Curanderismo

Curanderismo (from the Spanish curar, "to heal") is a broad family of traditional spiritual healing practices found across Latin America, encompassing many distinct regional traditions carried by curanderos and curanderas — healers who work with plants, prayer, and ceremony within a religious framework.

ECC's own ceremonial lineage descends from one specific branch within this larger family: Shipibo curanderismo, the ayahuasca-centered healing tradition of the Shipibo-Konibo people of the Peruvian Amazon. ECC's facilitators trained through direct apprenticeship under Shipibo lineage holders, learning the icaros (ceremonial songs), plant dietas, and ceremonial forms passed down through this tradition. Authority within Shipibo curanderismo is earned through years of relationship with one's teachers — both human and plant — rather than through academic credentialing.