Production Update — Return from the Apaporis

We visited places which do not appear on maps. Places like Buenos Aires, a settlement located on the banks of the Canarari river and populated by Cubeos, Baras, Barasanos and Taivanos. On the river banks of the Apaporis, we visited the Indian village of Gustavo Pachacuari, captain of the Jirijirimo Union, a settlement which is custodian of the beautiful torrents of the Jirijirimo. This is considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.There we attended a Yagé ritual, with dances and music of the Cabiyarí, a legendary tribe recognized for the wisdom of its medicine men and for the anthropophagic customs of their close relatives. After two days in canoe, we visited the Playa where captain Rondón Tanimuca with his family assisted in showing us the Dance of the Doll, the mask dance which had captivated Schultes so much in his trips through South America. Upon seeing photos of the Schultes expedition, a 90-year-old Tanimucan remembered the professor and recognized two of his deceased brothers. We recorded mythologies which recognize the particular ways of seeing and thinking of the indigenous people and settlers which populate the Amazon territories today.

There are memories related by payès (medicine men) who, when confronting illnesses, prayers and spells, reveal their conception of the world.Guided by Professor Schultes’ research, we traced and recorded with a high contrast video, unique and events little known to Western vision, such as the preparation of the curare for hunting and the preparation of coca powder for the mambeo*. We also recorded the preparation of dupa, extracted from Virola, one of the strongest secret psychotropics in the world, prohibited for many decades by the missionaries since its effects confuse reasoning more radically than yagé.