Vegetalismo (Peruvian icaro)

Part of the Sacred Spaces project - find out more at http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sacredspaces

Reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder.

"For my track “Vegetalismo” I used a Leslie Rollins field recording of Alberto San Pedro (a medicine man in San Antonio de Cumbaza Peru). In this field recording he is singing an icao for a vegetal healing ceremony. My fascination is with the icao he is singing, which is used by shamans to enhance the effects of plant medicines, evoking plant spirits for spiritual healing. My title “Vegetalismo” comes from the term used for the practice of mestizo shamanism in the Amazonic provinces of Peru. The shamans – known as vegetalistas – gain their knowledge and power to cure from the vegetables, or plants of the region. Many receive their knowledge from ingesting the hallucinogenic, emetic brew ayahuasca. They say the plants actually teach the icaros (magical healing and protective songs) to the shaman. In my recording process, I have used Leslie Rollins field recording in many different ways throughout the song, not only as altered vocals, but also as various textures and rhythms, representing the healing process and the transformation of the individual as imagined during this ceremony. Thinking about how these shamans receive their knowledge and power to heal from their special relationship with the spirits of the Amazon rainforest are the foundation of this piece of music."