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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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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