Enrique Flores Sinuiri, an elder Onanya (Shaman) has begun a training program called the Kurin Metsa School of Shamanism. It is Enrique’s goal, and the goal of the of Kurin Metsa to keep the wisdom of the Shipibo alive and active amongst the younger generation. Many of the youth favor western culture over their indigenous language, beliefs, and practices, and this project meets that concern with direct, intergenerational action within the community.
"Nuestro proyecto nace de la necesidad de volver a restaurar los valores, principios, tradiciones y costumbres que poco a poco, con el paso del tiempo, se han ido perdiendo en nuestra etnia shipibo."
Our project stems from the need to restore the values, principles, traditions and customs that, little by little, over time, are being lost from our Shipibo ethnicity.
"Nos preocupa la situación, socioeconómico, educativa de nuestras generaciones, es por eso que nace este proyecto, yo Enrique Flores soy maestro curandero shipibo, vengo de una familia de curandero y mi deseo es trasmitir mis conocimientos y sabiduría a mis regeneraciones con el propósito de preservar mi cultura shipibo."
We are concerned by the socioecomic and educational situation of our younger generations, and because of this, our project was born. I, Enrique Flores, am a Shipibo Master Onanya (Shaman) and I come from a family of Onanyas. My desire is to transmit my knowledge and wisdom to the younger generations with the purpose of preserving my Shipibo culture.
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VISION
Through education and training of new high quality Onanya leaders, the objective of this project is to keep the world of the Shipibo-Conibo culture and ancestral beliefs alive for many years, through the Shipibo art of sacred ceremony.
LOCATION
The project will be located in Peru, in the native community of San Francisco, in the Ucayali region, Coronel Portillo, near Yarinacocha. This is a Shipibo community located 20 km from the city of Pucallpa approximately. The community is made up of around 300 families. Each of them has an average of 5-7 children.
PROJECT OUTLINE
The training will last 1 yr and contains 3 stages.
- The introduction and study of local plants, their components and its effects as well as ways to prepare these plants for medicinal uses. Duration: 1 month
- Through icaros and songs accompanied by tobacco and Aqua de Florida, the students will begin to work with these plants . Duration: 8 months
- Field work or practice. In this stage, the students will apply all the knowledge acquired from their teacher and from the study of these plants. They will practice mediating their first ceremonies. This stage will be overseen by the teacher. Duration: 1 month
PURPOSE
This project looks towards the future. Its purpose is to integrate my family and thus leave a legacy of my knowledge to the younger generations. To begin the project, I have selected three family members as students.
With your support, we can help keep the world of the Shipibo-Conibo culture and ancestral beliefs alive for many years.
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September 2022
The protective garden fence project is completed! The project had been put on hold for the rainy season and has now been finished. In case you missed it, we wrote about the rainy season delay in this news article: https://shamaniceducation.org/protecting-the-kurin-metsa-medicinal-garden/
July 2022
The third student interview, this one with 30 year old Edith Maribel Murayari Flores is published and showcases her experience as a senior apprentice in the program. https://shamaniceducation.org/kurin-metsa-school-interview-with-senior-apprentice-edith-maribel-murayari-flores/
March 2022
A 21 year old Kurin Metsa student of one and half years, Juan Enrique, shares his experience as an apprentice and his calling to the work in our second student interview. Find the interview here: https://shamaniceducation.org/a-kurin-metsa-student-interview-with-juan-enrique/
October 2021
Joel Romero Flores, a native Shipibo and a Kurin Metsa student now in his second year as an apprentice, studying with his grandfather, Enrique Flores, gives us a peek into his apprenticeship through the first of our student interview series! Read it here: https://shamaniceducation.org/interview-with-joel-a-kurin-metsa-student/
June 2021
CSEE facilitates a special Solstice Ceremony for Abundance in partnership with the Society for Shamanic Practice and the Kurin Metsa School. Donations from this event are used to help fund the construction of a protective fence around the medicinal gardens after a road was built alongside the fragile area.
January 2021
Students of the Kurin Metsa School sign new contracts for the year and receive journals for their documentation.
November 2020
We are excited to announce another expansion of the Kurin Metsa Project! Thanks to a generous fully funded donation from a long-time supporter of the Shipibo located in the Peruvian Amazon along the Ucayali River, the building of a new fence around the property and a new generator to run the well was installed end of fall. These new additions help to serve the school's needs to continue to build and care for the botanical medicine garden.
August 2020
As you may be aware, there's been a rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout Peru and the Shipibo people in particular, have been severely impacted. Given a lack of economic and medical resources, it's been challenging for people to protect themselves and their families.
We're calling on you to help fund the production of masks to be distributed for free to the residents of the Shipibo community that CSEE has worked closely with for many years.
Please make a donation to support the well being of our Shipibo community in Yarinacocha. To make a donation to the Shipibo Mask Project visit our GoFundMe Page
June 2020
The second part of this expanded project has moved to phase 3, the addition of a generator to run the well and a fence to keep the water protected.
A big THANK YOU to our generous donor for fully funding the additional needs of this project.
April 2020
A portion of the training students receive at the Kurin Metsa School of Shamanism is the introduction and study of local plants, their components, and its effects as well as ways to prepare these plants for medicinal uses.
Due to location and times of drought, it became clear the botanical garden was in need of a different system of tending in order to maintain the overall health and continued growth of these plants. We are excited to announce a new water well was successfully installed near the garden!
The second part of this expanded project has moved to phase 2, the addition of two solo huts for the students to use during dietas.
A big THANK YOU to our generous donor for fully funding the additional needs of this project.
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Oct 2019
The students have begun dieting with the plants. They have gotten through Tobacco, Marosa, Aipana, and two different Chiric Sanango plants, in which they dieted with each for a month at a time. Current plant being Ajos Sanango.
Enrique recently traveled with the students to Adena Marca so they could get some exposure to other healers and their methods. They plan to travel to Nuevo Paraiso next to work with healers there and to acquire new plants for their garden.
He currently has 4 students, although there are only 3 pictured (Elmer left a couple days early before the pictures were taken). He hopes to add 2 to 3 more students in the near future if he can get the support. Things have been going well, and he and the students are incredibly grateful to be preserving this wisdom. The garden is doing well, although they had been going through a bit of a dry spell. They are also on the lookout for as many new plants as they can get their hands on.
In the pictures, you’ll see the students, the garden of medicinal plants, and the special dance/show that the students put on for us.
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