Caapi Shipibo Textile

Origin: Shipibo-Conibo People, Pucallpa, Peru. The Shipibo-Conibo are an indigenous people (currently numbering only about 20,000) who live along the Ucayali river in the Amazon basin east of the Andes. Though an increasing portion of the Shipibo population have become urbanized in settlements such as Pucallpa, their traditions remain strong. They are expressed in their shamanistic religion and in their visionary arts – notably in the patterns that the Shipibo women paint on their pottery, clothing, textiles and their bodies. 

History: The Shipibo are known for labyrinthine geometric designs that reflect their culture and their cosmology. The main elements of this design are the squares, and crosses, which “represents the southern Cross constellation which dominates the night sky and divides the cosmos into four quadrants…”. The center design symbolizes the caapi vine, used in the preparation of the sacramental drug Ayahuasca. The truly psychedelic color combinations are consistent with ayahuasca visions. Traditionally this cloth would be worn by women as a skirt, but would make a beautiful wall tapestry, or table runner. 

Material: Hand-embroidered, 100% cotton

Dimensions: Length 59.8", width 24.8", center design length 80"