| My experience working with shamans in preparing | | | | tendency to judge as inferior or despicable other |
| Pusangas (which normally is prepared away from their | | | | cultural imperatives. |
| clients so it was a privilege to be invited to participate | | | | For example the Amazonian (amongst others) tradition |
| in the preparation) showed me that far from interfering | | | | portrays a spectrum of existential states, with the |
| with the freedom of other individuals or putting a | | | | highest or most desirable being that of the powerful |
| 'number' on them, we were altering something within | | | | person, and the lowest or least desirable being that of |
| ourselves, which was brought out by the ingredients, | | | | the powerless person. Power is defined as the ability |
| the magic of the plants. Whatever it was, it felt | | | | to do what one wishes, obtain wealth, make others |
| wholesome and good. It is what is in oneself… | | | | perform desired actions (even against their will), or |
| one's own magic. Asking Javier Arevalo (the shaman) | | | | harm others without being punished or harmed in |
| what does the Pusanga actually do, is it inside us or | | | | return. The proof of power is the individual's material |
| outside of us? His response was "When you pour it | | | | wealth, or social and political status, and their ability to |
| onto your skin it begins to penetrate your spirit, and the | | | | offer patronage. These are not received as immoral |
| spirit is what gives you the force to pull the people. | | | | acts, and I recall with my colleague Peter Cloudsley |
| The spirit is what pulls". | | | | attempting to relay the Western view to Javier |
| The anthropological term 'sympathetic magic' does not | | | | Arevalo without any success. The conversation went |
| give this justice, to illustrate this, the water used in the | | | | as follows; |
| preparation of an authentic pusanga (which has been | | | | Howard & Peter: "Something we make a big problem |
| specifically made for you) has been collected from a | | | | out of in the West, is that a shaman might be a |
| deep trek in the rainforest, sometimes 40 or 50 miles, | | | | magician to one person and a sorcerer to another. |
| where there are no people and where clay pools | | | | Asking for the pusanga to attract a specific person |
| collect and thousands of the most beautiful coloured | | | | takes away that person's choice. We see it as bad. |
| parrots and macaws gather to drink from them for the | | | | How do you see it?" |
| mineral content. Now the great leap of imagination | | | | Javier: "Take the case of a woman who refuses |
| required is to bring into yourself the knowledge, the | | | | when you offer her a Coca Cola because she thinks |
| feeling, the sense that the water in the Pusanga has | | | | you are lower class and that she is better than you. |
| drawn in or attracted thousands of the most brightly | | | | She might want others to think that she is better than |
| coloured creatures on the planet. If you do this, it can | | | | you. That makes you feel like rubbish so you go to a |
| generate a shift in consciousness in you. | | | | shaman and tell him the name of the girl. He prepares |
| You can sample this for yourself, just find a quiet | | | | the pusanga. Three days go by without seeing her and |
| moment and space, close your eyes, and with the | | | | she begins to think about you, dreaming about you and |
| power of your imagination as the launch pad, draw in | | | | begins looking for you" |
| the verdant, abundant forest filled with life, colour, and | | | | Howard & Peter: "Yes, we understand, but in our |
| sound. Sense the rich vibrancy of the rainforest as a | | | | culture we think its wrong to counteract someone's |
| single breathing rhythmic totality of life force. When | | | | will." |
| you have this image, expand it to include, the humid | | | | Javier: "But its only so that she will want you for the |
| warmth, the smell of earth, the scent of plants, hear | | | | moment, so she'll go to bed with you and then she can |
| the sound of insects and bird song, allow all your | | | | go". |
| senses to experience this. Then with a conscious | | | | Howard & Peter: "(laughing) But if it happened to me, |
| decision draw this sensory experience into your being. | | | | and let's say I originally found her unpleasant and she |
| Whenever you are ready, open your eyes, and check | | | | did it to marry me I'd be outraged! It would be awful if I |
| how you are feeling. | | | | only discovered after having children and making a |
| Maestros do not invent diets, they are given by the | | | | home with her! And would I ever know?" |
| plant spirits themselves, but there is more to it than | | | | Javier: "You would be hopelessly in love with her, you'd |
