THEMAGICALWORLDOF

PABLOAMARINGO

ATALKATTHE GLOBETROTTERSCLUB BYPETERCLOUDSLEY JUNE2012 www.ayahuascavisions.com

GlobetrottersClublecturegivenatDragonHall,9thJune2012
Weknowhowpowerfularetheemotionsthatinspireustogotravelling.Something haschangedthatsomanypeoplegotoPerutotakepartinceremonieswithsha mans.Whyisithappening?IfyougotoIquitos,acityof400,000intheAmazon, onlyaccessiblebyplaneorboat,youfindaverystrongAmazonianculture.While ontheoutskirtsareanevergrowingnumberofcentreswhereforeignerscandrink ayahuascawithashaman. Previously,travellerstoPeruwereattractedtosacredsitesandruinswherethere mighthavebeendancingandfiestas,butoutsidersweremoreobserversthanpar ticipants.Intoday'stalk,IwouldliketousePabloAmaringospaintingsasameans toexplorethenewphenomenonofparticipationinayahuascaceremonies. Pablowasashamanuntil1978whenhestoppedbeingashamanordrinkingaya huascaanddedicatedhislifetopaintinghisvisions.Hewasagreatandwiseman yetwithnoformaleducationhewascompletelyselftaughtineverything,includ ingpainting.Itisamazing,seeingthathewasofsuchahumblebackground,and borninaremoteriverportontheAmazonwherehisfamilyraiseddomesticani malsandbroughtthemonthesteamertosellinthecityofIquitosyetnowhis workisknowninmanycountriesofEurope,theUnitedStatesandJapan. Theworld,particularlyWesterncivilization,hasrecentlyturnedupsidedown.One cangeneralizeaboutcivilizationsandsaythattheyseemtodoverywellaslongas theyaregrowingbutthentheygettoapointfromwhichtheycannotgrowany more.TheMayaexhaustedtheirsoils,thepeopleofEasterIslanddestroyedtheir foreststobuildtheirgiganticstatuesandtheMochicairrigatedtheirlandstoo muchsothattheybecamesalineandsoon. Alltheseoncegreatcivilizationscameupagainstenvironmentalbufferstocheck theincreaseofevergrowingpopulations.Thismaybeonethingwhenithappensin specificpartsoftheworldbuttodayitisglobalandhappeningalmosteverywhere. WhereasEuropemaybegoingintodecline,Peruisoneofthefastestgrowing economiesinLatinAmerica.Forexample,thereareprojectsforsixgiganticnew damsinthePeruvianAmazonwhichwillfloodhugeareasofforestandconse quentlygeneratevastamountsofmethanefromunderthewater.Weallknowit cantgoon.

Agoodreligion,asweretheearlyreligionsandtraditionalformsofshamanism, wouldkeepabalancebetweenthepopulationandwhattheytookfromnature.But ingeneral,ascivilizationsbecomebigger,theelitebecomemorepowerfulandre ligionbecomessubservientand corruptedintoameansofso cialcontrol.Verysubtlyrelig ionsturnaround,andjustify inequalityandtherapeofna ture. Thistalliesinterestinglywith whatmanymythshavetosay, forexampleinPeruyouhave thePachacuti,whichseestime ascyclic.Attheendofthecycle comesaninversionofsocialor der,thehumbleandpoorfind justiceagainandhavetheir comeuppance. RememberthatAtahualpa playedchesswithPizzarowhile thefamousransomroominCa jamarcawasfilledtothebrim withgoldobjectsbroughtfrom farandwide.Afterthathe shouldhavebeenfreed,but AyarAucabyPabloAmaringo outoffearofretaliation,the Spanishrealizedtheyhadtokill himanyway.Sotheychoppedhisbodyintomanypartsandburiedthemindiverse placessothattherewouldbenochanceofhisbodybeingveneratedandsofo mentingrevolution. IntheIncaReymyth,orinkarri,thelegs,arms,headandbodywouldonedayrein tegrateundergroundandrestorejusticeafter500years.PablosimagesoftheInca Reyareapowerfulreminderofsomethingdeeplyrootedinthesubconscious.

