alexander and his years of training and research on Remote Viewing (This refers to the attempt to gather information about a distant or unseen target using paranormal means or extra-sensory perception), conference organizer Alan Shoemaker speaking on 15 years in shamanism, the visionary artists Robert Venosa and Martina Hoffman and two curanderas specializing in Huachuma (San Pedro cactus) Wendy Luckey (Lady Luck) and Mary Ann Endowes (Aeli). I most enjoyed the talks by Hoffman and Venosa who told their life stories and presented many of their paintings. We bought two prints as well as six other visionary artworks by a Peruvian artist and some nice organic Amazonian jewellery made from seeds, Ayahuasca bark, feathers, teeth and bones. I bought a beautiful piece of Amber with a leaf floating in it from a vendor in the street for a very low price. The Shipibu ladies had all their best embroidery work on display and we picked up quite a few of these fabrics too.
The most powerful healers from Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Westren countries were there including Elisa Vargas Fernandez, the Shipibo curandera who works magic with her incredible icaros (traditional medicine songs used for healing), Leon Fidel, Javier Aravalo, Javier De Silva, Percy Garcia, Aeli Ronan Yaka, Ron Wheelock, Pedro Navarro, Jose Vasquez, Don Augustin Rivas and a few more, each very different to each other. There were additionally a couple of traditional bone-setting healers who were very popular with punters. Some of the curanderos gave presentations and some sang their icaros. There was panel discussions and questions time.
Don Augustin Rivas, a white witch told the story of the history of the world according to the Shamans. I was immediately drawn to this eccentric, master ayahuasquero as soon as he entered the room in his white suit with silver stars and holding his staff. I knew in that moment i would be drinking Ayahuasca with him. The guy is a magik man indeed and there is rumour that the Dalai Lama will be drinking Ayahuasca with him at his property next week. Very special. He has held ceremonies with the Queen Mother and with Sathya Sai Baba. Don Augustin played a pan pipe flute and shaman`s drum.
We also had a go at bending spoons with John Alexander and watched a film called ¨Shamans of The Amazon¨ which an adventurous guy named Dean Jefferies from Australia had produced. We ate a basic dinner everynight and watched some traditional dancing. We also spent lots of time talking with other participants during the breaks and before and after the conference and chilling out at Peter Gorman`s table where he was injecting people with Sapo, selling mushrooms, Johnny Java`s artworks and incense and blowing Nu-Nu snuff in people`s noses all the while drinking chicha and telling jungle stories. Lots of people were interested in the Sapo shots we had done earlier and we were happy to tell people about our experiences with it.
In Plants we trust!
