The ethnographic literature on the Shipibo-Conibo of Western Amazonia attributes the prestigious role of shaman to men only. However, my recent ethnographic research into this society has revealed at least a dozen female shamans who perform activities comparable to those of their male colleagues. These women intervene in what are typically considered to be male domains in Amazonia: the control of sexuality, hunting and offensive/defensive shamanism. Starting with a brief overview of their shamanic powers, this article looks to develop a more nuanced analysis of the sexual categories typical to the study of Amazonian shamanism, demonstrating how gender relations are not necessarily conceived here in a dichotomous fashion and how the idea of an essentially male shamanism has obscured the existence of female shamans among the Shipibo-Conibo.
Amazonia; Gender; Shamanism; Shipibo-Conibo
