Icaros

Icaros are sacred songs to the different plant spirits and to all living beings. Truly learning icaros takes a long time, often several years and the practice is central to our lineage.

What are icaros? About their purpose.

In the ceremony, the maestro will sing icaros to guide and heal in the ceremony. It is very difficult to explain the purpose of the icaros since they all have different purpose: some are sung to protect while others are sung to call in specific spirits or healing forces. That said, only through years of intense study is when the maestro will be able to fully understand the immense depth of these ancestral sounds. 

Many say that after the ceremony with us, they feel as though they have heard these icaros before. That happens because the icaros bring us back to our roots.

Icaros and the dieta

Strict dietas are a foundational pillar in our lineage and our team at Casa de Pawua is constantly dieting new plants to deepen our knowledge. It is through the dietas that the curandero receives icaros from the plants and is able to deepen his knowledge and truly investigate the essence behind the icaro he is working with. All of this is done with the ultimate goal of being better prepared to serve and treat the patient.

The difference between icaros and ayahuasca medicine songs

Medicine songs and icaros are very different. Medicine songs, while they can be extremely beautiful, do not hold the power needed to protect, guide and heal. Medicine songs come from the mind whereas icaros come from when the spirit connects with the plants.

Icaros are powered by deep knowledge and sung with love. One icaro can take years if not a lifetime to master.There are no shortcuts here. Each icaro sung in ceremony serves a different purpose and is an extremely important part of the ayahuasca ceremony. Without icaros there is no ayahuasca ceremony. The icaros are not simply sung “for show” or to sound beautiful, they have a much much deeper purpose and reality than that.

At Casa de Pawua we do not release any “albums” of the icaros that we practice as we know some centers do. The icaros are very sacred to us and belong in ceremony.

Shamanic instruments

Although some ceremonies may be held completely without instruments, our maestro will oftentimes also use different shamanic instruments during the ayahuasca ceremony as well as the tobacco ceremony to accompany the icaros. These instruments include: andean drum, Shipibo rattles, andean flutes and traditional instruments found only in the jungle.

Shamanic singing around the world

Just like indigenous tribes all over the world seemed to have come to a very similar understanding on the sacredness of tobacco, they also seem to have all understood the deep healing benefits of singing. From Native American tribes like the Lakota singing during their Inipi ceremonies, to yogic mantras and Mongolian and Sami throat singing. Singing is truly an integral essence for any shamanic tradition.