Shawi is the name of an ethnic group inhabiting a spit of land in the Province of Alto Amazonas, located in the depths of the Peruvian jungle. Despite living 
in complete isolation over the course of centuries, they have had to hold out against the indifference and ignorance of the Peruvian State. Since the late nineteenth century people have come to extract rubber from their trees, cut their timber, or draw 
the oil beneath their feet. Nevertheless, they 
have managed to keep more territory than other groups and have come to symbolise the struggle 
of indigenous communities in preserving their 
land from external exploits. The Shawi people
are one of the least studied groups despite being one of the largest in number living in the Amazon Rainforest. They bear an ancient way of unabridged co-existence with the forest, by learning about their mystical powers guided by shamans. As they get 
in contact with more urban ways of life, they try to balance their traditions with modernity. Some of their practices may have been lost, but they have clung to essential features of their heritage, like 
the preservation of their original language, their hunting techniques and use of medicinal plants.