Uwishin (Shaman) Art
By singing, power is expressed and transmitted, flowing from the Master's harmony with the Universe. When Arutam (Great Spirit) sings, every corner and every being sings in the Great Emanation; then the Master sings, joy comes for those who forgot and need healing. Powerful Masters, dedicated apprentices, and simple healers can sing or play together creating a singular spontaneous vibration without preparation. This sound recalls the sudden singing of animals in the magical musical mystique of the jungle, helping to awaken the sacred touch.
The Uwishin (Shaman) in his Union celebrates and honours every manifestation of Arutam, as he himself is one of them. He describes how each of them relates to the Great Spirit and reveals their magical peculiarities, creating a poem among melodies which is a call to the recollection of the sleeping memory. He knows well what he is talking about, because he feels alive in everything.
Thus, he only sings and transmits what he is in order to guide those who sit with him. He intensifies the presence of the sacred touch so much that it becomes irresistible. It becomes foolish to get confused and wander about somewhere else. Arutam is in everything: wind, mountains, lakes… and this is transmitted through song into magical sensitivity and the intense vibration of thunder.
The expression (transmission) of Arutam comes from the Master's deep Union, it flows from there through the vital echoes, roaring in the bones, twisting the aerated entrails in gestures of perfection with the caress of the breath. The purification tunes us like instruments of Arutam, tuning that is not studied as a musical technique. The being absorbed in Everything sings in ecstatic delight. Power overflows and plays, awakes the forgotten sensitivity, the diminishing memory which sustains us. Thus, the transmission of song is done; a pure crystal which breaks down Arutam's light like a rainbow in its endless expressions… and His creation sounds, everything sounds because He is alive.
Tumank
Arutam Ruymán palying “tumank”, by Cora
Tumank is the traditional instrument most used in Ayahuasca ceremonies. It is the sound of wind in the lake inside the deep mountain. Ayahuasca dances its dance of anaconda and all things take their true colour, which feeds us. This instrument's guide rescues a person from any cyclic pit chosen as home and prison. It inspires to speed up the mind without effort, enjoying the mere fact of meditating in the amplitude of the consciousness. There is guidance that helps one recognise the clarity of the world with the consciousness alerted, like the keys of the tumank played by Arutam in the Uwishin.
The tumank has no set limits on its keys. There is therefore freedom in the music itself. These are the type of instruments which allow the better expression of mystic teachings. Is it possible to see exactly the place where the sky joins the sea, where the day joins the night, or where the frozen cold comes back as light? All this music comes from Life's sacred echo, the art of shamanism relies on instruments in harmony with their mystic aims. Ancient instruments, such as the tumank, were made in times of freedom and union with nature; it is natural that they have this design.
Kaer
Kaer is the name of a Shuar violin, a beautiful two-stringed instrument which accompanies man in his chants. It supports him and makes everything more beautiful with tender harmony and deep emotion. Its strength is very intense and its use is controlled by the Uwishin. It is impressive how intensely it wakes the medicine, it is truly the dance of the anaconda. It tears any resistance to allow the illumination of the consciousness. Its deep rhythm moves the spirit of the anaconda and wraps us with its mystic sound in all space from the vast powerful void. Its delicate and smooth high notes are the protagonists of its occasional solitary song, which returns as luminosity and inspired vision, bringing us relentless joy.
Kaer - two string violin
Extract from the book The Great Chant of Shamanism. The Path of Ayahuasca and Tobacco