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What drew you to being a shaman?

It was a spiritual matter for me. Ihad thought that shamans deceivedand lied to people, so I didntbelieve in them. I thought thatayahuasca healed people because

it was medicine, I didnt believe inmagic and spirits. No! Then in1967 I saw a curanderamiraculously heal my sister who hadbeen in mortal agony with hepatitis,and could not either eat or speak,but with this single healing from theplants, she was cured in just twohours. That motivated me to startlearning the science of vegetalismo.

She was given Ayahuasca?

No, the senora used the knowledgeof Ayahuasca and chanted. Thatwas during the day. That samenight I drank and received thepowers, but I didnt know what Iwas being given. I saw manythings. I sat like a king andwatched! After that I dieted for fivedays, staying at home, withoutseeing many people.

After one month I began to feelwhat everybody else was feeling, itwas a very strange thing! And Idiscovered I could sing the chantswithout even learning them. They

came out beautifully and Iwondered how it was possible that Iknew them. I realised I had powersin me and I began to be a

curanderowhen I cured a youngman with a terrible headache, firstlyI felt it and then he was better.

Is it an important part of the cure,

to feel what the patient feels?

That was how the powers were givento me, but others say that when theytake the ayahuasca, they can seewhat the problem is with theirpatient. I didnt even have to drink, Ifeltexactly where their pains were,and their emotions, everything.

What plant did

you take on your diet?

Just Ayahuasca, but afterwards Itook other plants at the same timeas Ayahuasca, to learn more things.

Then you practiced as acurandero?

Yes, and for many years I travelledto Madre de Dios, Cusco, Lima,Huanuco, Tingo Maria and AltoUcayali. Wherever I went I curedpeople. Pucullpa at that time wasmuch smaller. The houses weremostly wooden, with cultivationbehind them, there were no highbuildings. None of the streets hadtarmac, they were of red mud,except for the one central plaza.The road to Lima was terrible and it

took a month or more to get there.

How do you communicate

with plant spirits after you

SHISSUE 53 200616

THE AYAHUASCA VISIONS OF

PabloAmaringo

PABLO AMARINGO is one of the worlds greatest

visionary artists, renowned for his highly complex,

colourful and intricate paintings of his visions from

drinking the Ayahuasca brew

HOWARD G CHARING and PETER CLOUDSLEY

met with Pablo at the school which he founded,

the Usko-Ayar School of Painting, in Pucullpa,

where he lives and paints.In this rare interview

Pablo talks to them about his life as a shaman and

artist and the magical images he creates

Pablo Amaringo trained as a

curandero in the Amazon, healing himself

and others from the age of ten. He gave this

up in 1977 to become a full-time painter

and art teacher at his Usko-Ayar school

His book, Ayahuasca Visions: the ReligiousIconography of a Peruvian Shaman, co-

authored with Luis Eduardo Luna, brought his

work and the rich mythology of the Amazon to

a wide audience in the West

Pablo Amaringo was born in Puerto Libertad, in

the Peruvian Amazon. He was ten years old

when he first took ayahuasca, a visionary brew

used in shamanism, to help him overcome a

severe heart disease

The healing he received led Pablo towardthe life of a vegetalismo [plant healer] in

which he worked for many years

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take them into you?

When you take any plant other thanayahuasca, you connect throughyour dreams; ajo sacha, chricsanango, bobinsana etc., you learnwhile you are asleep. But withAyahuasca, no. You are consciousand awake. That is why it is the

planta maestra- the eye throughwhich you see the world, theuniverse. It is miraculous andsacred and you can learn from yourstudies far more with ayahuascathan with other plants, but you mustobey the statutes of this plant, therules. If you obey, no knowledgewill be withheld from you.

My visions helped meunderstand the value of humanbeings, animals, the plantsthemselves, and many other things.The plants taught me the functionthey play in life, and the holisticmeaning of all life. We all shouldgive special attention and deferenceto Mother Nature. She deservesour love. And we should also showa healthy respect for her power!

How did you discover

your gift of painting?

I used to make portraits andlandscapes when I was twentyyears old, but mostly usingcharcoal. But this didnt earn me

any money so I dedicated myself toother things, agriculture, raisinganimals and hairdressing, all kindsof things. I was working assecretary to the chief of customshere in the port of Pucullpa. Oneday my boss told me to paint twoarmchairs, and as I had neverpainted, I just slapped on the paintany old how and it looked awful,with lumps everywhere. But theboss didnt reprimand me, he saidHow come you are good ateverything except painting? I wasa little hurt because he was alwaysso impressed by everything I did.This made me think that if I wasgoing to learn to paint, I wouldlearn to do it well.

After three years working there Ihad a heart problem and returnedto doing portraits in pencil,beginning with my own portrait.

How did you

begin painting visions?

