Ralph KOPER with Norma PANDURO
“Shushupe”

Shushupe presents field recordings by Ralph Koper primarily pertaining to an ayahuasca ceremony which took place on February 8th, 2006 in Iquitos, Peru conducted by Norma Aguila Panduro Navarro (1944 – 2007) who was one of the very few female ayahuasca shamans in the world. The entheogenic brew known as ayahuasca (or yage) is made from the snake-like ayahuasca vine and the chacruna leaf. The brew is used as a traditional spiritual medicine in ceremonies among the Indigenous peoples of Amazonian Peru, many of whom say that they received the instructions of its use directly from the plants or plant spirits.
Shushupe is a Peruvian word for the bushmaster snake frequently encountered as an anthropomorphized guide during ayahuasca-induced visions and experiences into parallel realities that often take place during the ayahuasca ceremonies. Also, the spirit of Ayahuasca is often seen as a snake during visions.
Norma’s apprentice at the time, Paula Liebe joined in with singing one or two of the ceremonial icaros.
Ralph Koper is a field recording artist from The Hague, Netherlands. His main interest is capturing the sonic / energetic atmospheres of ecstasy of various cultures and nature. “I love it when elements, animals and sometimes people come together and celebrate. The interactions in sound are unintentional magical music.”  Apart from and/OAR, Ralph has also had his work published or made available by 3Leaves, A Closer Listen and Sublunar Society.