The Ancient Voices Project is a crucial and timely effort to preserve and bring light to the hidden people and culture behind the expansion of Ayahuasca traditions in the world.
Ancient Voices project tells the story of the unknown world of plant-based healing and spirituality as told by the elders who keep the traditions alive. The project shares the culture and life stories of the people behind the world wide expansion of shamanic traditions and ayahuasca based spiritual practices. These are the elders who started it all, their lives, their stories, their families, their faces, their medicine and the message they leave for us in the hopes of a better future.
[su_quote cite=”Purusha”]It was 1998 when I first had the chance to sit with some elders in the community of Ceu do Mapia, the Santo Daime’s main center in the state of Acre in Brazil. It was my favorite thing to do at the community as every evening, right around 6pm, they would come and sit, watching kids play and chat about all kinds of things. As they knew I was coming from the South and eager to hear their stories, they gathered up rolled up their smokes and started telling all kinds of beautiful and inspiring stories about how the community started out, how Padrinho Sebastiao was an incredible spiritual leader, the hardships they had to face until things started to really work out and how hard it was for those first pioneers that ventured into the inhospitable jungle with nothing but the belief that the truth Padrinho Sebastiao was receiving, the guidance from above, would bring them to the promised land. Indeed it has.[/su_quote]
Our project aims to bring to relevance to the life stories and teachings of those forgotten voices of the forest. And to allow them to share their wisdom in a time of so much need for new role models. These inspiring stories will help preserve this living encyclopedia of life in nature, of hardship, of endurance, and the wisdom gained in the process.
We start by portraying some elders that were healed through Ayahuasca, the stories of how they created their communities and the spiritual leaders that guided them through their journeys. We will visit with elders of indigenous and indigenous-descendant communities in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and more, exploring the progression and development of the different Ayahuasca based traditions through the ages.
Our network of connections includes healers and friends from the different lineages. We also have historians and story tellers as our consultants on this project.
Giving Back to the Elders and Their Communities
The resulting products and by-products of this incredible journey will be promoted to multiple avenues, and part of the profits will be used to create a social security fund for the communities interviewed and featured. These elders can use the help and so can their communities so your donations go a long way towards bringing prosperity and well-being to some distant and remote communities, while educating the world about the incredibly fascinating stories, culture and wisdom of these peoples.
The Impact
This project is timely because of the nature of its subject. We feel a sense of urgency in documenting elders that have been around the different traditions for so long, who devoted their lives to it and accumulated great wisdom from doing so. Their heritage is one that belongs to all of humanity, their stories can inspire and transform a generation so lost and devoid of great examples to look up to.
examples to look up to. Each year, some of the elders from the communities I visited in South America pass away from a number of causes, including old age. I sense that soon, most of their stories will be lost, untold, unheard and these Voices from the Forest will pass on what they can only to those fortunate enough to be there to hear it.
This coming trip will comprise of the major shoot of our film. We need to get on planes, boats, and automobiles; eat food, cover crew, buy hard drives and film in some very remote locations. This all gets expensive fast. Your support will make this shoot happen. We’re also hoping to use the funds to begin work on editing a rough cut.
If we reach our fundraising goal, it will give us enough footage to get complete the first phase of the project, which is creating an hour-long premier version of the series. With your help, we’ll be able to presnt the film to pitch for forums, grants, documentary funds, etc.
We want to start this film and we need your help!