'Spirit of the Rainforest 2' Yawanawá Tribe of the Amazon Rainforest

Be inspired today by John Dyer and Nixiwaka Yawanawá's paintings

from the first 'Spirit of the Rainforest' project

Painting by John Dyer. Yuxi Yuve Amazon Rainforest Water Spirit. Painting inspired by the Yawanawá Tribe. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"The water spirit Yuxi Yuve has a real connection for me; she evokes not only the water cycle of the rainforest but also has echoes of stories of mermaids and water spirits in our own culture. Nixiwaka selected the Amazon plants around the waterfall at the Eden Project to paint, so it was natural to create a circular composition with the waterfall forming Yuxi Yuve's hair. The Boa Constrictor features as the power of the rainforest. It is one of the most revered animals. I have included Amazon fish in the water and rainforest butterflies too."

John Dyer

Nixiwaka Yawanawá Painting. Yuxi Yuve - The Water Spirit of the Amazon Rainforest. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"The painting depicts the Spirit of Water who lives in the depths of the great rivers of the Rainforest. Yuxi Yuve is a beautiful woman with long flowing hair, down which water cascades, forging a link connecting the Spirit with all the rivers and everything that is supported in and by the water. She is the Lady of the Waters and is a powerful spirit that looks after all the living things, plants, animals and fish that inhabit the river. She appears in visions to the Yawanawá when they have a ceremony that invokes her force in order to teach them about the spiritual forces that live in the water. She connects the world of the river to the tribe showing its importance to their life as part of nature."

Nixiwaka Yawanawá

Painting by John Dyer. Rare - Spiritual rebirth. Amazon Rainforest Spirit Painting inspired by the Yawanawá Tribe. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"The figure at the centre of my painting symbolises not only the spirit Vana but the Yawanawá themselves. The sacred plants feature in the painting alongside one of the most powerful animals in the rainforest, the Jaguar. The Jaguar symbolises power. The humming bird and Amazon butterflies create a biodiverse image which when combined with the amazing plant forms you find in the Amazon and at the Eden Project creates a feeling of shared energy and vitality. The Yawanawá tribe are the custodians of their piece of the Amazon and their energy and life is a natural part of the ecosystem. We all need to respect the careful balance of the rainforest and I hope through these paintings our thoughts and actions will be reborn."

John Dyer

Nixiwaka Yawanawá Painting. Rare - Spiritual rebirth. Amazon Rainforest Spirit. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"This painting represents the spiritual rebirth of a person who experiences the Yawanawá initiation into becoming a Shaman. The ceremony begins with the root of Rare, a sacred plant considered by the Yawanawá to be the most powerful plant of the Rainforest. It invokes the spirit Vana who is considered to be the owner of all the plants and the most powerful spirit in the Rainforest. The ceremony to become a Shaman involves the person in undertaking a diet where he abstains from specific things and focuses on his spirituality for a period that could be as long as six months, when he is alone in the Rainforest apart from being watched over by his Shaman mentor. The plants are the door to the spiritual world. The ceremony makes the connection with the spirits and the person is transformed into a spiritual being able to see visions, heal and guide the tribe as a Shaman."

Nixiwaka Yawanawá

Vana. The Spirit of our shadows. Painting inspired by the Yawanawá Tribe. Amazon Rainforest. Original Painting by John Dyer. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"In British culture shadows are often used as ominous devices, but the realisation that the spirit of one’s own shadow is a protector and guardian angel is enlightening. The power of the spirit is indicated by the Boa Constrictors and I have painted with intense colours and contrasts to evoke the rainforest exploding with energy and light from the shadows. My Vana spirit sits at the centre of the composition radiating energy and protection. Rainforest butterflies, macaws and spiders are used throughout the painting. The energy that lives in us is the same energy that connects all living things and this energy radiates from the canvas."

John Dyer

Nixiwaka Yawanawá Painting. Vana - The Spirit of our Shadows. Amazon Rainforest Spirit. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"The painting represents the very powerful Vana spirits. They are the guardian angels that protect us from bad things and as such are seen as the Spirit of our own shadow. Only the Shamans can see and talk to them in ceremonies which involve Ayahuasca, a sacred drink to the Yawanawá. The spirits guide the visions in the ceremonies so that they can find their personal Vana. My painting is the vision of my Aunt, a Shaman, which I originally drew from her description. It is therefore a unique, powerful & emotional image."

