MAHKU, Mito do surgimento da Ayahuasca (Ayahuasca’s emergence myth), 2024
Artista: Acelino Sales and Ibã Sales
Acrylic on canvas
147 x 156 cm
60 1/4 x 63 3/4 in
DESCRIPTION/COMMENTARY
It is important to note that MAHKU's works are visual translations of huni meka chants and myths from the Huni Kuin oral tradition. In this case, the painting narrates the emergence myth of the Nixi Pae [ayahuasca]. The myth recounts how the knowledge to prepare the psychotropic tea, made from a vine and leaves found in the Amazon rainforest, reached the Huni Kuin people. This story dates back to the ancestors of this indigenous Brazilian community, as its origin is intrinsically linked to Nixi Pae [ayahuasca].
Long ago, in the mythic time when humans, animals, and spirits were not yet separated, there lived a Huni Kuin hunter. One day, while hunting, he wandered to the edge of a sacred lake and encountered a mysterious woman of the boa-snake family — a serpent-woman called Yube Shanu. She was not merely a snake but a powerful being who could move between the human world and the underwater realm of spirits.
Fascinated by her beauty and power, he followed her beneath the waters into the hidden world below the lake. There, in the realm of Yube, he was taught the secret of two sacred plants — the vine and the leaves — and how to combine them to make Nixi Pae, the sacred brew that connects humans to the spirit world. After living for some time among the serpent-people, he returned to his people bringing this sacred knowledge, the gift of the “strong vine” that opens the eyes of vision and allows one to see the unseen.
In this myth, the serpent is central: it is both teacher and originator, the being that reveals the knowledge of the sacred medicine. The lake and the underwater world represent the realm of transformation and hidden wisdom — the deep source from which the drink, and the visions it brings, emerge. Thus, the origin of Nixi Pae is not human but cosmic and spiritual; it comes from the depths of another world, where spirits and ancestors dwell.
The myth also reveals the symbolic power of the brew itself. Nixi Pae is not just a mixture of plants but a bridge between worlds — between human and non-human, body and spirit, forest and water. Drinking it means crossing into the serpent’s world, seeing through its eyes, and receiving its knowledge. Through the vine, humans are reconnected with the animals, the spirits, and the very essence of the forest.
For the Huni Kuin, this story explains why Nixi Pae is sacred: it is a gift from the non-human world, a reminder of our kinship with all beings and of the deep interconnection between life, water, and transformation. When one drinks it, one does not simply “see visions” — one participates in the world of Yube, the great serpent, and learns again how to live in balance with all that exists.
Through a bright and vivid colors but yet organized spaces the painting guides viewers through the unfolding of the myth. Its structured composition reflects the narrative nature of the story, transforming oral tradition into a visual experience, where each detail resonates with the depth and reverence of generations past.
Acervo:
Localização: Arizona, EUA
Obra pertencente à coleção do ASU Art Museum.
