Portrait of Victoria Chamik, indigenous Awajun and connoisseur of medicinal...READ ON
Portrait of Victoria Chamik, indigenous Awajun and connoisseur of medicinal plants, holding a snail shell. The myths about the Awajun origin refer to a time when the sea covered the forest and left the snails behind when it retreated. Thus the Awajun people would not forget this event.
Language is a system of symbolic signs that serves us to communicate and to...READ ON
Language is a system of symbolic signs that serves us to communicate and to configure our thinking, in relation to how we perceive and relate to a territory. The names of plants in indigenous languages reveal secrets. A word can be a concept, a plant name can be a recipe, knowledge of how to use it. Thus, for hundreds of years, indigenous peoples have kept their knowledge and their way of relating to the forest through language.
Portrait of Elber Manuel Ruiz smoking tobacco in the forest at night. Elber...READ ON
Portrait of Elber Manuel Ruiz smoking tobacco in the forest at night. Elber inherited from his ancestors the ritualistic habit of smoking natural tobacco, which initiates long and deep conversations between wise men and women. But also, according to Bora cosmology, tobacco is a way of communication with the beings of the forest, protective spirits of biodiversity.
Yolanda Ruiz, Bora leader, in front of her maloca, a place where they...READ ON
Yolanda Ruiz, Bora leader, in front of her maloca, a place where they practice rituals of their culture but also a meeting place for wise men and women.
Portrait of Jose Luis Flores applying the ambil or ampiri, a paste made of...READ ON
Portrait of Jose Luis Flores applying the ambil or ampiri, a paste made of tobacco leaf that he prepares himself in the community's Maloca. According to the Bora cosmovision, this tobacco paste is what awakens the knowledge and the language.
The hand of Nelita Rodriguez and her granddaughter. Nelita is an Iskonawa...READ ON
The hand of Nelita Rodriguez and her granddaughter. Nelita is an Iskonawa indigenous woman who aged 10 years old was forced to leave her territory and was put in a situation of initial contact. Today, Nelita is one of the last 4 Iskonawa to speak her original language. Her culture, language and history are at risk of extinction.
Portrait of Sanken Runa covered with a banana tree leaf in the Shipibo-Konibo...READ ON
Portrait of Sanken Runa covered with a banana tree leaf in the Shipibo-Konibo urban community in Lima. Runa is a medicine woman, she inherited her knowledge from her father who passed away in 2017. Like many indigenous people of the Amazon, Runa migrated to the city along with her knowledge.
Portrait of Yolanda Ruiz, a woman leader who for many years managed the...READ ON
Portrait of Yolanda Ruiz, a woman leader who for many years managed the Maloca, meeting place of wise men and women Bora, with her husband Manuel. When he passed away, Yolanda was very saddened. That is why her children treated her with the tobacco plant. According to Bora cosmology, the tobacco leaf has beneficial properties to redress sorrowful souls.
The use of psychoactive plants is intimately linked to indigenous animism,...READ ON
The use of psychoactive plants is intimately linked to indigenous animism, attributing souls to plants. Beyond being considered living beings, plants have a central place and role in indigenous society.
According to Awajun cosmology, human beings have two spirits: the first is...READ ON
According to Awajun cosmology, human beings have two spirits: the first is the Iwaji, which can be found in the iris and pupil of the eye. The other, is called Iwakani and is part of the shadow of the body. The Iwaji fades away when a person dies. But the Iwakani stays and becomes something known as Iwanch, a wandering spirit that shapes itself in various guises in the forest and protects it.
Environmental defenders and indigenous healers in Peru are risking their lives to protect their last spiritual connection to the medicinal plants of the Amazon. The plants breathe, feel and communicate with each other, their environment and animals, using light and other chemical processes. "How do healers manage to find the exact properties, when there are 80 thousand species of higher plants in the forest? There is one chance in 6.4 billion to find the right recipe," says anthropologist Jeremy Narby. The Ashaninka and Bora healers maintain that their knowledge about the specific use of plants, alone or mixed, is the result of dialogues with the plants themselves. The spirits of the plants. Through their recipes, they use the psychoactive chemical that leads them to different states of consciousness. Over hundreds of years, this has provided them with key information on how to survive in the vast territory of the Amazon.
However, extractive activities are destroying their world. In Peru, more than 203,272 hectares of rainforest have been deforested in the last two years, 37% more than 2019 with raising numbers. Narco traffickers, illegal loggers, miners and others moved in to have control over the Amazon natural resources. Since 2020 alone, 20 leaders and environmental defenders have been assassinated. The Amazon indigenous people of Peru are disappearing and, along with them, vital knowledge about the use of the rarest plants is vanishing.
I strongly believe that the moment we become aware of the physical and spiritual connection of indigenous peoples with plants, we will all be able to get involved in its protection. I trust photography is a legitimate medium to make their sensitive world known, to raise their voice and bring their point of view to the world. An archive to celebrate them and to raise awareness to future generations.
Los defensores del bosque y curanderos indígenas arriesgan sus vidas para salvaguardar la última conexión espiritual con las plantas medicinales de la Amazonia peruana. Las plantas respiran, sienten y se comunican entre sí, con su entorno y con los animales, utilizando la luz y otros procesos químicos. "¿Cómo logran los curanderos encontrar las propiedades exactas, cuando hay 80 mil especies de plantas superiores en el bosque? Hay una posibilidad en 6.4 billones para encontrar la receta correcta", afirma el antropólogo Jeremy Narby. Los curanderos Ashaninka y Bora sostienen que sus conocimientos sobre el uso específico de las plantas, solas o mezcladas, nacen de diálogos con ellas mismas. Con los espíritus de las plantas. A través de sus recetas, usan el químico psicoactivo que les lleva a diferentes estados de conciencia. A lo largo de cientos de años, esto les ha proporcionado información clave sobre cómo sobrevivir en el vasto territorio de la Amazonia.
Sin embargo, las actividades extractivas están destruyendo su mundo. En Perú, se han deforestado más de 203.272 hectáreas de bosque en los últimos dos años, un 37% más que en 2019 con cifras crecientes. Narcotraficantes, madereros ilegales, mineros y otros han tomado el control de los recursos naturales. Solo desde 2020, 20 líderes y defensores han sido asesinados. Los indígenas de la Amazonía peruana están desapareciendo y, junto con ellos, se desvanecen conocimientos vitales sobre el uso de las plantas más raras.
En el momento en que seamos conscientes de la conexión física y espiritual de los pueblos indígenas con las plantas, todos podremos implicarnos en su protección. Confío en que la fotografía sea un medio legítimo para dar a conocer su mundo sensible, para alzar su voz y aportar su punto de vista al mundo. Un archivo para celebrarlos y sensibilizar a las generaciones futuras.