About the Shamans
The Shamans’ Videohistory Project works in the Colombian Amazon with elder practitioners of traditional indigenous medicine (we know them as shamans) of the Cofán, Inga, and Siona people to document their life stories. The Cofán shamans call themselves “Curacas” while the Siona and Inga shamans call themselves “Taitas.” The word “shaman” is actually from Siberia, but has been used generically by anthropologists.
For thousands of years, these indigenous people have lived in harmony with their environment, drawing sustenance, shelter, and medicine from the natural world around them. They happen to live in one of the world’s most biologically diverse places of the planet: the Piedmont of the Colombian Amazon.
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About the Shamans’ Videohistory Project
By documenting their life stories, the Shamans’ Videohistory Project will create a living library to ensure that their wisdom is passed on, so that their communities will survive, and with them their forests.
The Project has been in existence since December 2003 when it first presented the videohistory proposal to the annual gathering of the shamans of the UMIYAC - the Union of Traditional Indigenous Doctors of the Colombian Amazon. The Inga, Kamtzá, and Siona Taitas; the Cofán Curacas; and the Tatuyo Payés, gave permission to begin exploring the possibility of videotaping the life stories. By now, formal agreements have been reached with Cofán Curacas, and a Siona and Inga Taita to tape their life stories.
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How to Donate
Donations are fully tax-deductible and can be sent to:
The Shamans’ Videohistory Project
2310 20th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20009
Checks should be made out to: Amazon Conservation Team.
Memo line should read: Videohistory Project.
Contact Us
Email us at shamansvideo@yahoo.com.