Nixiwaka Yawanawá

Painting by John Dyer. The Creation of Uni (Ayahuasca). Painting inspired by the Yawanawá Tribe. Amazon Rainforest. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"This painting captures so much about the Rainforest that I know and understand, but in the context of one of the most fundamental and historic stories of the Yawanawá tribe. The Shaman is buried in the rainforest and from his energy new life emerges, in the form of medicinal plants. These plants allow the tribe to reconnect to the Shaman and this story of the cycle of energy underpins the cycle of life, death and rebirth. It is in so many ways a painting of balance and I have featured the Yawanawá tribe at the centre of my painting as they rejoice in this energy that comes from the rainforest. Tribes all over the Amazon know of Ayahuasca and have a shared knowledge of this even though this knowledge is not from direct contact with each other. The knowledge comes through the spirits."

John Dyer

Nixiwaka Yawanawá Painting. Creation of Uni (Ayahuasca) Amazon Rainforest. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"These paintings represent how death came to the world and was overcome through the discovery of the vine called Uni by the Yawanawá, and known by tribes all over the world as Ayahuasca. At one time people were not mortal. A bad spirit cursed a Shaman who became the first person to die and he was buried. Later his son had a dream in which his father came to him to say that he was still alive but in a different form. He asked that his son should, after a period of time, visit the place where he was buried and that he would find a plant. In his dream he was instructed by his father how to make a sacred drink using the plant. When his son returned to the burial ground he discovered a vine that had grown from all the joints of the Shaman’s body. Following the instructions he mixed the leaves (Ravante) with the root of the Uni and created the sacred drink which, in ceremonies that continue today, allows the tribe to connect with their ancestors in the Spirit world."

Nixiwaka Yawanawá

Painting by John Dyer. Nawê. Painting inspired by the Yawanawá Tribe. Amazon Rainforest.100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"This painting captures a vision that Nixiwaka Yawanawá had during a tribal ceremony in the Amazon. Nixiwaka described to me how the two most powerful animals of the rainforest appeared, the Boa Constrictor and the Jaguar. These two spirit animals then merged into one animal that was the combination of both spirits. This then transformed into a tribal spirit that connected and exploded its energy to every part of the rainforest. By using a circular composition and by interconnecting the bold shapes and colours of the plants I hope I have created an energetic and vibrant rainforest image that pulls your focus towards the centre through the snake and Jaguar to the tribal ceremony that is taking place. The Amazon river flows in the background and the vine used in Ayahuasca grows throughout the painting. For me this is a very powerful image of the Spirit of the Rainforest."

John Dyer

Nixiwaka Yawanawá Painting. Nawê. Amazon Rainforest Spirits. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"These paintings show the combining of the powerful Boa Constrictor and Jaguar. The animals are respected by the Yawanawá for their power and danger. Their combination is undertaken by two Shamans in a sacred ritual. This connection of the Shaman with nature and the Spiritual Universe evokes all the spirits of the forest and the animals, represented by the vision of joining these two powerful animals together. The ritual combines Uni (Ayahuasca) with Nawê made from the medicinal plant Tsunu. It is a sacred ritual which makes a connection through the Shaman, that creates a healing and protecting process for the tribe, the Rainforest, the Spiritual World that exists beyond our material world."

Nixiwaka Yawanawá

Painting by John Dyer. Kênê - At one with Nature. 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"Body painting is a fundamental part of tribal culture. The Yawanawá use Paxiti (red annatto seeds) to create the paint they use. By using natural colour from the rainforest and by painting patterns derived from nature on each other’s bodies the tribe becomes one with nature as they sing and dance in their ceremonies. It was because of body painting that the Spirit of the Rainforest Project was possible as this gave Nixiwaka a natural eye and use of line for him to translate onto canvases and for him to inform my work."

John Dyer

Nixiwaka Yawanawá Painting. Kênê - Body Painting. Amazon Rainforest Spirits 100 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

"The Yawanawá people use body painting represented by the Kênê. Since time immemorial, we have used Kênê to celebrate traditional feasts and ceremonies and also within our daily life. When we paint our bodies we are gracing ourselves, staying beautiful and becoming protected from disease. The spirit of the Kênê lady appears in visions during Uni (Ayahuasca) ceremonies. We receive the paintings and practise these among the people of the tribe as a way of learning through the spiritual world."

Nixiwaka Yawanawá