Shipibo Altar Cloth & Wall Hanging – Bero Icha Kené – white

Shipibo Altar Cloth & Wall Hanging, large – Bero Icha Kené

This hand-embroidered altar cloth from the Shipibo tradition bears the Bero Icha Kené – the pattern of the “many eyes”. In the Shipibo language, Bero Icha literally means “many eyes” and represents the variety of perspectives and points of view that can become visible in deep ceremonies. The pattern invites us to cultivate humility – the reminder that every vision, message, and experience can be read in many ways.

The Art of Kené

The Kené is much more than ornament. It is the visual language of the Shipibo people from the central Amazon basin of Peru – a script that translates cosmology, healing knowledge and spiritual experience into geometric shapes. Kené simply means “design” or “drawing” in Shipibo, but behind it lies a deep system: a map of the sky, the course of rivers, the skin of the anaconda, the veins of the plants – and the visions that are received in ceremonies.

Traditionally, it is the women who wear and pass on the kené. The patterns do not arise from the head, but from an inner vision: from dreams, from working with medicinal plants, from contact with the spirit world of the forest. In weeks of manual work, the threads are set stitch by stitch – each finished cloth is a unique reflection of this inner world. Since 2008, the Kené patterns have been officially recognized as Peru’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The pattern of this cloth consists of coloured, polygonal shapes that are arranged close together and create a continuous, symmetrical overall picture. The vibrant colors – pink, black, green, orange, blue – are embroidered by hand, giving the piece its unique character.

Details

• Pattern: Bero Icha Kené (“many eyes”)
• Origin: Shipibo Tradition, Peru
• Dimensions: approx. 88 × 70 cm
• Production: Hand-embroidered
• Material: Cotton