Iquitos, Peru 2: Meeting with a Shaman

Meeting with a Shaman

March 2016, Iquitos (Peru)

There are many shamans hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest and many foreigners and local people are visiting them

Northern Peru has a rich history in the traditional medicine and the area is known as the ‘health axis’ of South America. Many indigenous tribes like Cocama, Urarina, Yagua and Bora still live in the rainforests around the upper stream of Amazon river. So here I am, in the remote city of Iquitos, on my way to meet the famous shamans and to learn more about their culture.

I sailed from Iquitos with Eduardo Cuellar, local photo journalist, and Joel Huaymana Sangama, a small boat owner from indigenous origin. Shortly after our departure, we turn to one of tributaries of Amazon river – Rio Nanay. Due to the differences in temperature, speed and water density of Amazon and Nanay, the meeting point of two rivers is really impressive. Amazon river water appears in light brown, while Nanay is a blackwater river. This phenomenon can be seen again in downstream of Amazon river where Rio Negro joins.

Shaman

Short while later we moored at Padre Cocha – it’s the first village on our way located at the river bank of Nanay. Then we have to take a mototaxi in order to reach Don Luis Rimachi’s healing center. Despite having made arrangement in advance for a meeting, Don Luis has not been informed about it so he went to Iquitos to buy herbs for tonight’s ayahuasca ceremony. So we were left without a choice and prepare ourselves to spend the day waiting for Rimachi. Fortunately, Joel had no such intention so he offered us to visit another shaman. They are quite a lot and every healing center has a shaman. Although many of them were created due to increase of foreign visitors, indigenous tribes used such centers for past centuries as their single access to medicine.
The global roots of traditional medicine leads to Cupisnique culture in 1000 B.C. It was a Pre-Colombian culture which flourished in Northern Peru and parts of Ecuador Pacific Coast. During all these years, the traditional medicine was kept alive here due to many circumstances like availability of natural resources and culture of indigenous tribes. And despite the conventional medicine development, today many locals and foreigners as well still prefer to entrust their health to shamans, instead of hospitals.

Don Lucho

We are now going to Luis Culquitón famous as ‘Don Lucho’. He is from Manacamiri – a small farming community on the river bank of Nanay. The roots of inhabitants here are related to an indigenous tribe called Cocama. I haven’t make any appointment so that could be a problem. So we left our boat in Manacamiri and headed to Kapitari Healing Center where Don Lucho is located. The distance from the Nanay river bank to Kapitari is approximately 4 km and we need to walk them since there are no longer mototaxis available. After walking through muddy jungle path we finally reach the healing center. We were welcomed at the entrance by locals involved in banana picking at the surrounding plantation. The whole center is quite big and includes vast area of rainforest, plantations of cacao, bananas and any other fruits, vegetables and herbs. Wooden lodges are seen among them, as well as small lake and special place for ceremonies. Fortunately, at the time of our arrival a kind of ritual takes place so we were able to observe how small group of indigenous people walk around in a circle while singing in unrecognizable language.

Don Lucho is nearby and while waiting for him, I had a short conversation with some visitors coming mainly from Europe and North America. Here comes the shaman. Despite his almost 70 years, Don Lucho looks quite younger. He is one of the most famous shamans in Peruvian Amazon because of his skills in the field of traditional medicine. Recently he visited Italy to treat patients so he is already known in Europe.

It was 4 PM and I still hadn’t had breakfast so gladly took a meal. The food was vegetarian and all visitors eat it during their treatment – it’s really important to purify themselves. But the most important part of treatment process are Ayahuasca ceremonies. It’s a magical brew made from plants that grow in Amazon jungle, containing DMT (Dimethyltryptamine). Due to it’s powerful psychedelic effects, DMT has been classified as a Schedule I drug by DEA. However locals do not accept this drug classification, because ayahuasca doesn’t lead to addiction and is usually taken once. Moreover it has been proven that Ayahuasca treats drug addictions.

I can’t try ayahuasca now, because it means one more week in the jungle. But after being under pressure all day long, Don Lucho gave me an extract of cocona leaves. It has an instant effect so I am finally ready to proceed with the interview…

- Don Lucho, how one can become a shaman?

- It’s a bit like studying medicine to be a doctor. You need to study at least 10 years. In the beginning I had some receipts from my grandfathers, from my family, of course. But the rest is a gift from my connection to the nature. I had some visions that showed me how to do. I studied a bit of technical medicine because you have to know a lot of plants and their effects. You have to stay humble, to manage the dose of plants. And the biggest secret is to make strict diet. That’s how I found a way to treat the people.

- Is traditional medicine a substitute of conventional one?

- No. We have to use both traditional and conventional medicine. They work in different way for the people and they work together. The advantage of traditional medicine is that you can get the same effect easier and cheaper. In the hospital, you can get a diagnostics and analysis for a lot of money. The same you can get just in one ceremony with ayahuesca. Last but not least, natural treatments don’t have side effects and you can see the result immediately, unlike the medicines. That’s why people come here.

- What kind of treatments they look for?

- They treat mainly drug addictions, stress, psychological problems and physical problems related to stomach and hearth, skin problems and all other kind of sickness.

- Is there a competition between all the shamans in the region?

Indeed they are quite a lot, not only here, but also in Brazil and Ecuador. This is good because more diversity we have means more solutions to people. It’s not about money. There is no competition, but there’s a lot of jealously.

- Can you export traditional medicine outside Amazon?

- The traditional medicine is related to the plants we use and it’s not so simple to export them. For example, when I went to Italy I brought a Cocona plant. It helps for the blood pressure, cholesterol and the heart in general by very simple way. People liked it because the effect Is immediate. But to produce and export more first I have to get a laboratory, then I will be able make these treatments around the world. That costs a lot and for that moment, I don’t have these money. Also in the ceremonies we do it’s important participants to have a connection with the nature, that’s why we involve the local indigenous tribes in the process. We should not forget the need to legislative changes. Then we will be able to export effectively our medicine abroad.

- What advice could you give to people who practice traditional medicine over the world?

- In every country, there is much of knowledge about traditional medicine. We are all equal. The thing is to start cooperation around all the world. Then we would be stronger and we could work together with conventional medicine to achieve much more. It’s a need for the all. Because if we coordinate ourselves we could make something more sustainable.

This article was originally published in The Economist's magazine Bulgarian issue No. 21, May 2016 in the series called 'Cultiral Travel Guide'.

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Credits: Luis Culquiton – Don Lucho (Shaman, Kapitari Center), Renaud Leglise (Contributor, Kapitari Center), Eduardo Cuellar (Photo Journalist, Iquitos), Joel Huaymana Sangama (Boat Owner, Bellavista–Nanay Port)