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Schultes and Hofman - The Kamëntsá - Ayahuasca and obtaining plant knowledge
Identifier
008369
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
The Kamëntsá are an indigenous people of Colombia. They primarily live in the Sibundoy Valley of the Putumayo Department in the south of Colombia. The Kamëntsá also are known as the Camsá, Camëntsëá, Coche, Kamemtxa, Kamsa, Kamse, Sibundoy, and Sibundoy-Gaché people. They are known for their carved wooden masks that are worn during ceremonies and festivals. They farm maize, beans, potatoes, and peas, and use the hallucinogen ayahuasca, or yagé, in rituals.
A description of the experience
Plants of the gods – Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofman
The medicine men of the Kamsa and Inga tribes of the Valley of Sibindoy have an unusually extensive knowledge of medicinal and toxic plants. One of the most renowned is Salvador Chindoy, who insists that his knowledge of the medicinal value of plants has been taught to him by the plants themselves through the hallucinations he has experienced in his long lifetime as a medicine man.