Our Shipibo Healers
The Mahua Lineage
The Maestras and Maestros I work with are all very consciously chosen. I have spent several months in dieta with each of them, and sat in many hundreds of ceremonies with them together — to learn, heal, and transform. I learned to trust them because I always felt supported and guided safely through my ceremonies and dietas.
It is a huge blessing to be able to sit in ceremony with these Maestros and Maestras of the Mahua Lineage. They are the last of their kind, it seems to me. Their healing culture is dying out — most of the younger generation has lost interest in the depth of their healing art. This generation mostly wants to belong to the "modern" world and no longer grows up in an environment in which they are connected from an early age with the plants and nature spirits.
Working with this old generation of Shipibo healers is something very precious and special to me. This Shipibo tradition of plant medicine work, in this original form, is something which may not exist so much longer on the planet. There are not many of these traditional Maestros left, and there may not be so much more time to learn with them and receive their work and wisdom. It is an immense honor for me to be able to facilitate you being a part of this experience.
I feel honored that since 2016 I have been guided by these strong Onayas — in Shipibo language, "the ones who know." It is and has been a huge blessing to learn with the Sacred Tree Medicine guided by these strong healers. Still after all these years it feels very special that since 2018 I have been able to offer healing and learning space together with them. I feel very grateful for each retreat we have created to share this special healing and learning field.
I have been learning from Maestra Manuela since August 2016 and with Juana since February 2017. Manuela Mahua was my first Maestra in the Mahua Family — she connected me to the wisdom of her lineage and opened me to the magic of the plant world. The deep journey with the energy and wisdom of Noya Rao started for me in 2016 with Manuela.
Manuela recommended her cousin Juana to me in 2017 when she became busier with group work and had less time to work individually. Since then I have frequently been dieting with both Manuela and Juana. Papa Gilberto Mahua became my male Maestro in 2017 as well — I am immensely grateful for him. For several years I visited him in his village to continue my learning with him. Receiving work from a woman or a man feels very different and brings up different things.
Since 2018, Robertina worked with Manuela together in several of my diet times. I highly appreciate being introduced and connected to Robertina's work as well — she has become very strong over the last years. Robertina is the daughter of Papa Pascual, who was a very strong Noya Rao Maestro. I had the honor to sit with him a few times in his last years. Pascual was an older brother of Gilberto.
With all of these elders I have dieted many months — and all together, years. They are all powerful and very unique in their different approaches. Each of them formed and shaped me in my connection with the Tree Medicine and the Universe. I feel immense gratitude for this, and for this reason I want to mention each of them here.
A Note on Who Is Currently Working
All of our healers have been part of True-Journey Masterplant Retreats at different times over the last years. In the present moment, Maestra Juana is mainly working in our retreats. She is still healthy, younger than the others, and free enough to travel to different places.
Please always check the Retreat Schedule to see which Maestra or Maestro will be working in a specific retreat. Maybe one of my other Shipibo healers will show up again — let's stay open.
Maestra Juana Silvano Teco
Juana is a Noya Rao Maestra. She sings her Ikaros very strongly and is able to channel pure Noya Rao energy. In every ceremony she sings for the whole group as well as for each person individually. Her singing goes deep and she sings until the work is done. She is there with her full heart and is very committed to her work. She is often in dieta by herself to connect to spirit and to be strong for her groups. Her individual Ikaros in every ceremony are very unique.
Juana is from the Mahua Lineage and learned from strong and famous healers of this family — for example from Manuela Mahua, Pascual Mahua, and Benjamin Mahua. She has an open heart and speaks very lovingly of all of her teachers. Some of her older teachers ask her these days for help. She is a very respected Maestra within the community of healers.
She has eight children, a husband, and many grandchildren. Working as a healer, she is the caretaker of her family. She lives her life in the Shipibo tradition and has been drinking Ayahuasca since she was twenty years old. She is now in her 60s.
Juana was very sick when she was a young woman. She started to diet with her uncles for her own healing. This period of dieting went on for four years. She lived in isolation and was separated from her husband and children during this period. Only her older uncles, who were strong shamans, were caring for her. This was her initiation into becoming a powerful healer. Since that time she has been dieting very often and has gained much power and connection with the plant spirits. She likes to share her knowledge with her students. I appreciate her very much and I am very grateful and blessed that she is one of my Shipibo teachers.
If you decide to do a retreat or dieta with Juana, there is the option of doing a dieta with Bobinzana or Noya Rao. Juana's strongest plant energies are with Noya Rao and Bobinzana.
In the last years Juana has become quite famous because of her connection to the Noya Rao energy. I am very grateful to be able to offer retreats with her and to receive some of her time.
Maestro Gilberto Mahua
Maestro Gilberto is in the beginnings of his 70s. He told me this is the best age for a Shipibo man. He is the youngest of five brothers — all of them were trained at an early age as shamans. His father, grandfather, and further ancestors were all strong healers. That is why the Mahua Lineage is so famous. They say that their grandfather could change his body form and travel to different places.
