Temporada 5 · Descolonizar la Singularidad · JVV-T5-05
LoRa proxy shamans: the Amazonian network of packet-spirits
I When the sorcerer blows bytes
The ayahuasquero calls up ícaros to steer visions through the psychic jungle.
In 2026, riverside collectives put up LoRa 915 MHznodes; each message travels 8–12 km over the ceiba canopy.
The villagers say the yoshi —spirits of plants and animals— ride on those packets.
The result: proxy shamans who sign frames with tobacco, the jungle as backhaul with no ISP.
“The antenna is no iron pole: it is a liana where radio jaguars whisper.”
II Anatomy of the rite-network
| Shamanic step | RF action | Sociotechnical function |
|---|---|---|
| A puff of mapacho over the node | lorawan.mac.reset() |
Purges the session, clears interference |
| Ícaro song (62 s) | Long preamble Tx → SF12 | Warns the network of sacred & urgent traffic |
| Mariri (spirit-phlegm) inside the bamboo antenna | Adds impregnated salt, improves VSWR | Blesses the Earth-Metal element |
| A kene tablet on the gateway | Hand-painted AES DevKey | Binds the node to clan/ayllu, authenticates |
(The physical rite complements the LoRaWAN protocol; it does not replace it.)
III Formula for the packet-spirit
- P_t
- power (dBm)
- \lambda
- wavelength (m)
- L_p
- path loss (dB)
- S
- spiritual symptom (0 – 1, measured by the shaman)
Packets with \Psi < 0,02 are held to be “spiritless” → delay them until the song builds back up; it avoids hollow retransmissions.
IV Pilot case — Río Nanay Corridor, 2025-26
| Metric | Before (commercial VHF radio) | After (LoRa-shaman mesh) |
|---|---|---|
| Usable range | 3 km of open river | 10-11 km between villages |
| Consumption | 25 W | 0.1 W solar node |
| Failures in the rainy season | 48 % | 9 % (re-sync songs) |
| Health alarms delivered / month | 4 | 27 |
IMPACT — Malaria outbreaks spotted 48 h earlier; evacuations from illegal dredgers coordinated with no 4 G.
V Household ritualsafe
-
01
Print a minimal kene pattern on a sticker.
-
02
Stick it on your LoRa / Wi-Fi router.
-
03
In silence, breathe out slowly towards the antenna 3 times.
-
04
Ping yourself; if latency drops > 3 ms, note the date — your home has recognised the local yoshi .
VI Risks & firebreaks
| Threat | Manifestation | Shamanic-technical countermeasure |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile crypto-mining interference | 900 MHz noise | An “inverse siren” song: the gateway pushes SF11, shifts channel |
| Military seizure | Node confiscated | Pyrographed DevKey — it is destroyed when the casing breaks |
| Folklore-token™ | A brand sells the “LoRa Ayahuasca edition” | CC-BY-NC licence, anti-trademark clause; the ceremony must document the community's benefit |
VII Coda
“Every byte crossing the jungle carries a sleeping jaguar; respect it or it will tear your spectrum.”
The LoRa proxy shamans prove that the most resilient infrastructure is the one that talks to the spiritual territory it crosses.
While satellites fall and cables corrode, the radio lianas will go on whistling among the leaves, balancing quinine, rumour and latency.