ECUADOR | Sunday, 13 January 2013 | Views [526] | View Smaller Image
5. Jorge Santi, the tribal leader and Shaman of Kichwa people in the Pastaza region of Ecuador finds a moment alone to reflect on the political future of his region. This marks the end of a long day of political promises and final votes. His headdress is made from the skin of a peccary head. When asked what it means to him, I was told that after taking part in a spiritual ritual involving the ingestion of a powerful psychotropic, Ayahuasca, he had visions of a sounder of Peccaries foraging in the valley below. The following day he and his hunters slaughtered some of the herd and now the taxidermied skin serves as a symbol of he and his peoples connection with the nature that they have depended on for over 10,000 years. To me, he represents archaic balance cornered by the fleeting-but-permanent change of the new world.
