Icaro facts for kids

Kené patterns on a wall mural.

Icaro (Quechua: ikaro) is a South American indigenous colloquialism for magic song. Today, this term is commonly used to describe the medicine songs performed in vegetal ceremonies, especially by shamans in ayahuasca ceremonies. It is also commonly used to describe a traditional artisanal pattern of the Shipibo tribe based on the visions induced by ayahuasca.

Etymology

The word icaro is believed to derive from the Quechua verb ikaray, which means "to blow smoke in order to heal".

In healing ceremonies

Medicine songs

Amazonian shaman.

..... Traditionally, these songs can be performed by whistling, singing with the voice or vocables, or playing an instrument such as the didgeridoo or flute.

Traditionally, icaros may come to a shaman during a ceremony, be passed down from previous lineages of healers, or come to a shaman during a 'dieta' where plant spirits are believed to teach icaros to the shaman directly. The singing or whistling of icaros is sometimes accompanied by a chakapa, a rattle of bundled leaves. Due to the complexity of certain performance techniques, it may take many years to learn certain icaros, and experienced shamans may be able to recite hundreds of them.

Pattern on a Shipibo artisanal pot.

See also

In Spanish: Íkaro para niños