Procreate 'Spirit of the Rainforest'
With the Yawanawá Tribe
of the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest and the tribes who live there are vital to us all
Run this adventure in your class today
Why?
Tribes are key to the health and future of the rainforests around the world. Their tribal ceremonies and deep connection to the rainforest has created a visual and musical culture that hasn’t been widely explored yet. A new genre of art to discover and connect to.
‘Long before the word “conservation” was coined, tribal peoples developed highly effective measures for maintaining the richness of their environment. They have sophisticated codes of conservation to stop overhunting and preserve biodiversity.’ Survival International.
Where
Artist John Dyer and musician Martha-Lilly Dyer travelled to the Yawanawá tribe, who live in the Acre region of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, in June 2019. Permission was given by the tribe and also by FUNAI, the government department in Brazil that is involved with indigenous peoples. John Dyer’s friend, Amazon Indian artist Nixiwaka Yawanawá was involved in the project and painted alongside John. ‘Procreate – Spirit of the Rainforest’ started on June 3rd when the team left London. The team travelled by canoe on the Rio Gregório, to the tribal village of Mutum, on June 5th. Between June 5th and June 13th satellite communications allowed schools to ask questions and we uploaded blogs and video each day to inspire children across the world to connect to tribal culture and the environment. You can watch these videos and read our blogs to give your class a sense of ‘being in the moment’ with ‘Spirit of the Rainforest’ and make sure to join us ‘LIVE’ on future chapters of the project.
What do we want you to do?
We want you to use the art of John Dyer, Nixiwaka Yawanawá and the Yawanawá children, combined with our video diary, photographs and blogs to immerse your school and children in the subject of the rainforest. Encourage them to reflect, connect and to then create their own piece of rainforest inspired art based on plants, tribal people or animals and to upload it to our WorldGallery.online. Help us to make real connections between peoples and to create the largest online art gallery of art celebrating the natural world. View the ‘Spirit of the Rainforest’ gallery now and get ready to upload your children’s art.
Outcomes
Through this project, we are connecting children, using art and technology, with tribal culture. We hope that this will create a personal connection and bond to the rainforest and generate amazing pieces of art and lots of questions. We want every child involved to create their own piece of amazing art on the theme of ‘Spirit of the Rainforest’ that is inspired by the Amazon paintings of John Dyer and Nixiwaka Yawanawá and the animals, plants and people we introduce them to. They can send a high-quality photo of their final paintings, collages, mixed media etc to us and we will exhibit their art online in the World Galley.
Resources for your class
We published a written blog and ‘LIVE’ video via satellite every day from the ‘Spirit of the Rainforest’ chapter of ‘Last Chance to Paint’ whilst we lived and worked with the Yawanawá tribe in the Amazon rainforest. These resources make an inspiring way to introduce the subject to your children and we are still happy to take questions from your school if your questions are not answered in the existing blog posts and videos.
Teaching Resources
The Born Free Foundation, with the help of the Eden Project and the Last Chance to Paint team have created downloadable lesson plans and teacher notes for learning about the Amazon rainforest and to follow the ‘Spirit of the Rainforest’ adventure.
DOWNLOAD OUR TEACHING RESOURCES NOW
Our downloadable resources are primarily designed for Key Stage 2 but are easily adaptable for all Key Stages with links to Art and Design, Geography, Science, English, SMSC and Citizenship curricula. They are also great for parents to use with their children.
Full teaching notes for teachers available in a pdf file.
Chapter 1 'Spirit of the Rainforest' Teacher Notes (1052 downloads)
Full lesson plans in PowerPoint format.
Lesson 1: The Yawanawá Tribe (1091 downloads)
Lesson 2: Rainforest Plants (1070 downloads)
Lesson 3: Rainforest Wildlife (1066 downloads)
Lesson 4: Join the Adventure (1055 downloads)
Lesson 5: Art Project (1066 downloads)
Download the 5 lessons and the teacher notes from tes.com
We also have additional videos to inspire and ideas on our educators’ page.
What did John Dyer & Nixiwaka Yawanawá paint?
John Dyer was joined by Amazon Indian artist Nixiwaka Yawanawá. Together they painted the deep connection between the tribe and the spirits of the rainforest.
Painting in the tribal village and the surrounding rainforest provided a rich creative and learning experience for us all. We experienced tribal life, the rainforest plants and animals that the tribe interacts with, body painting, tribal ceremonies and music.
The Paintings created by artist John Dyer and Amazon Indian Nixiwaka Yawanawá
-
-
Awavana - Painting by John Dyer. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"The power and beauty of water combined with the energy and spirituality of the tribe has inspired my painting. Spiritual butterflies fly across the rainforest which is painted with energetic brush marks and colours. The river is the source of life for the Yawanawá and this painting is a celebration of their deep connection to the rainforest."