Years passed and I used to say to

my mother, When I am older I willpaint several pictures of myself sothat after I am dead people willknow there has been a painter in

the family! One day I was asked toaccompany a foreign gentlemanbecause I spoke a little English, butI did not know that he was thebiologist Denis McKenna. Aftersome years he recommended mefor a job in Sepagua, but I was notable to take it up because my

mother fell ill. So when he cameback in 1985 I asked him if hewould show my pictures in anexhibition he was organizing inSwitzerland. They were smallpictures, but later he returned withLuis Eduardo Luna who said Howbeautifully you paint Pablo. I canpromote your work, do you want tobe a world class painter?

I said No, I dont want any ofthose things. I dont know what aworld class painter is. I just wantyou to help me sell my pictures tomake a little money. I wasportraying the daily realities ofpeople in the Amazon, how they sowand harvest, how they fish andcelebrate their fiestas and so on.Luna said How is it I havent metyou before now? Every year I havebeen coming for the last eight years,travelling up the Amazon throughBrazil and Peru to Panama!

I asked him why he came, whatwas he looking for?

We are interested in the

magical plants of Peru from thecoast, sierra and selva.

I know what you are after Isaid. I used to be a shaman tenyears ago, what a shame youdidnt know me before, but now Ihave put all that behind me. I couldhave told you so much about what Ihad seen, I said.

Then I started to think that Icould paint for him all the things Ihad seen in my visions and all thethings that were explained to me.But I had to do it in secret becauseeven when people saw photos ofwhat I painted, they said I hadgone mad, that I was bedevilled,and painting things of the demon!

They worried me with theseremarks. I could never have had anexhibition here in Pucullpa. SoLuna said Paint for me then. AndI made two pictures of visions forhis next visit, and when he sawthose pictures - one of which is inthe Museum of Washington DCand the other in the University of

Stockholm - they took hundreds ofpictures of them. But I said hecould take them away. And thatswhat they did, wrapped up in a

huge box.They soldthem and sentme the money.After that theysaid we dontwant any morelandscapes,

only visions!They

studied themand said theyfoundlanguage andbiology in thepictures, solater I beganto makeexplanations ofthem. But Icould nevershow them topeople here.Thats how itall started.

Are people still prejudiced here?

Yes, many are still. Once somereligious people came and said thatif the name of Jesus was spokenthe paintings would explode. Andthey asked me to say Jesus. Isaid I cant say that word, whatfor? They said to each other, Hehas got the devil in him, if he says

Jesus, he will explode!

You have many amazing

paintings here in your

studio, can you tell us

something about them?

The pictures are a means by whichpeople can cross spiritualboundaries. Some people say theycan only believe what they see, butthere are things which exist whichcannot be seen. The pictures arefor reminding people what we are,and where we come from, andwhere we are going. They are forpeople of any culture in the world,although there is much that istaken from indigenous Amazonianculture. For example: A FinesEspirituales (Spiritual Endeavour)

In this painting there are

horses like humans, humans

with tigers heads and a

papagayo with a human body

and so on. Looking at this

painting, it reminds us of many

of the Amazonian legends inwhich animals adopt human

forms. Does this painting relate

to these stories?

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Then Istarted to

think thatI could paint

for him allthe things I

had seen inmy visions

and all

the thingsthat wereexplained

to me

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That is correct, spirits cannotmaterialize easily, if they cannottake human form, they take animalform. They are made from the

spirits of animals, but if they appearhuman, then they can reproducewith women in order that they canbe incarnate in us. This is what you

can discover through thevisions of ayahuasca andother plants like to, chricsanango, ajo sacha etc.assuming you do the dietcorrectly, then the invisibleworld can become manifestto us. It is part of our mystic

evolution. Everyone has arole to play inspiring,creating, evolving their mindsto preserve the world. Thespirits are working untiringlyto protect Mother Nature -everything from the plantsand animals to the circles ofthe planets.

You touch on an

important point about

protecting nature.

There is an increasing

amount of damage that

people are causing to the

natural world. What is

your view why humans do

so much damage?

It is our lack of ingenuity, andabove all, imagination. Wethink we are the only oneshere on earth, unique! We

should all work like scientists,teachers, composers so that wecan fully and creatively engage inthe world, so in that way the world

continues. If we play a part in thefunctioning of the universe we willnot die. When I am old and aboutto die and cannot see well enough

to paint, I will be talking otherthings instead, but I can still paintnow and I am sixty-eight.

The plants in the painting areishanga, maromara, pinon blanco,pinon colorado and pinon negro,lengua de perro, and verbena. Theethnic elements are Shipibo, Conibo,

Shetebo, Amahuaca, and you cansee the spells and spaceships.

In the painting Hondas de laAyahuasca (Ayahuasca Waves) isrepresented the different grades ofshaman. A suniruma is the highestexpert sitting here, with dominionof the sky, then banco pumaorbanco sumiwho has dominion ofthe land, finally the murayawhohas dominion over the water.