His father initiated Gilberto into his first dieta at eleven years of age, this first dieta lasting over one year. When Gilberto speaks about this time, he says it was very hard for him because he was so young. One of the reasons why Gilberto became such a strong shaman is because he started so young to connect to the plant energies. His brothers and he were guided by their father through many Master Plant Dietas. At this young age he had to drink Ayahuasca, tobacco, and other plants. He couldn't play anymore with other children in the village, nor could he do any other things that children and teenagers like to do.
The first plants he was dieting with were Ayahuma, Bobinzana, Huaira Caspi, and Chiri Sanango. Many other Masterplant Dietas followed, and he continues with dietas frequently to keep himself strong and clean. He has pure dieta experience totalling more than 50 years now. This makes him a very special Maestro — and when you sit with him in ceremony you can feel this. He has an immense wealth of experience and his ability to channel the energy of the plants is very strong.
Some people call him Maestro Clavo — the Spanish word for "nail." When he sings his Ikaros he hits the hammer on the head, as the saying goes. His students call him Papa. He has a very caring father energy — if you need him in ceremony he is there, which makes you feel safe and which allows you to go deep.
Gilberto lives in a small Shipibo community on the Ucayali River. He moved there with his family when he was 18 years old and since then this village has been his home. He loves his land and is very connected to it. Often you can see him working outside in the garden. He raised five children who are all adults now and have their own families.
It seems like there is no other child who will continue this healing art and tradition in the way that Gilberto is practicing it, and as his ancestors did. He never wanted to put pressure on his children to become a shaman because it was quite difficult for himself when he was young — even though he loves his work as a shaman now.
Today Gilberto shares his house with many students and family members. He has become quite famous in recent years, so it is difficult to get him to work with small groups as we do with True-Journey. He is a very generous man. Sometimes he seems a bit serious, but the more one gets to know him the more one sees his huge humor and his laughter. I love him very much. He is my Maestro. I am very grateful and look forward to learning more with him and the plants.
Based on his deep connection with many different master plants and his knowledge of their unique qualities, he can offer a dieta depending on your personal needs. He has a large variety of medicines that he can offer. In his ceremonies, there are people who are dieting with different plants. To sit with him in ceremony is a very special experience. Even though he has become more and more famous in recent years, it seems that this has not changed him.
Maestra Manuela Mahua
Manuela Mahua is the daughter of Manuel Mahua Ochavano. He was the oldest of the five Mahua Ochavano brothers — each one of these five men still is or has been a strong shaman. The youngest brother, Gilberto Mahua, is my male Maestro, with whom I have been frequently dieting since 2017.
Manuela grew up with plant medicine and shamanism. She began drinking medicine when she was in her early teens. She is now more or less in her late seventies. Her Shipibo name is Jakon Rate. Her students also often call her "Yoxan" — a name for a female elder.
I appreciate Manuela for the consistent authenticity rooted in her work. She ensures a safe space while she performs her energetic work. She also creates space — particularly when you are learning with her for longer periods of time — to learn by yourself. These experiences were sometimes very challenging for me, and yet always in the end incredibly beneficial and tremendously important. For me she has a very interesting way of doing her work. She invites dieteros to explore their roles in their own healing process. Manuela's work carries ancestral wisdom. For this I feel extremely honored to be able to learn and work with her.
In August 2016, Manuela was the first Shipibo Maestra I worked with from the Mahua lineage. She introduced me to the depths of higher plant wisdom. She was my first "real Maestra" — my first "real shaman" — who deeply guided me, and still does so today. She plays a very important role in guiding me, and unyieldingly challenges my personal limitations in order for me to progress to the next steps in my apprenticeship. I am very grateful for her.
She is well known in the Shipibo community and highly respected. In her private life she takes care of her many nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. There are always many children around her who she is supporting and taking care of. She is a warm grandmother.
Sadly, Manuela right now needs to recover and is not healthy enough to work. This is not easy for all of her students, and I am sad of course that she is not able to work at this time — she is my first Maestra. I am very grateful for Robertina, who steps up with her medicine and support on Manuela's side.
Maestra Robertina Mahua Pérez
I met Maestra Robertina Mahua for the first time in 2018. She worked together with Manuela Mahua in ceremonies when I was dieting with Maestra Manuela. Robertina had become very dear to me because of her caring nature.
I had one of my most difficult ceremonies during that time. I experienced much fear, and Manuela was busy with other participants on the other side of the Maloka. Robertina came to me and started to sing to me. Her Ikaro went straight inside of me and started to weave and connect certain energies within me. She helped me a lot during that one month diet and became my second Maestra alongside Manuela in that diet in 2018.
In 2022 I was very happy when I met her again while dieting with Manuela. Again I experienced her in my diet with Manuela Mahua. Her Ikaro touched and supported me immensely. I was there in total for almost two months in 2022 and I resonated highly with her work in my diet. I was very impressed by her work in the ceremonies.