John Dyer
-
-
Awavana - Painting by Nixiwaka Yawanawá. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"Awavana means butterfly and my painting depicts the very spiritual shamanic pot in the centre of my painting. Energy radiates from the pot and is symbolised by the spiritual butterflies. Beneath the pot is water and our special medicine pant 'Uni' which is used for our ayahuasca ceremonies. "
Nixiwaka Yawanawá
-
-
The Sky Snake Ashuinka and Ground Snake Runua - Painting by John Dyer. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"I painted this painting surrounded by the Yawanawá's most spiritual plants in a sacred part of their rainforest. The painting depicts a shamanic pot with a spiritual butterfly emerging. On the ground is Runua the ground snake and in the canopy we can see the sky snake Ashuinka. As I painted the tribe fished in the river and also swept the rainforest to clean it and to show respect. It is forbidden to touch the scared plants and if you do snakes appear in the tribal village."
John Dyer
-
-
The Sky Snake Ashuinka and Ground Snake Runua - Painting by Nixiwaka Yawanawá. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"This is a very powerful painting that depicts how we work with the power of the ground and sky snake in our shamanic ceremonies. In the centre of my painting is a shamanic pot with the ayahuasca plant radiating energy. The snake is very spiritual and we work with the ground snake but we know there is also a sky snake, Ashuinka. If the sky snake sees you in the forest it will take you."
Nixiwaka Yawanawá
-
-
The Healing Shaman - Painting by John Dyer. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"Painted in one of the oldest parts of the Yawanawá's rainforest my painting depicts a special ceremony in which a shaman prays into a shamanic healing pot to help to heal an ill member of the tribe. The shamanic pot is shown by the negative space the snake creates in the centre of my painting. On the far side of the river we see the shaman standing over the poorly person. as i painted toucans called from the canopy, butterflies flew past and ants crawled on just about everything!"
John Dyer
-
-
The Healing Shaman - Painting by Nixiwaka Yawanawá. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"My painting shows a shamanic prayer for a ill member of the tribe. The shaman prays into a shamanic pot. There are two pots shown in my painting and our sacred animal, the snake appears from one pot and then the other. All the energy is forming while the shaman prays and this energy heals the ill person."
Nixiwaka Yawanawá
-
-
Tribal Ceremony. Painting by John Dyer. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"The Yawanawá have regular ceremonies where they connect to their spirits of the rainforest. This painting is of the ceremony that I attended during my time with the tribe. A fire burns outside the 'shuhu' house and the shaman prepares their spiritual medicine which allows the tribe to visit the spirits. Glowing embers of the fire are placed carefully in piles where people are sitting. Members of the tribe line up to receive the medicine from the shaman and then sit quietly whilst other members of the tribe sing songs. The evening is long lasting until 3am with lots of dancing, music and singing. Sparks fly up into the sky and bats fly across the stars."
John Dyer
-
-
Rainforest Tree House. Painting by John Dyer. 24 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas.
"Painted from an extraordinary rainforest treehouse in the Yawanawá village of Mutum. My painting depicts the magical moment a family of black faced monkeys descended from the canopy to meet Robin Hanbury-Tenison who can be seen relaxing in his hammock. Robin grew up in a tree house and was in absolute heaven in the rainforest of the Yawanawá. Butterflies, toucans, chickens and members of the tribe watch as the monkeys' go to great the great explorer."
John Dyer
-
-
The Healing Shaman. Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
"This Procreate painting focuses on one of the most important themes of this series. The image depicts the 'Healing Shaman' who adds good spirits, prayers and plant medicines to the shamanic pot. This invokes the power of the sky snake (boa constrictor) and the snake of the earth (anaconda snake) to help to heal a poorly member of the tribe. Spiritual butterflies carry the energy up into the canopy and connect the energy from shaman and rainforest. My Procreate painting was created in a very special part of the Yawanawá rainforest where the medicine plants grow. These plants must not be touched and the tribe regularly sweep and rake this part of the rainforest to respect and clean it."
John Dyer
-
-
River of Life, Rio Gregorió. Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
"The Rio Gregorió is the tributary of the Amazon river that the Yawanawá live on. The river starts in Peru and provides not only the only way in and out of the tribe but a place to wash, fish, hunt and a source of water and spirituality. It is the life source of the tribe and absolutely beautiful. I made this Procreate drawing of the river reflecting the sky and ground snake imagery and a narrative of tribal life on the water."