You can see waves just like theeffects of Ayahuasca - themareacion. It comes strongly and itseems as if it is passing and thenanother one comes, like wavesfrom a stone in the water. This isthe sachamamawhich comes indifferent colours in the mareacionand protects the vegetation. It is asemi-mythological animal becauseit actually exists, a huge serpentwhich lives on the land but doesntmove, so plants grow on top of it.You can be chopping a path withyour machete and strike it

unknowingly, until blood appears! Ifit sees you, it draws you into itsmouth with its power, you cannotescape. You can see here theseven rays of the rainbow whichportray this power.

You can also see angel serpentsorsarafswho protect thesachamama.

In Sinchi Pucalpuna (RedCeiba Tree), in its round cupola yousee an old woman who lives there,and comes down these stairs to acity. The guardian of the city is acock hen. She administers to allthe virgin maidens, teaching themall they should know. You can seeCyclops, black people, red skinnedpeople like monkeys protecting thecupola of the tree.

Ayahuasca was known to theancient Peruvians, the Waris andChancas, as also King Solomon. Youcan also see here the Huayramama(Mother of the Wind), which therainbow comes out of. And you can

see where the great spirits who havelearned all the sciences enter, to seeall the great old people who are inother dimensions.

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AFINES

ESPIRITUALES

HONDAS DE

LA AYAHUASCA

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And you can see an Ayahuascasession in progress and peoplesemotions conflicting with theangels. In ancient times, whenpeople were not so corruptspiritually and emotionally, theangels came out and walked freelyon earth. Now people are too

astute and wily and they dont wantto have anything to do with them.The same has happened with themermaids, also depicted: beforeyou would see loads of them onthe River Ucayali. Ive seen them.

In Yacaruna Huasi (TheYacarunas House.) we see theyacaruna, who are people that liveunder the river in tunnels whichare pictured here, and they leadto another world, as you see.They play musical instruments toenchant people at midnight whenall is silent under the moonlight.You can see dolphins, manatee(sea-cow), electric eel andcharapa mamawhich are marineturtles. Then there are muraya(Shipibo shamans), water dogs,water horses and fish which flywhen it rains very hard and fallout of the sky.

Would you like to add

anything more about the

importance of plants?For me personally, though, theymean even more than this. Plants-in the great living book of nature- have shown me how to studylife as an artist and shaman. Theycan help all of us to know theart of healing and to discoverour own creativity, because thebeauty of nature moves peopleto show reverence, fascination,and respect for the extent towhich the forests give shelter toour souls.

The consciousness of plantsis a constant source ofinformation for medicine,alimentation, and art, and anexample of the intelligence andcreative imagination of nature.Much of my education I owe tothe intelligence of these greatteachers. Thus I considermyself to be therepresentative of plants, andfor this reason I assert that ifthey cut down the trees and

burn whats left of therainforests, it is the same asburning a whole library of bookswithout ever having read them.

People who are not sodedicated to the study andexperience of plants may notthink this knowledge is soimportant to their lives - but eventhey should be conscious of thenutritional, medicinal, andscientific value of the plants they

rely on for life.My most sublime desire,

though, is that every human beingshould begin to put as muchattention as he or she can into theknowledge of plants, because theyare the greatest healers of all. Andall human beings should also puteffort into the preservation andconservation of the rainforest, andcare for it and the ecosystem,because damage to these not onlyprejudices the flora and fauna buthumanity itself.

Even in the Amazon thesedays, many see plants as only aresource for building houses andto finance large families. Peoplewho have farms and raise animalsalso clear the forest to producefoodstuffs. Mestizos and nativeIndians log the largest trees tosell to industrial sawmills forsubsistence. They have neverheard of the word ecology!

I, Pablo, say to everybody who

lives in the Amazon and the otherforests of the world, that theymust love the plants of their land,and everything that is there.

This expression of love mustbe a sincere and altruistic interestin the lasting well-being of others.We are not here simply to exist,but to enjoy life together withplants, animals, and loved ones,and to delight in contemplation ofthe beauty of nature. A shamanhas in his mind and heart theattitude of conserving naturebecause he knows that life is forenjoying the company of thisworlds countless delights.

More about PABLO AMARINGO seewww.pabloamaringo.com

PETER CLOUDSLEY has built up anexstensive archive of traditional Peruvianmusic and interviews. He teachescourses on music and popular culture inLatin America.

HOWARD G. CHARING is a co-directorof Eagle's Wing Centre. He has studiedplant spirit medicine with shamans andhealers of the Andes, Amazon Rainforest,and the Philippines. He has been

initiated in the lineage of the Maestros ofthe Rio Napo community in the UpperAmazon and has been baptised into theShipibo tribe. Howard organises journeysto meet and work with these maestros.

www.shamanism.co.uk (01273) 882 027

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SINCHI PUCALPUNA

YACARUNA HUASI