Icaro

The shamanic chants are unique to each healer, in Shipibo language it is called “bewá”, commonly known as “icaro”. The life of an ayahuasca ceremony are the icaros, it is sung to initiate the ceremony, it is sung to open the vision, it is sung to cure illnesses, it is sung to clean negative energies, it is sung to attract good luck, it is sung to control the strength of the tide and it is sung to close the ceremony. In the Shipibo tradition, the icaros are used to manifest the intention of the shaman, therefore, he sings what he wants to achieve or what he is doing.

 

One genre of shamanic chant is the “warmi icaro” which means chant to the woman. The warmi icaro is a specialty in Amazonian medicine, where you diet and learn to perform unions of couples.  

 

When a shaman is trained, he or she can access the spirit of a specific plant and learn the chants directly from that spirit. It may seem a bit abstract to Western minds, but the process is actually quite simple and becomes the most natural experience when it happens.

 

Shipibo medicine can be seen as a spiritual technology and the chants are one of its most refined and poetic tools. The icaros are one of the manifestations of beauty and creativity that are a fundamental part of this work. A master healer is also a master singer and often a master poet.