The shamans are the most respected people of all.
It is their job to order the social behaviour of the community,
take charge of the worship of the spirits, and cure illnesses.
They know the pharmacopoeia of the jungle and how to make medicines and powerful poisons.
It is also their responsibility to collect and prepare the sacona or yopo.
They search in the jungle for the tree called ama-ahí.
The bigger and older it is, the stronger will be the hallucinogenic substances obtained from it.
First, they have to make a fire, which is not easy in the depths of the jungle,
because the atmosphere is extremely humid and the wood, though it is not green, is soaking wet.
They light it with a red-hot brand they have brought from the village.
Though at times they manage to get matches from the Yecuana, they always keep a fire lit in the village.
When someone wants to light another fire, they take some of the embers.
It has been like that since the beginning of time, the fire never goes out,
there was always someone, chosen by the shaman, entrusted with the supreme mission of keeping it alive.
There have even been wars over fire. When a group was left without their fire, they attacked another one
in order to steal the embers.
To extract the sacona, they tear off strips of the bark of the ama-ahi,
moisten them with saliva and place them over the flames so they release the alkaloid.
The wisdom of the shamans is the reason behind a new invasion of the jungle.
First, it was those who came in search of rubber, then later gold.
Now, the pharmaceutical laboratories have come to exploit the botanical knowledge of the Shamans.
They are less violent, they do not organise massacres of the Indians,
but their presence and the objects they bring with them in order to negotiate,
upset the balance of the culture of these indigenous communities.
They are the latest scourge to which the jungle has been subjected.
The hallucinogenic resin forced out by the action of the heat is put into a pot and then cooked until it solidifies.
The sacona can be classified within the group of enteogenous indolic pharmaceuticals.
They are only used ritually, as in the case over the societies with peyote,
ayahuasca, the San Pedro cactus or, in Central Africa, the iboga.
Before returning to the village, one of the shamans tests the efficacy of the preparation.
The visit is also a good excuse to go fishing. But first, they will have to collect barbasco lianas.
Once again they make use of their vast knowledge of their environment.
The jungle provides everything they need, and hence the profound respect they feel towards it.
This is where the spirits of their ancestors live, along with others of the jungle itself.
Every tree, every plant, every living being, is the dwelling place of a spirit,
and that is why, every time they cut a tree or take something from the forest,
the shamans have to ask their gods for permission.
They cut the barbasco lianas and crush them with wooden clubs
so the sap will be more easily released when they submerge them in the river.
These communities are self-sufficient.
They belong to this land just as much as the jungle itself.
They know no other world beyond the limit of the forest.
They are happy with their deeply-rooted customs.
But there are still some zealots who come here to speak to them of the true gods of the west,
to deprive them of their culture, to plunge them into confusion and bitterness.
They are missionaries, especially those of some protestant sects such as the "New Tribes",
who fervently seek to convert the infidels, and cause authentic disasters with their ridiculous, outdated preaching.
We have met Indians covered in fungal infections because one day some missionaries came to their community,
were ashamed at their nakedness, and so dressed them in sports shirts.
But they didn't teach them how to wash the clothes, nor did they give them soap.
Today, they are not naked Indians, they are Indians dressed in rags and crawling with parasites.