VEGETALISTAS

Shamans of the upperAmazonwho are inspired andhelpedbyayahuascaand chakruna, plants that are considered to be shamanic persons in their own right (seeAnimism). Although the colorful and dramatic art that has become famous in recent decades draws attention to the visionary results of shamanic ingestion of these plants, they are also significant as enablers of communication between shamans and significantother-than-human persons. The paintings ofPablo Amaringo, for example, are often more famous than his assertion that ayahuasca enables him to hear Amazonian trees weeping as they are cut down.