These altar cloths arehand-embroidered by women from the Shipibo-Konibo indigenous community, who traditionally reside in the Amazon jungle in Peru. Each altar cloth takes 1-3 months to make using ancestral methods. Altar cloths with a brown background are traditionally dyed by hand with the bark of the mahogany tree and a sacred mud. The kené (designs) in these altar cloths depict the cosmic vision of the Shipibo-Konibo people, representing the Amazon River and its tributaries, the skin of the anaconda (the cosmic serpent), the ayahuasca plant, or other sacred animals from their natural world. Every kené is slightly different, depending on the woman who makes it. In addition, every kené has its own canto (song) which the women sing as they trace the story described by the kené. These artists initially journey with the sacred plant ayahuasca, which helps them to realize and manifest their creative gifts as artists; this practice is only passed down among women of the Shipibo-Konibo community.