Eduardo the Shaman: A Case Study of Culture and Hallucinogens
odd: label: Local Number
content: HSFA 1988.9.1
name: label: Filmmaker
content: Cowan, Richard
label: Anthropologist
content: Sharon, Douglas
label: Names
content: Calderón, Eduardo, 1930-1995
place: label: Place
content: South America
label: Place
content: Peru
label: Place
content: Lima (Peru)
label: Place
content: Trujillo (La Libertad, Peru)
label: Place
content: Chan Chan Site (Peru)
label: Place
content: Moche River Valley (Peru)
topic: label: Topic
content: Shamanism
label: Topic
content: Ceramics
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Received from Douglas Sharon and Richard Cowan in 1988.
creator: label: Filmmaker
content: Cowan, Richard
label: Anthropologist
content: Sharon, Douglas
culture: label: Culture
content: Moche (Mochica) (archaeological culture)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 32 Film reels (color sound; 22,000 feet, 16mm)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1977
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Human Studies Film Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: HSFA.1988.09
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Film reels
label: Type
content: Sound films
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Titles are supplied by the archivist for untitled films.
bibliography: label: Bibliography
content: Sharon, Douglas. "The San Pedro cactus in Peruvian folk healing." In  -- Flesh of the Gods: The Ritural Use of Hallucinogens -- , edited by Peter Furst. Praeger: New York, 1972.

Sharon, Douglas. "Eduardo the healer."  -- Natural History --   81, no. 9 (1972): 32-47.

Sharon, Douglas.  "Becoming a curandero in Peru." In  --   Enculturation in Latin America: An Anthology -- , edited by Johannes Wilbert. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center Publications, 1976.

Sharon, Douglas.  -- The Wizard of the Four Winds. --   Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1979.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound films
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Full film record explores a pre-Columbian tradition of folk therapy known as curanderismoin northern Peru. Based on seven years of ethnographic research by Douglas Sharon, the footage documents the activities of Eduardo Calderon, a Peruvian fisherman, ceramacist and curandero(healer). Scenes of the healer in various daily interactions with members of his family and local community illustrate the impact of Eduardo's charismatic personality and serve to underscore the importance which a specific cultural context has upon the diagnostic and healing process. Also explored is the importance of the local pre-Columbian ceramic art and iconography to Eduardo's healing practice; the use of herbs (including the San Pedro cactus), divination with the use of a live guinea pig, and the various ritual manipulations of the healer on his mesa(table). Featured are scenes from a number of "seances" or curing ceremonies. The edited film Eduardo the Healer was produced from this footage.

Supplementary materials: written annotation, sound recordings


Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.