JEHUASUPAI

JEHUASUPAI ThepaintingJehuaSupaidepictsashamanconcentratinginanaguajepalmgrove anaturaltempleandaverybeautifulplaceinwhichtomeditate.Itisguardedby allkindsofcreaturesandsnakes,fromanyonewhowoulddestroyorexploitit. Pinkdolphinsdanceinthebackgroundwithmermaids.Thespiritsareallaround, eventhecloudshavefacestheyarepuyurunasorcloudpeople. Pablowasconcernedaboutthedestructionoftherainforest,notleastbecauseof themedicinalplantsthatgrowthere.Theseworknotsimplyforphysicalailments, butsomecanhealmodernillnessessuchasalienation,depressionandthefeeling ofnotbeingfullyalive.Theycanconnectyoutolivingafulllifeagain. Personally,Iwouldalwayspreferplantmedicinetopharmaceuticals;notonlydo thesecostbillionsofpoundstodevelop,whileplantsarefree,buttheymayhave dreadfulsideeffects.Itisratherdeceitfultocallthemsideeffects,asthoughonly troublesomepatientssufferfromthemwheninactualfact,sideeffectsareex ceedinglycommon. Medicinalplantsareunderthreatfromourcivilizationwhichseestheuseofthem asbackward,yettheyaremiraculousbecauseeveryoneisuniqueyetthereisal waysonewhichwillheal.Inaddition,youcanlearnfromyourhealingprocesshow tolivemoreharmoniously.Thisiswheretheshamancomesin,toguideyoutothe rightplantandmediatewithitsspiritthroughicarosorchants.

Butreallyweshouldalllearntobeourownshamansifwewanttoavoidthetrapof dependencythathumanbeingsconstantlyfallinto.Firstwearepacifiedanddo mesticated,then,graduallywebecomepartofthecorruptsystem.Butshamans aregoodforyouwhenyouhaveaspecificproblembecause,intheirapprentice ship,theygoaloneintothedepthsoftheforestforsixmonthsormoretolearn howtocalltheplantspiritsthroughlearningtheiricaros.Everyplantandanimal forthatmatterhasaspiritwhichcanbecalledbymeansofthecorrecticaroto healyou.Thisisimportantbecauseplantsdonotonlyhavepharmaceuticalproper tiesbutmagicalhealingpropertieswhichworkinadifferentway,andrequirethe mediationofashaman. Whenyoutaketeacherplantssuchasayahuascayoucanlearnthingsdirectly fromthem.Peopleofallagesandfromdiversepartsoftheworldhavesaidthat thisisthevoiceofGod,butreligiousauthoritieshavefeltthreatenedbythis.Pablo wroteintheforewordtothenewbookthateveninthe1980shehadtobecareful nottoupsetthelocalchurchbutthatnowhefeltmorefreetoexpresshimself.

BARCOFANTASMA

BARCOFANTASMA
InthepaintingBarcoFantasma,Isuggest,wearelookingatthebeginningofmagi calrealism,aworldlaterexploredintheliteratureofGarciaMarquezandVargas Llosa,inwhichhistoricalfactismingledwithmyth,legendandafreeimagination. WhentheAmazonianIndianscaughttheirfirstglimpseofthesteamshipsofthe rubberbaronscominguptheirriver,theywereflummoxed.Itwasaheadonclash betweentheirprimordialcosmologyandWesterncivilization.Theonlywayofmak ingsenseoutofwhattheysawwasbybelievingthesteamertobeaspirit.Here youseethisinPablospicture.Electriclightandsteambelchingfromafunnel theyhadneverbeforeseenanythinglikeit! OneofthecharmsoflivingintheAmazonisthatthepeoplearenaturallygreat storytellersandtheyreadilylapseintoamagicalworldwhenevertheygetthe chance.Inthispicture,thephantomshipiswelcomedbymermaids,beingsandlo calspirits.Theelegantlydressedsailorsrepresentthehierarchyincivilizationwhich correspondstothehierarchyfoundinnature.Theboathaseyes.Thesteammust surelycomefromayahuascabeingbrewedonboard! TheShipiboearthenwarevesselseenontherightisbelievedtostoretheicarosof medicinalplants.Thevoiceissomethinglikeatelephone;fromourthoughts emergewordswhicharethentransmittedtotheearofthelistenerandsoon.The thingswesayhaveconsequencesthereforeweshouldnotspeakcarelessly. Thisrelatestotheimminentcollapseofcivilization,inthatchildrenareeducatedby example,butthegenerationsalivetodayareallbusybeingconsumers.Wecollect thingsforgettingthatwecomeintotheworldnakedandleaveitnaked.Wehave alreadybeencompromisedbythesystembutthenextgenerationhastobediffer ent.Buthowareweteachingourchildren?Manyparentsbelievetheyaremaking sacrificestopayforagoodeducation,sothatsomeonebetterqualifiedwilledu catetheirchildren,butunlesschildrenaretaughtverydifferentvalues,thischange isnotgoingtotakeplace.Perhapsparentstimecouldbebetterspentwiththeir childrenthanwithearningmoneyforotherstoteachthem.