John Dyer
-
-
Yuxi Yuve. Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
"Yuxi Yuve is one of the Yawanawá's rainforest spirits. She appears to them as a beautiful woman with long flowing hair, down which water cascades, forging a link connecting the Spirit with all the rivers and the entire water cycle of the rainforest. Yuxi Yuve is a very powerful spirit who looks after all the living things. She appears in visions to the Yawanawa when they have a ceremony that invokes her force in order to teach them about the spiritual forces that live in the water. Yuxi Yuve connects the river to the tribe showing its importance to their life as part of nature."
John Dyer
-
-
Sacred Rainforest. Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
"This Procreate painting was done in one of the Yawanawá's most sacred parts of the rainforest. It is an old part of the forest and was rich in wildlife with toucans and parrots flying overhead and squeaking in the trees. Ants were crawling everywhere too! A group of Yawanawá artists joined me on this day quietly creating sacred drawings and designs in the rainforest."
John Dyer
-
-
Tribal Ceremony. Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
"This Procreate painting was made at night (impossible with traditional media) and shows a Yawanawá tribal ceremony I attended where the shaman prepares Ayahuasca, or Uni as the Yawanawá call it, which is a tribal medicine, that members of the tribe take during the ceremony. It is rather like communion at church and the tribe line up at a table where the shaman gives each member a cup full of the 'spiritual medicine' to drink. The tribe sing and then dance and the ceremony went on until 3am in the morning. Many members of the tribe will experience direct contact with the spirits of the rainforest during the ceremony and the first spiritual animal that appears is often the snake. I never participate but simply watch as I strongly believe that it should only be members of the tribe that take part in such sacred ceremonies. The tribe also used this ceremony to welcome me and the team to the tribe and to thank us for inspiring them with our art and music."
John Dyer
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
-
-
Procreate digital iPad painting by John Dyer.
Be inspired by the paintings from the Yawanawá children
-
-
Lavana Yawanawá. Painted with Annatto seed paint on paper 21cm x 21cm
-
-
Yawanawá. Painted with Annatto seed paint on paper 21cm x 21cm
-
-
Daniele Yawanawá. Painted with Annatto seed paint on paper 21cm x 21cm
-
-
Jorge Yawanawá. Painted with Annatto seed paint on paper 21cm x 21cm
-
-
Joana Yawanawá. Painted with Annatto seed paint on paper 21cm x 21cm
-
-
Xikuvimt Yawanawá. Painted with Annatto seed paint on paper 21cm x 21cm
-
-
Taina Yawanawá. Painted with Annatto seed paint on paper 21cm x 21cm
FEATURE VIDEO
'Spirit of the Rainforest' feature length video diary
Daily Blog - 'Live' from the Amazon Rainforest
Day 1
We have officially touched down and started our Amazon adventure! Having spent nearly 48hrs in and out of airports and on planes we are pretty exhausted and we were very relieved to arrive at The Swamy Hotel in Cruzeiro Do Sul, courtesy of our taxi driver who avoided most of the pot holes! To be […]
Exact location of the Yawanawá tribe
This map was automatically generated via our Iridium satellite unit to locate us on the world map. This is the exact location of Mutum the Yawanawá tribal village we visited. Lat-8deg22’51” Lon-71deg44’24” Alt+760ft GPS Sats seen: 06 2019-06-06 00:42UTC http://map.iridium.com/m?lat=-8.381003&lon=-71.740088 Sent via Iridium GO!
Day 2 – Canoe ride to Mutum
Day 2 Our blog today is about the final leg of our journey until our arrival at Mutum village, home of the Yawanawá people. Today we were met at our hotel by a police man called Alvino – our driver for the morning – and Nixiwaka Yawanawá – our contact and friend from Mutum. Then […]
Day 3
Hi everyone! We survived our first night in the Rainforest and have now been properly introduced to the Yawanawá people and the village. As we arrived at night time we weren’t able to film our arrival as we were mainly concentrating on getting our luggage up a sandy bank and finding the way to our […]
Postcard from the Amazon and Q&A
Here are some answers to some of the questions we have been emailed: Why did you decide to go to Brazil and paint? Because The Amazon Rainforest is very important to all our futures and I wanted to make all the children aware of the Amazon. I have a friend, Nixiwaka Yawanawá who is an […]
Day 4 – Painting in the rainforest
Today has been a very long day and we are finally underway with the painting. What you guys don’t get to see, is how long we have to wait whilst the Yawanawá people discuss amongst themselves any arrangements. A good is example is this morning, where we woke up nice and early at 6am ready […]
Day 5 – Yawanawá and sharing.
Before we arrived with the Yawanawá, we had to pay them a sum of money. This was to cover the cost of our transport to/from the tribe, living with them, and food costs. Last night we were told that supper would be at the chiefs house where all the food our money had paid for […]
Day 5 – Painting day 2!