Robertina is in her late 60s. She is one of the daughters of Pascual Mahua, who was one of the famous and well-known Mahua brothers. Papa Pascual was a famous Noya Rao Maestro. Manuel Mahua — who was Manuela's father — and Pascual were brothers, as is Gilberto Mahua. Robertina and Manuela are cousins. They grew up together in a Shipibo community with all their strong uncles and fathers who were Onayas — Maestros and healers.
Robertina was mainly dedicated to taking care of her own family in the first half of her life. Only in the last 20 years has she started to diet with dedication. That said, she was witnessing and surrounded all her life by the healing powers and healing work of her father and her uncles. Many people dieted with Papa Pascual's Noya Rao. I joined some ceremonies with him when he was already very old, and I felt very honored for those opportunities in his last years here on earth.
Robertina is very humbled. A few years ago I experienced her being a little bit shy — almost as if she was hiding her knowledge and powerful medicine. I knew already in 2018 that she is a strong Maestra and just missing some confidence. It made her very human to see that she struggles with the same things as we do.
She shared with me about her childhood — it seemed it was not easy, and she often missed being recognized, also by her well-known father. They were many children, and her father also had two wives, which was quite common in the Shipibo communities. I remember I was laughing as I am the only child and also missed being recognized by my dad. Robertina and I were smiling — it was a sweet moment.
In 2022 when I met her again I was very happy to see that she was much more confident sharing her knowing and allowing others to see her strength and connection with higher plant wisdom. It was so wonderful to have her and Manuela as my Maestras in my diets in 2022. She sings very beautifully and is dedicated.
I don't know if this is true what I share here, but my observation is that after her famous and well-known father and Noya Rao Maestro passed in 2021 as a very very old man, she was becoming more in her power. Obviously this might only be my own Ute fantasy — but I feel something happened with her after Papa Pascual passed.
Robertina's favorite plants and connections are with Noya Rao, Bobinzana, Chiricsanango, Chullachaqui Caspi, and Marosa. She is extremely powerful, very caring, and has very warm motherly energy. Thank you Robertina.
Maestro Oscar Rodriguez
Maestro Oscar Rodriguez is in his late 40s. He is married and has children. He is Shipibo and was born in the village of Paoyan, close to the Ucayali River.
Oscar started to drink the medicine more than twenty years ago. He learned with famous shamans mainly from the Mahua lineage — studying for many years with Benjamin Mahua and with Gilberto Mahua.
Oscar carries a very beautiful energy. His heart is open and he is very strongly connected to the plant spirits. He lives a very humble and compassionate life. He has done Masterplant Dietas with various different plants and trees for many years. The medicine work is absolutely integrated in his life.
Besides the traditional Shipibo medicine, Oscar also works as a nurse. He has worked in this profession for about twenty years, employed by the government and working in different villages along the Ucayali River. In the evening you will see Oscar working with the medicine in ceremony, and during the day he is on his mission as a nurse — visiting people in their homes in the villages who are sick and need medical care. He likes to help. He is very open.
In comparison with the older shamans, Oscar understands our western lives better and it is much easier for him to adapt to our western mindset. He speaks perfect Spanish, so the communication is more straightforward and so much clearer than with the older healers.
I have known Oscar since April 2017, because he usually works together with Gilberto Mahua. I gained trust and appreciation for him and his work over many months of dieting with Papa Gilberto. When Oscar joined the ceremonies it was always a huge extra beneficial effect. His Ikaros complement the Ikaros from Gilberto in a wonderful way.
I am always extremely grateful when I am able to receive the work from both Maestros together. Oscar has this young fresh loving energy and his Ikaros fill the room with a wonderful vibration. The voice and energy from Gilberto feels often like a grandfather energy — Oscar represents this young strong man. Both together form a beautiful balanced male healing energy. I am very grateful to be able to offer a retreat with my Maestro Gilberto Mahua and Oscar together. It is an honor to receive and be influenced by these two different male energies.
Maestra Juana Silvano Teco
Noya Rao Maestra and primary healer in our current retreats. Juana sings her Ikaros very strongly and channels pure Noya Rao energy, singing for the whole group as well as for each person individually. She is in her 60s and has been drinking Ayahuasca since she was twenty years old.
Maestro Gilberto Mahua
The youngest of five Mahua brothers, all trained as shamans from a very young age. Gilberto has over 50 years of pure dieta experience and is my male Maestro.
Maestra Manuela Mahua
My first Maestra from the Mahua Family, who connected me to the wisdom of her lineage and opened me to the magic of the plant world. Manuela is now in her late seventies and is currently resting and recovering.
Maestra Robertina Mahua Pérez
Daughter of the famous Noya Rao Maestro Pascual Mahua, and cousin of Manuela. Robertina has stepped powerfully into her work in recent years and supports our retreats alongside Juana.
Maestro Oscar Rodriguez
A younger Maestro who learned with Benjamin Mahua and Gilberto Mahua. Oscar bridges the traditional and the modern with an open heart and carries a beautiful, strong connection to the plant spirits.