| simply abstaining from certain foods and activities. It | | | | never know. That's why it's a secret." |
| involves a state of purification, retreat, commitment, | | | | Howard & Peter: "Can a jealous third party separate a |
| and respect for our connection with everything around | | | | couple or break a happy marriage?" |
| us - above all the rain forest. When we listen to our | | | | Javier: "Yes, they can ruin a happy home. They come |
| dreams, they become more real, and equally important | | | | as if to greet the couple and soon after the couple are |
| as everyday life. | | | | arguing and hating each other and the third party is |
| Morality and Power | | | | secretly having sex with one of them". |
| This is a subject that is worth looking at as we in the | | | | Howard & Peter: "Is this why people from Lima are |
| West and particularly those who are engaged in | | | | afraid of the girls from Iquitos?" |
| following a perceived spiritual path in which there is an | | | | Javier: "Yes it happens, they think they are dangerous |
| implicit or explicit ethical component, find the use of a | | | | and will break up their homes." |
| pusanga (or equivalent) to attract a specific person an | | | | Howard & Peter: "Does anyone have freedom if |
| action which takes away and subverts that person's | | | | everyone is using pusanga?" |
| free will. This is criticised as an unmoral and harmful | | | | Javier: "its normal you get used to it." |
| action occurring within a tradition or system without | | | | Howard & Peter. "We like to think we are free, this |
| perceived , never mind understood moral values. | | | | suggests that we are constantly subject to other |
| This moral view is not shared in other societies and | | | | peoples' Pusanga." |
| traditions, and there is a profound difficulty experienced | | | | Javier: "laughing, but you all want women, and women |
| by Westerners in assimilating this concept of values | | | | all want men!" |
| surrounding power. | | | | Eventually we realised that there was no way that we |
| The cause of this difficulty is by an absence of | | | | could communicate this Western 'moral' viewpoint. |
| congruence between the moral code of the observer, | | | | Javier did not see that there was a problem. It was a |
| usually a member of the religions emanating from the | | | | massive cultural divide we could not cross. His people |
| Levant, typically Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and including | | | | feel free the way they are and can have extramarital |
| the varied 'new age' spiritual paths (which have | | | | sex using magical means of attraction and without |
| absorbed much of the external hierarchical concepts | | | | attaching our Western guilt to it. |
| from these religions). These religions all possess the | | | | Looking at this 'down to earth', guilt trip free viewpoint, |
| central and dominant characteristic of projecting the | | | | on an earlier occasion when Javier asked the group |
| concept of ultimate 'goodness' on an external | | | | that I was leading, what they really wanted deep down |
| supernatural being which operates both outside of his | | | | in their lives, many people gave cosmic, transpersonal, |
| creation and outside the laws of the universe , who | | | | and spiritual sounding answers and were quite mute |
| himself decides which laws are to be implemented; "let | | | | when he spoke about Pusanga. After a while the |
| this and that come to pass!", and at the same time this | | | | participants opened up to their feelings and many |
| supernatural being possess the mantle of a 'personal | | | | admitted they wanted love, apparently behind their |
| god' who has delivered a revelation which is described | | | | desire to put the world to right, resolve planetary |
| in a book, that people are to read and reverently | | | | issues, and speak to the flowers. It was as though it |
| accept, not to criticise, but to unquestionably accept | | | | were not acceptable to wish for love. Javier remarked |
| and obey. | | | | "These thoughts tangle up their lives. Love solves |
| Now in all of this , those who would reject, or do not | | | | problems". |
| know these holy and inviolate scriptures are judged as | | | | As an observation, if we (and that's all of us) had |
| jeopardising their eternal soul, and in effect are | | | | more love in our lives, maybe we wouldn't be worried |
| outcasts from their maker, typically the native and | | | | so much about the state of the world, and be less |
| indigenous peoples (who have not yet been saved by | | | | judgemental, destructive, and just simply be willing to |
| the missionaries). So from this cultural theme there is a | | | | help others and alleviate suffering. |