Abstract

FAVARON, Pedro  and  BENSHO, Chonon. Rao bewa: The Medicinal Songs of the Shipibo-Konibo People. Lit. teor. hist. crit. [online]. 2022, vol.24, n.2, pp.139-165.  Epub Aug 22, 2022. ISSN 0123-5931.  https://doi.org/10.15446/lthc.v24n2.102082.

The Shipibo-Konibo people settled mainly on the banks of the Ucayali River, are one of the most numerous in the Peruvian Amazon. Their traditional healers called Meraya (or Onanya) are recognized in the region for their great knowledge and their deep therapeutic tradition. In this article the authors propose, based on solid ethnographic research of many years and their own experiences in the traditional medicine field, a creative, philosophical, and poetic reflection on the medicinal songs of the indigenous sages. Because both authors are registered members of the Santa Clara de Yarinacocha Native Community and members (by affinity and kinship) of a Shipiba family that has practiced traditional and visionary Amazonian medicine for many generations, the article does not apply Eurocentric methodologies or technical writing, opting instead to speak from within the Shipibo-Konibo people's own rationalities, epistemologies, and ontologies. The authors argue that this type of writing allows them to give an account of ancestral knowledge with greater fidelity to the words of the wise men and to express in a more profound way the rich poetic heritage of the ancestors. Tis methodological perspective seeks to contribute to the formation of an intercultural indigenous academy.

Keywords : Medicinal songs; ikaros; ancestral medicine; Meraya; indigenous poetics; Shipibo-Konibo.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )