Peru Shaman murders

[rogdog]

This is a strange and disturbing story, very interested to know what the reason is.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/06/peru-shaman-murders?CMP=twt_gu

The Peruvian government is sending a team of officials to a remote region of the Amazon jungle to investigate the deaths of 14 shamans who were killed in a string of brutal murders.

The traditional healers, all from the Shawi ethnic group, were murdered in separate incidents over the last 20 months, allegedly at the behest of a local mayor.

No arrests have been made over the deaths, which took place in and around Balsapuerto, a small river port in Peru's vast Amazon region on its northern border with Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil.

The prime suspects, however, in the disappearance of one victim and the murder of another are the mayor of Balsapuerto, Alfredo Torres and his brother Augusto.

The two men were named in a report from the public prosecutor's office in the nearest town of Yurimaguas, which said seven of the victims had been shot, stabbed or hacked to death with machetes. Local people identified all of them as curanderos or native healers, said the vice-minister of intercultural affairs, Vicente Otta.

The Roman Catholic church in the area has reported the death of seven other shamans whose bodies have yet to be found, Otta said, adding that territorial disputes and political disagreements also pointed to the mayor being "one of the instigators of the slaughter".

He said that the murder suspects had sought to "legitimise the killings " by blaming the victims for the high level of infant mortality in the area.

Torres has denied the allegations in interviews with local media. Calls to his office went unanswered.

The public prosecutor's report also details the testimony of a survivor of one attack. Bautista Inuma was mistaken for a shaman and received gunshot wounds and had an arm hacked off before he managed to escape.

Roger Rumrrill, an expert on Peruvian Amazon cultures and a government adviser, said some of the victims' bodies were thrown into rivers, to be devoured by piranhas and other fish.

He alleged that the mayor, who is an evangelical Christian, ordered the killings on hearing that the shamans planned to form an association. He said the mayor's brother was known in the area as a matabrujos or witch killer.

"For Protestant sects, the shamans are possessed by the devil; a totally sectarian, primitive and racist concept," he said.

Shamans in the Peruvian Amazon use psychoactive plants such as the jungle vine ayahuasca for spiritual ceremonies. As early as the 16th century, Spanish and Portuguese missionaries described its use by native people in the Amazon as the work of the devil.

"Until now the death of 14 curanderos who are the depositaries of Amazon knowledge wasn't worth the attention of the press," Rumrrill said. "That's an expression of how fragmented and racist this country is. A centralised country which continues to look at its interior with total indifference."

The National Institute for the Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afro-Peruvian Peoples estimates that there are around 330,000 indigenous people in Peru's Amazon region, about 1% of the country's population of more than 29 million.

Gregor MacLennan, Peru programme coordinator for the NGO Amazon Watch, said: "The death of these shamans represents not just a tragic loss of life, but the loss of a huge body of knowledge about rainforest plants and the crucial role shamans play in traditional medicine and spiritual guidance in indigenous communities."

Edited October 9, 2011 by rogdog

[Bretloth]

Seems to be all that fucking death worshipping cult ever brings..

[ErraneousHerbalist]

Indeed.

It's a shame about all that lost knowledge and lest I forget; life.

[Teotzlcoatl]

I saw this story too.... stupid fucking christians.

[tripsis]

That's seriously fucked up.

[FancyPants]

This is an evil performed by whoever orchestrated and committed the murders. What an horrible setback for humanity and the evolution of consciousness.

I wonder how the Shamans must have felt at this turn of events. I imagine there's more than just the religion of the perpetrator to blame here; probably greed and/or power in some form if a Mayor is involved.

Seems to be all that fucking death worshipping cult ever brings..

 

What's with bashing a form of spirituality just because a few fuckheads cock it up for others??? Perhaps religion is a gateway for more wholesome (ie holistic) spiritual life and ideals for some?

Edited October 9, 2011 by FancyPants

[CβL]

I'm beginning to think that form of idealism has a very small place in this world FancyPants. Whenever there are contradictory policies, and it is possible to claim to be following one, while actually following another, without realizing it - then we get inhumane behaviour. The same thing happens in capitalism - while supposedly making everyone empowered... well I don't think it's necessary to show that's not the case.

I think all doctrines should be open to transparent examination. And to be honest - I think christianity (e.g. the bible) contains a lot of hate, for something that claims to be all-loving.

[FancyPants]

Agreed that there's not a single person in full compos-mentis who would argue that organised religion hasn't had far more than its fair share of hateful acts throughout history. But I like to stop short at blaming innocents (though often deliberately ignorant) for corruptions caused by bad human eggs. Some people (generally men in power) bastardised ideals for their own selfish purposes; they are not the whole.

[CβL]

I agree with that.

[woof woof woof]

Indeed.

It's a shame about all that lost knowledge and lest I forget; life.

 

many knowledgeable people die everyday. What is a real shame is the ingnorance of those who have killed these healers. But then again,.... maybe the healers had allot of ingnorance themselves to have attracted these people. (perhaps inherited karma)

indigenous people in SA lived brutal lives (wife stealing / revenge murders / tribal warfare etc) not too long ago,... and there was always the clash between fanatical Christians (if that is the case) and indigenous beliefs.

There is also the spiritual warfare between curanderos and brujos to be considered.

[chnt]

this is very sad, and another example which helps to reinforce how pathetic religion (not spirituality) is.

[ErraneousHerbalist]

many knowledgeable people die everyday. What is a real shame is the ingnorance of those who have killed these healers. But then again,.... maybe the healers had allot of ingnorance themselves to have attracted these people. (perhaps inherited karma)

indigenous people in SA lived brutal lives (wife stealing / revenge murders / tribal warfare etc) not too long ago,... and there was always the clash between fanatical Christians (if that is the case) and indigenous beliefs.

There is also the spiritual warfare between curanderos and brujos to be considered.

 

I agree with that statement about losing knowledgable people everyday. If their information is passed on and they are lost peacefully. It's better than being murdered by the ignorant. I don't think they would have that much ignorance themselves. Then again I've never met a shaman in real life. I think it's more of a case of 'These healers are possessed by the devil! Kill them and save our town from their influence!'. An old and ignorant idea at that. I'm not sure if the high infant mortality rate would have anything to do with this.

I wish not to comment on the brutal lives people lived in, in SA due to it's sensitive nature. But all I can quote is "Ignorance is bliss" and all you can hope for is people to learn with understanding not with contempt. Which would probably turn St.Augustine over in his grave. But hey, you can't move forward without taking a step back sometimes.