shamans and the culture of the jungle

As promised, I am going to write a little bit about all the fascinating things I learned while traipsing through the Amazon with our guide Rafael. We didn´t really hike particularly far when we were out in the jungle, but our excursions were fairly long because we would stop fairly frequently to hear about a particular tree or plant and its medicinal properties.

A few highlights:
- little bright orange plants that grow into the shape of a cup and feel exactly like plastic. They are called the monkey´s cup and are used to hold the hallucinogenic drugs that shamans use for treating patients. But regular people might also use this drug. For example, if someone has been robbed and doesn't know who did it, they can take this drug and enter into a conversation with the leaves of the plants around them, and the leaves will tell them who the culprit is a, and where to find this person. Fascinating!
- a tree named el sangre de dragon or dragon´s blood because it bleeds red. This sap is useful for treating wounds and illness but will also get all frothy and lather like soap if you rub it.
- a tree with white sap that if taken regularly can cure cancer.
- I smelled the garlic of the jungle (tree bark) and tasted the inside of a branch that was distinctly lemon-y (and ate a few ants that feed on this branch with it!)

For the indigenous people of this region the medicinal uses of the plants and trees continue to be very important. In part because they find these medicines to be effective, and in part because they either do not have access to other health care or they can't afford treatment even if they are in proximity to a clinic. Apparently the only government provided hospitals in the region we were in are for military personnel alone and the other private clinics are extremely expensive.

On Friday morning, our last day in the Amazon, we visited the home of an indigenous family. It was set up like a living museum which I really appreciated as it was their business and set up for the intention of education rather than us visiting a home and feeling like we were observing a family in a zoo-like atmosphere. We got to see their various agricultural and artisan products. I tried some sugar cane and raw cacao. Well, I was only supposed to suck on the cacao (there is a sweet membrane around the seeds) but I didn´t know that so I chomped into it and whew, that stuff is biiiittter! I promptly spit it out, much to Rafael's amusement, and lo and behold, turns out that raw, undried, cacao is bright purple when chewed!

We had the opportunity to try some chicha which is a traditional drink that is brewed from yuca and left to ferment. The families drink it for breakfast and for sustenance on long days of work before it ferments, and after a week or so, only the adults partake.

All in all, it was a very interesting glimpse into the Quichua culture.