Tales from the other world
Shamans in this part of the country use mostly yopo besides tobacco for initiating a ceremony. Yopo is the substance which allows travelling to outer space. This means journeys to a seperate reality. As far as we could find out this other worls can be stucturized as the following:
1) As an out-of-body-experience you can travel anywhere you want to. As an example, trips to Mexico, Germany or Cananda these shamans told us about.
2) They are able to see spirits. For example, if a shaman sees the spirit of a beautiful woman standing besides the bed of a sick person he knows that it is too late for helhing and the ill person is going to die.
3) Shamans can not only travel alone but they can meet with other shamans for travelling together. This means that this altered states of consciousness is not only seen by one person but the visions are shared by some people.
Very often we heared tales about spirits and other phenomens. One Piaroa indian told us having been a young man he was drinking with some friend in the nearby city. He had taken his father's car and was driving back home as the motor stopped right before a hill and the car didn't move anymore. Pushing the car the indian unexpectedly got help from an older man. Together they managed it to push the car on the top the hill. Being there the young indian wanted to say thank you to his helper. but he couldn't see him anywhere. He went looking around the car but there was nothing to see. Noone anywhere. Since this happening the indian has never been drinking any more alcohol.
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