Pablo Cesar Amaringo Shuña (January 21, 1938 – November 16, 2009) was a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian artist, renowned for his intricate, colourful depictions of his visions from drinking the

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoac ...

ic plant brew

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' ( Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' desce ...

. He was first brought to the West's attention by

Dennis McKenna Dennis Jon McKenna (born December 17, 1950 in Paonia, Colorado) is an American ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacognosist, lecturer and author. He is the brother of well-known psychedelics proponent Terence McKenna and is a founding board ...

and Luis Eduardo Luna, who met Pablo in

Pucallpa Pucallpa (, qu, puka allpa, lit=red dirt; Shipibo: ''May Ushin'') is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Pro ...

while traveling during work on an ethnobotanical project. Pablo worked as a

vegetalista Vegetalismo is a term used to refer to a practice of ''mestizo'' shamanic, shamanism in the Peruvian Amazon in which the Shamanism, shamans—known as ''vegetalistas''—are said to gain their knowledge and power to cure from the ''vegetales'', o ...

, a

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

in the mestizo tradition of healing, for many years; up to his death, he painted, helped run the Usko-Ayar school of painting, and supervised ayahuasca retreats. Before dying, he was working on the paintings of angels, as well as paintings documenting the flora and fauna of Peru.

Film

Pablo's work can be seen in the documentary film ''Ayahuasca Nature's Greatest Gift''.

Book

When Luna and McKenna met Amaringo in 1985, he was living in poverty, barely surviving by teaching English to young people from his home and selling the odd painting to passing tourists. Luna suggested he paint some of his visions, a project which became the basis of a coauthored book, ''Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman'' (North Atlantic Books 1999). Amaringo occasionally gave interviews in the years following the book's publication, and later penned the preface for ''Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul'' (Destiny Books 2006). His artwork was featured in Graham Hancock's book ''"Supernatural"''. Amaringo also appeared in ''The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms'' (2010), Michael Wiese's documentary film about ayahuasca.

Death

After a protracted illness, Amaringo died on November 16, 2009.

References

ayar

Pablo Amaringo
at

Erowid Erowid, also called Erowid Center, is a non-profit educational organization that provides information about psychoactive plants and chemicals. Erowid documents legal and illegal substances, including their intended and adverse effects. Informat ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amaringo, Pablo Psychedelic drug advocates Shamanism of the Americas 1938 births 2009 deaths Visionary artists Peruvian animists 20th-century Peruvian painters 20th-century Peruvian male artists Latin American artists of indigenous descent People from Ucayali Region Peruvian male painters

Film

Book

Death

See also

References