SUPAIPUCABUFEO

SUPAIPUCABUFEO Thisisapinkdolphinwhichmanifestsitselfasahumanbeing.Thelegendtellsofa younggirlwhogoestotherivereverymorningtobringbackwatertothehouse. Nowgirlstendtobesexuallyactiveveryearlyinthejungle,probablybecausethe powerofnaturethatsurroundsthemissostrong.Theyeatthefruitoftheaguaje whichcontainsphytoestrogenwhichmakesthemmatureearly.Onthisparticular morningthegirlhasthecrazyideaoftakingoffallherclothsandenjoyingare freshingdipintheriver.Whenshelooksback,sheseesbetweenthetrees,apairof eyeswhichbeckontoher. Thenextthingsheknows,sheisinthearmsofayoungmanandcompletelyinlove. Fromthenontheyagreetomeeteveryeveningatdusk,andbecauseitisnearly darkshedoesntseethatherloverisnotarealhumanbeingbutasupernatural dolphin.Becausehewearsastrawhattocoverhisblowhole,noonesuspectsthat heisnotjustahandsomeyoungman.Soshegoesbacktoherfathertosayshe wantstobemarriedandatfirstheisnotinfavourbuteventually,assheissofullof conviction,heagrees. Timepasses,shehasamiscarriageandbabydolphinsareborn.Thisisacautionary talewhichcomesinmanydifferentversions.Somesaysheissoinloveshedoesnt notice,otherssayitwaslustandshewassimplydeceivingherself.Inyetanother versionthemanappearsattheportwithlotsoffish,andofcoursegirlslovefish. Youcanseehisfishermansnet. Inthedaysoftherubberboomwhenrubbertappersmovedaroundforwork,fami lieswereseparatedandlonemenweretemptedtoventureintolocalvillages. Muchlovemagicdependsonthepinkdolphinand,intheolddays,pinkdolphins wereplentiful.Buttodaytheyhavebeenoverhuntedfortheirbodyparts,espe ciallytheirgenitalia.Forexamplethevulvaofthefemaledolphinmaybewornse cretlyaroundtheupperarmofamantomakehimirresistibletoyoungwomen. Thisisanexampleofthecorruptionofatraditionalshamanisticpractice.Originally thispusangamagic,asitiscalled,wasusedtoensuresuccessonhuntingorfish ingexpeditions.Onewouldholdaceremony,perhapswithayahuasca,andcallthe spiritofanagouti,tapir,fishorwhatever,andplaceachargeofattractiononitso that,whenyouwentoutinthejungle,theseanimalswouldcomeclosetoyouso thattheywouldbeinrangetofirearrowsatthem. Thepracticewasoncerelatedtosurvival,butwascommercialisedastheculture becameurbanized.Todaymoneycanbemadeprovidingtheseservices:toenablea mantoattractgirlsorawomantoretainherhusbandorwhatever.

ONDASDELAAYAHUASCA

InOndasdelaAyahuasca,youseethegiantsachamama;thismythicalanaconda isthemotherofthewildernessandpresidesovertheweboflifeoftherainforest.It isstrangethatsnakesplaysuchanimportantpartinsomanyreligionsandmy thologies.InChristianitythesnakerepresentsknowledgebutitalsohasanegative connotationwithsinandtemptation.IntheAmazonitsconnotationismoreposi tive. Ontherighthandsideyouseeaceremonyinprogressandastheshamanschant, wavescomeoutoftheanacondasmouth.Whenyoudrinkayahuascathereisan effectcalledsynaesthesiainwhichyoursensesmergeandicarosprovokevisions. ThisisexcitingbecausetheicarosoftheShipiboIndians,forexample,canmakeone seethepatternsusedbythemtodecoratetheirtextilesandceramics.Hereyousee wavescomingoutinallthecoloursoftherainbow,andtwistingaroundlikethe snakesthemselvesorevenasDNAmoleculesdo.

Theysaythatwhenyouarehackingyourwaythroughtheforest,youmaycome acrossthesachamamaaccidentally:yourealizeitwhenyourmachetehitsthe groundandbloodflows.Thisisbecauseitissuchahugecreatureandmovesso slowlythatvegetation,eventreescangrowonitsback.Alternativelyyourpathmay becomeveryovergrownandyoucantseetheskyaboveyou,itissodark.Unknow inglyyouarewalkingstraightintothemouthofthesachamama.Whenthishap pens,peopledonotusuallyreturntotelltheirstory.

