A Gifted Shamanic Healer

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(This was written at the time of the event in 2005. I am finally sharing it and have edited it some for more clarity.)

When I first really began to study shamanism enthusiastically I was drawn to Ayahuasca. I learned so much from this plant teacher that I knew I wanted to dive deeper. I had begun to work with an Ayahuasquero from Colombia and was bringing him to the US to perform ceremonies. But after a couple of years, I learned that his integrity was not where I had thought it was and I had to let him go.

As soon as I did this and decided to go explore more on my own, I learned of a conference in Peru called the Amazonian Conference on Shamanic Healing. I wanted to learn more about the sacred plant medicines but I also wanted to find a shaman with a true desire to help people, who were not in it for themself. I had already done plant medicine ceremonies with different shamans and although I had had lots of good experiences, I also found that many shamans are just as lost as the rest of us, with alcohol addictions, adultery issues and a craving to make money more than to heal.

The first day I got to the conference in Peru I heard about a ceremony to be held at the house of a talented Banco Espiritual in Iquitos, named Don Javier Dasilva Oliveira. Bancos are rare because they work on each of the three planes (here, above and below) while many shamans work on only one plane.

Don Javier was originally from Brazil and had been practicing shamanism since his early teens, trained by his father, who in turn was trained by his father. He was said to be an amazing healer. He held ceremonies in his home, a small simple house with many chairs and an altar to the Baby Jesus. The dining room and kitchen were where those of us who would drink the ayahuasca (around 15 people) would sit for the night, while the front room would hold all of his other “patients”, locals mostly (about 50 or so people). 

Throughout the night Javier would perform limpias (cleansings) on each person there, giving them advice, valuable information about health and things to watch out for in the future. He spoke very little English but the medicine helped us to understand him and there was an interpreter. Ayahuasca is a powerful plant medicine that brings psychedelic visions often in conjunction with a powerful purging after vomiting. It is not for everyone and should only be experienced if you are willing to go to the darkest depths of your soul to learn about yourself and to heal.

Javier said that he worked through the Baby Jesus, his main spirit guide and that it was only through him and the “doctors” that he was able to perform this healing. He called his spirit helpers the “doctors” because when they were alive, about 250 years ago, they were powerful healers. Now they performed healings and psychic surgeries through Javier. He would embody these spirits, speaking in their ancient languages and singing icaros (songs for focusing and directing spiritual energies) throughout the night. It was amazing how his personality would change with each spirit that spoke through him. By the end of the night, he would become even more vibrant and would have performed limpias on 50 to 80 people. 

He was a powerful shaman, evidenced by the fact that each person I talked to found his assessment of them to be spot on, including myself. (He saw the fibroid inside of me years before it was discovered- telling me something was eating me alive from the inside.) Some patients had received miraculous physical healings as well.

I had never seen a shaman with such focus and devotion to his “patients”. His icaros were so beautiful and I felt I could sit and listen to him sing for days. His medicine was very pure too. He used only ayahuasca and chacruna in his brew.

I wish I could better express what an incredible impact he had on us all. The best I can say is that being in his ceremony was a blessing because it was clear that he was being fully guided by his spirit helpers and his ego was not getting in the way. 

Here are a few pictures of him next to his alter doing one of the private healings that he performed on me, during a regular business day. In this picture, he is blowing tobacco smoke into the jar of ayahuasca, cleansing it to prepare for the ceremony.