The role of a Master Ayahuascero

In Amazonian traditional plant medicine, the Master Ayahuasquero (Master Shaman who is an expert in Ayahuasca medicine) is the practitioner and the keeper of sacred plant wisdom. The Master Ayahuasquero plays a necessary and universal role in the practice of plant medicine, which is ubiquitously acknowledged by their local communities. They first go through the strenuous spiritual and physical rigors of apprenticeship. This apprenticeship will define their ascension of spiritual growth and learning.  After the ascension to master, they serve as a universal link between the patient and the world of spirit, fulfilling their role in ceremony as healer and as teacher.

Role in Ceremony

Setting the Ceremonial Space
At the beginning of each ceremony, the master shaman, or maestro, sets the ceremonial space. This is done by blowing tobacco smoke and using intent to open and protect the dimensional gateways through which the spirits and medicine energies will enter and exit three-dimensional reality.

Next, the maestro prepares and protects each patient by invoking the assistance of guardian spirits and singing an intent of protection into each individual serving of Ayahuasca.

Establishing the Dose
The maestro is in constant contact with the medicine spirits. He or she will call on the medicine spirits and receive through direct communication the dose or serving for each participant.

Calling in Mareación
The ceremony will begin with the calling in of mareación (the overall effects of the Ayahuasca), which transports the participants into spiritual realities transcending normal physical reality.

Calling in the Doctor Spirits, Directing Healing, and Sending Away Dark Spirits
The maestro governs the actions of the doctor spirits by singing icaros. In addition, the maestro uses the shacapa (the shaman’s leaf rattle) to direct the medicine energies and to send away dark energies or spirits that have been purged by the participant.

Cleansing of the Spirits and Energies Purged in Ceremony
As the ceremony progresses, energies are purged out of the bodies of the participants into the mesa. The maestro releases these energies out into the infinite, away from the ceremony and the other participants, with the instruction that the energies or spirits may never return. This is important so energies leaving the body of one participant will not enter into the body of another. The maestro is the dominant energetic force in the ceremony. He manages all of the energies in the mesa, the energies in the participants, and the spirits.