LLULLOMACHACO

LLULLOMACHACO Nowwhyisthesnakesoimportant?LetslookatLlulloMachaco.Thismeans babyorgreensnakeinQuechua,butllulloalsomeans,youngorinnocent.This snakeissymbolicoftheconditionintowhichweareborn,weareborninnocent.As wegrowupwepickupbadhabitsandbecomecorrupted,butwhennewlybornwe aregreenlikethesnake.ThisishowPabloseestheAmazonianconceptofthe snakeinthispicture. Ifyouhavevisionsofsnakes,someshamanssayitsagoodsignwhileotherssay not,sothereisnoagreement.ButJosephCampbellwouldsaythatthesnakewas symbolicoflifebecause,whenitsskindies,thesnakeshedsitandgrowsanew one.Partofthedealofcomingtoliveonearthisthatyoucanthavelifewithout death.Althoughinyourfirst2030yearsoflifeyoudontreallybelieveyouregoing todie,buteventuallythepennydrops.Ofcoursetheactuallifeofthesnakegoes on,onlytheskinofthesnakedies.Unlessyoulearntoletpartsofyoudieinyour life,likethesnakedoes,youdevelopstrongattachmentswhicharepainfultoundo. Soyouhavetoletthingsgoinorderthatnewthingscancomeintoyourlife. JeremyNarbywasananthropologistwhoaskedmanyshamanswheretheythought theirhealingknowledgecamefromforexample,whichplantwouldbetheright onetohealtheirpatient.Eachoneofthemreportedthattheirknowledgeandthe answerstotheirquestionscameinvisions.Thisishowtheydiagnosetheirpatients, notthroughanalyzingsymptomsbutbyunderstandingtherootcauseoftheillness andwhatiswrongintheirlives. Narbyproposedthatwhenashamandrinksayahuasca,heperceivesonamolecu larlevelhisbrainissosensitized.Ayahuascacontainschemicalsidenticaltoneuro transmitterswhichexistinthebrain.Hesuggestedthatinformationcontainedin theDNAcouldbeaccessed.Asweknow,thereisfarmoreinformationinDNAthan wecanexplain.Perhapsitisprogrammedtoemergejustintimetosafeguardour livesonthisplanet. Therewasatimewhenanthropologistswereonlysupposedtoobservebutnotpar ticipateinAmazonianIndianrituals.Anthropologyhadtobeobjectivetobeasci ence,butallthisischanging.

Nowwhatdotheindigenouspeoplesayaboutsnakes?ThereisonelovelyAshuar mythabouthowayahuascacameintobeing.Awiseoldmandiesandafterbeing buried,ayahuascavinesgrowfromhisgraveandspiralintothesky.Inthetimeof theancestors,peopledidntdie,becausetimedidntexist,justastimedidnotexist beforethebigbang.Therewasjustoneeternalmoment.Themeaningofthistime oftheancestorsisthatfromconsciousnesswedevelopedreasonandlogic.As theseemerged,peoplebegantodie,buttheoldmanleftusaladder,theayahua scavine,andthroughdrinkingtheayahuascamedicine,wecancommunicatewith thedeadandthespiritworldtowhichallourancestorshavegone. Ayahuascaisagreatgifttohumanity.Therearemanyothermythsrelatedtothis niceexample.OneofthesereferstoMoonman.Themoonmayberelatedto madness,butitalsosymbolizesmentalactivity.Themoondidntexistinthetime beforetheancestors,neitherdidwomenhavemenstrualcycles.Thesewere causedbythemoon.Drinkingayahuascaisawaytogetbacktothestateinwhich weoncewereandtherebyregainlostknowledge.

