Silva, Ramón Medina
Silva, Ramón Medina (193?–1971) – Huichol (Wixáritari) shaman (mara’akame) and artist whose narrative yarn paintings depicting peyote visions were made famous by anthropologist Peter Furst. Furst collaborated with Barbara Myerhoff, and both anthropologists worked closely with Silva in their ethnographies of Huichol shamanism. Carlos Castaneda’s fictional ethnography of Don Juan borrows from Myerhoff’s research: the “waterfall jumping” of Don Juan’s fellow sorcerer Don Genaro replicates Myerhoff’s experience of watching Silva perform this feat.
SOURCE:
Historical Dictionary of Shamanism by Graham Harvey and Robert J. Wallis 2007
