With more than 45 years of experience, Maestra Justina stands as one of the most extraordinary healers of her time. As a direct descendant of a lineage of Merayas, the highest-ranking Shipibo shamans, she carries forward a profound ancestral tradition with pride and devotion.
She was born in Vencedor, a small community on the banks of the Pisqui River in the upper Ucayali. From an early age, she showed deep intuition and a natural sensitivity to her dreams and to the world of the Chaikunis, the ascended spirits who guard the jungle. She also felt a special bond with plants and trees.
Her path into plant medicine began in her teenage years, when she committed herself to the teachings of her uncle, who introduced her to the traditional ways of the old-world Shipibo Onanyas, or healers. Her first plant diet consisted of two years with Camalonga, the master plant that gave her the knowledge to perform shamanic surgeries on patients, a rare skill she continues to practice weekly at Arkana.
Over the years, she expanded her medicine through diets with more than 50 plants and trees while serving as the healer in her community. A true Amazonian matriarch, Maestra Justina is a generous teacher who shares her knowledge openly with Shipibos and Westerners alike. She is also known for her motherly instinct, caring for the sick with great compassion and attention.
Her powerful icaros are both strong and subtle, reaching deeply into the heart and supporting genuine healing.