AYARIWARMI

AYARIWARMI ThispaintingcalledAyariWarmimeansthebeautifulvestmentofawoman,soyou maythinkitisdepictingabeautifulwoman,butitsnotitisrevealingherinner beautyandheressence.Thisiswhatyouseewhenyoudrinkayahuasca.Itisgood todrinkwithfriends,becausealthoughyoucantseewhoiswhoinaceremony,be causeitisdark,youcanactuallyseethepurityofeachpersonclearlyinyourvision. Youcanseewhethertheyhavegoodnessornot.Thisisaremarkablethingbecause normallywearetakenwithappearanceswhatapersonlookslike,theirshapeand howtheydress. SoweseehereinAyariWarmi,apowerfulshamaness,smokingherpipewithall thespiritscomingoutinthehueofthebluesmoke.Whenawomanchantsyousee flowersblossoming,refreshingstreamswithgalleryforestsborderingthem.Pablo saysthatmenandwomenhavedifferentroles,whichmayseemoldfashionedifwe reacttoVictorianvalues.Thesedictatewhatthejobofamanorwomenshouldbe, butPabloisnottalkingaboutthat.Hesaidthatitisforawomantoshowthees senceofbeautyandforamantoservethatbeauty. Ifyoucompareourspeciestoothersintheanimalkingdom,evenwhenthemost intelligentofprimateslikethechimpanzee,eat,theyfeedthemselvesalone.They dontpickafruitandgiveittoamemberoftheirfamily.Thisfeedingofothersis uniquelyhumanandcamewiththeadventofcookingwhich,besidestransforming ourwholedigestivesystem,meantthatwedidnthavetospendthewholeday huntingandgatheringChimpanzeeslookforfoodandeatalmostthewholeday. Whatmadeushumanwasthedifferenceinmaleandfemaleroles,inagriculture, huntingandcooking,thencomingtogethertosharethefood.Theharmonyofliv ingcomesfromthisreciprocity.

LLULLUNLLAKISUPAI

Finally,inLlullunLlakiSupai,atthetopyouseethesadeyesofthesachamama sayingwherearealltheanimalsgoingtolivewhentheforestiscoveredoverwith concreteandasphalt?Thedolphinshavealignedthemselvestolooklikeahelico niaplant.Thissuggeststhatwegetmuchmoreoutoflifewhenthereiscoopera tionandreciprocity.Agenemaybeselfishbutitisonlythroughreciprocitythatna turecanflourish.Itcannotbesaidconclusively,thatindividualselectionexistsex clusivelyovergroupselectionasRichardDawkinssuggests,thetwomustexistto gether.

Visitthewebsitetoviewthepaintings featuredinthebookTheAyahuascaVisionsofPabloAmaringo. Alsoarticles,interviews,andphotogalleriesofPablo.

www.ayahuascavisions.com

TheAyahuascaVisionsofPabloAmaringo

Anewcollectionofneverbefore publishedpaintingsbyrenownedartist PabloAmaringo WithwrittencontributionsbyGraham Hancock,JeremyNarby,Robert Venosa,DennisMcKenna,Stephan Beyer,andJanKounen Contains48colourplatesof Amaringoslatestworks,withdetailed narrativesoftherichAmazonianmy thologyunderlyingeachpainting SharesAmaringospersonalstories behindtheartisticvisions Recognizedasoneoftheworldsgreat visionaryartists,PabloAmaringowas renownedforhisintricate,colorful paintingsinspiredbyhisshamanicvi sions.Amastercommunicatorofthe ayahuascaexperiencewheresnakes, jaguars,subterraneanbeings,celestial palaces,aliens,andspacecraftallcon vergeAmaringosartpresentsadoorwaytothetranscendentworldsofayahuascaintendedfor contemplation,meditation,andinspiration. Illustratingtheevolutionofhisintricateandcolorfulart,thisbookcontains48fullcolorrepro ductionsofAmaringoslatestworkswithdetailedexplorationsoftherichAmazonianmythology underlyingeachpainting.ThroughtheirlongstandingrelationshipwithAmaringo,coauthors CharingandCloudsleyareabletosharethepersonalstoriesbehindhisvisionsandexperiences withAmazonianpeopleandfolklore,capturingAmaringospowerfulecologicalandspiritualmes sagethroughhisartandwords.WithcontributionsbyGrahamHancock,JeremyNarby,Robert Venosa,DennisMcKenna,StephanBeyer,andJanKounen,thisbookbringstheayahuascaexperi encetolifeaswetravelonAmaringosvisionarybrushandpalette. AbouttheAuthor(s)ofTheAyahuascaVisionsofPabloAmaringo PabloAmaringo(19382009)trainedasacuranderointheAmazon,healinghimselfandothers fromtheageoften,butretiredin1977tobecomeafulltimepainterandartteacherathisUsko AyarschoolinPucallpa,Peru.TheauthorofAyahuascaVisions:TheReligiousIconographyofa PeruvianShaman,hisarthasbeendisplayedthroughouttheworld.HowardG.Charingisadirec toroftheEagleWingsCentreforContemporaryShamanismandthecoauthorofPlantSpirit Shamanism.PeterCloudsleyisamusicologist,writer,andthefounderoftheAmazonRetreat CentreinPeru.