CONIBO

A people of the Peruvian UpperAmazon. Interest in Conibo culture and shamanism is largely dominated by interest in their use ofayahuascaoryagé. Halfway through the yearMichael Harnerspent with them (1960–61), he felt drawn “to study their spiritual life, thecosmologyand their religion” and was told that there was only one way to learn: not by asking questions but by taking the shaman’s drink,ayahuasca. Nonetheless, Harner’s “core shamanism” definitively rejects the use of hallucinogens even while asserting that it is rooted in methods of achievingaltered states of consciousnessandjourneyingtoother worldsthat would be recognizable to Conibo shamans. Ayahuascavisionsare understood by Conibo shamans to be provided by “eyespirits” and include dramatic and vivid formal designs and patterns withhealingproperties. When these touch the shaman, they become songs and can then be sung into apatient.