Shamans (witch doctors) from the Amazon region drink a sacred beverage called yagé or ayahuasca, which allows them, through hallucinations, to travel through Earth and the heavens. During these trips, several visions are revealed to them, which are crucial to their understanding of life and the rainforest.

Some of the shaman's visions have been translated into symbols. The illustration on our cover of this month was inspired by symbols of the Secoya indigenous culture of the Amazonian region. According to this culture's Cosmo vision, red and black are the basic colors of life. Red symbolizes strength, power, luck, fertility and terrestrial life; while black represents mystic life and the hidden forces of the rainforest.

An Amazonian myth tells that manduru huarmi and huituc huarmi (the red woman and the black woman) were the gods of beauty, who later were converted into the most used cosmetic plants: red achiote (Bixa orellana) and black hiutuc (Genipa Americana). The two women gods painted the toucan with black, red and yellow, and later painted all the rest of the colorful animals of the rainforest.

Both the rainforest and the cultures that inhabit this ecosystem grasp an amazing complexity that at the same time results in an intriguing balance that overwhelm whoever has the privilege of managing a close encounter with them!

Bibliography:

Paymal, Noemi; Sosa, Catalina (1993), Mundos Amazónicos. Quito: Fundación Sinchi Sacha.

Photo courtesy of: Ediciones Sinchi Sacha

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