Pencil cases with Shipibo pattern

Pencil cases with Shipibo pattern

100% fair traded

Colour: green

Measurements: ca. 12 cm x ca. 20 cm

Material: 100 % cotton

Things to know about the Shipibo Indians

The Shipibo Indians are living in the Peruvian lowland of the Amazon river, at the “Rio Ucayali”, a headstream of the Amazon river. The Shipido folk includes ca. 28,000 people. They mainly subsist on agriculture (Manioc, corn, bananas & different root vegetables) and hunting and fishing.

Furthermore, the Shipibo Indians are a folk of artists. They are known for their, with ornaments crested, pottery, clothing and wood carvings, made by the Shipibo-women. The women work as potters, weavers and cloth painters while the men are out hunting. Even their household items are often decorated with these patterns. These patterns can be found everywhere in the Shipibo culture and are called “quené”. Many scientists are certain that the quené are more than just decoration because they are also heavily used in the Shipibo shamanism. They suspect that the geometrical and graphical structures of the patterns have originated under the influence of Ayahuasca and could be some sort of language or script to communicate with a different reality. The Ayahuasca-shamanism ist o this day a valued tradition of the Shipibo Indians and is treasured as valuable legacy of ancient Indian wisdom.

The Shipibo make man-high ceramic vessels to ferment manioc-beer, which is then consumed at every Shipibo feast or celebration, where it is served in high amounts. The drinking vessels of the beer are also fairly big. The size is supposed to show and underline the generosity of the Shipibo people, that host the festivities.