We have arrived at painting location number 2! It took far less time to get here today than it did yesterday as the organising was previously completed. By 9am painting was underway. Today our painting location is very special and is a very sacred place to the tribe. It is here that the Yawanawá people […]
Day 6 – some challenges
Challenge for everyone: Can you find out the name of the bird in the blog photo? Sadly we are not sure, so it’s up to you to find out for us! Last night was very exciting for us as our travelling companions and friends Robin Hanbury-Tenison (20c worlds greatest explorer) and his son Merlin arrived […]
videos down 🙁
Hi everyone, Despite our best efforts technology has failed us and we will be unable to release any more videos whilst we are here. Blogs will continue to be posted so you can follow us this way in the mean time. We are still filming the videos for you all, and as soon as we […]
Day 7 – tribal ceremony
Wow! We can’t believe that we’ve been in Brazil for a week now! Just another quick reminder that our videos to Facebook and YouTube won’t be running until we return to WiFi and 4G towards the end of the week when we begin our travel home. This is due to a issue we have with […]
Day 8 – Last day of painting
It’s our penultimate day in Mutum with the Yawanawá and it’s boiling! As our week draws to a close we are really starting to feel the tiredness settle in, especially in these boiling temperatures, and we are looking forward to travelling home to recount all of our amazing stories. The hot sunny weather has been […]
Day 9 – Final day
Today has been our last day in Mutum village and we’ve had such an amazing time. Due to the humid climate, John’s paintings have been taking a couple of days to dry, and as we are planning to leave first thing tomorrow morning, we decided that the sensible thing would be for him not to […]
Playing Flute in the Rainforest
We have just returned from our amazing ‘Spirit of the Rainforest 2’ chapter of ‘Last Chance to Paint’ where we painted and played music with the Yawanawá tribe in the Amazon rainforest. We have had so many experiences and have lots to share with you all. One of the highlights of our time in the […]
Voices from the Amazon Rainforest
Art is a universal language that can be understood, appreciated and used to bridge and communicate across peoples, cultures, countries and languages. As an artist, I am fascinated by the visual language we all learn and what commonalities and differences exist across peoples. I am also very aware of how music transcends language barriers and […]
Last Chance to Paint made a big impact at Wells Cathedral Junior School
The project has already had a huge influence at Wells – we’re planting hedges where there were once fences, we’ve planted a meadow behind the science room. There’s now an eco-garden outside my classroom, made from eco-bricks and sustainable materials, with bee-friendly areas and hedgehog homes incorporated. In art lessons, pupils have created tribal masks, […]
Baby Yawanawá arrives!
We are thrilled to let you all know that Nixiwaka Yawanawá and his wife Matsa, from the Yawanawá tribe in the Amazon rainforest, have just contacted us to let us know of the birth of their new baby boy who is called Sol Yahu Nixiwaka Yawanawá. They are all doing well. Nixiwaka and Matsa travelled downriver […]
Music Inspired by 'Spirit of the Rainforest' Rainforest World Premier
Yuxi Yuve The Yawanawá Water Spirit
Composed by Jake Thorpe and performed on flute by Martha-Lilly Dyer
Chapter Sponsor
Procreate
Savage Interactive, the makers of the Procreate App, have kindly sponsored our ‘Spirit of the Rainforest’ chapter of ‘Last Chance to Paint’ and we are thrilled to be working with them. Procreate is the leading and best-selling art App for iPad. The iPhone version of the App, Procreate Pocket, was named by Apple as the iPhone App of the year 2018. John Dyer will be using Procreate whilst in the Amazon rainforest.
“Procreate is a multi-award winning creative app designed to free creative professionals from their desk. Create beautiful sketches, inspiring paintings, and stunning illustrations wherever you are.”
Supporter
Neville Shulman CBE
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, explorer, mountaineer, journalist, author, and art collector. He has travelled extensively throughout the world and every year undertakes expeditions and exploration to promote a number of charities. Neville Shulman is a novelist and writer on travel, exploration and Zen philosophy and is a Fellow of the Royal Society For The Encouragement Of The Arts, a Director of Shepperton Film Studios, and has many involvements in the theatre, film and entertainment industries.
John Dyer & Amazon Indian Nixiwaka Yawanawá
'Spirit of the Rainforest' paintings by John Dyer and Nixiwaka Yawanawá from their residency at the Eden 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 cylcle of the rainforest but also has echoes of Mermaids, stories and Spirits in our own culture. Nixiwaka selected the Amazon plants around the waterfall at the Eden Project for us to work with so it was natural for me 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 of the rainforest. I have included Amazon fish in the water and rainforest butterflies too. Many of the plant forms in the painting are painted from life using the plants at Eden as reference. My painting has a cyclical energy that echoes the natural cycle of life."
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