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The Shamanic
Art
The most common form of tobacco consumption in
Central America... was smoking, usually using cigars
or a simple form of cigarette... consisting of cured strips of tobacco, wrapped in musa leaves or
corn husks. The act of smoking... was not merely a method
of
tobacco
consumption, but an integral part of ritual.
Shamans used tobacco smoke... for healing and blessing,
and
also as a form of food... to nourish their guiding spirits. Shamans believed that they
entered into a contract...
with the spirit world...
upon initiation, whereby they undertook
to provide sustenance to
the spirits... in the form of tobacco, in return
for receiving healing
and other powers.
“The Rainforest Shaman... is a healer, knower of medicine
and ceremony, for the healing of the
mind, body and soul... through
his mystical teachings and his connection with the Spirit and the
Spirit Worlds. “
“A Rainforest Shaman... is said to be...
able to enter
the upper and lower spirit realms, to walk on the wind...
and between the worlds.
A Rainforest Shaman... knows herbs and the uses of them...
as medicine and in ceremony, dance, vision quests and
healings.”
The preferred implement... for smoking tobacco... was the cigar,
which
could be of prodigious size, especially those prepared by shamans... where examples of a meter or more in length, are not
uncommon.
These were made from rolls... of cured tobacco, often wrapped
around
a stick... or the rib of a banana leaf. Some tribes...
developed special cigar supports, resembling giant tuning forks,
which
could be held in the hand or whose sharp end... could be
stuck in the ground... to support these monsters.
Shamans’ cigars... occasionally were sprinkled with "carana" granules... which affected the vocal cords... and masked the
voice... of the smoker, giving it a harsh, deep inflection... which
was considered appropriate... for ritual discourse between
mankind... and the spiritual powers.
Cigar Tobacco... in the Costa
Rica Indian Tradition...
is used
for purification,
connection with the divine and recreation. It plays
a major role... in many Shamanistic traditions and is an integral
part of their culture.
“Tobacco-producing plants... are
exclusively of the genus Nicotiana, and Nicotianas.. which belong to one of the largest genera of the nightshade family, (Solanaceae).
Cigar tobacco, is used in a very
spiritual sense, being considered food for the soul, also a method to directly contact the spirits.
“The foundation of Shamanism... which is, in effect, the
power
to cross... between cosmic layers”.
Village Shamans... were thought to
assume,
by night, the form of a powerful
animal,
such as a jaguar, a serpent,
or an eagle.
The Mystic Encounters
of the Chaman...
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