Voice of the Amazonian Rain Forest, a documentary that captures the stories and songs of the Peruvian shaman Don Ignacio Duri, one of a few remaining keepers of a cultural and ecological legacy of medicinal plant wisdom on the verge of extinction.

Until recently this heritage had been entrusted only to selected apprentices, but now younger generations no longer want to make the commitment to years of rigorous study. Instead they are lured by the modern lifestyle introduced as a by-product of television and projects like the construction of the 2,500-mile Interoceanic Highway that will soon intersect the southern Amazonian rain forest that is Don Ignacio's home. In order to preserve and pass on the tradition before he dies, Don Ignacio has offered to impart these stories to us.

In this documentary the myths, the soul, and the profound inheritance of the tropical Andean shamanic tradition survive. Shamanism, like evolution itself, is a dynamic phenomenon that must adapt to an ever transforming landscape. Change is inevitable, but the power to remember and tell a story lives on.

This rare opportunity to document – a world distant from ours in every sense of the word – offers an illuminating view of our relationship to the Earth and safeguards an oral tradition that can further medical research and ultimately protect the Earth and humanity's continued existence.

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    photo courtesy of © 2003-2008 Laurence Treweek

   © 2008 Voice of the Amazonian Rain Forest. All Rights Reserved