References

Common Themes in South American Indian Yage Experiences

Harner MJ; Internet Reference, 2010.

The Conibo-Shipibo Indians of the Ucayali region of eastern Peru report that a common function of ayahuasca-taking by shamans is to permit the shaman's soul to leave his body in the form of a bird which flies to kill a distant person at night. The bird changes back into the shaman's human form to kill the sleeping person. Another typical experience of Conibo-Shipibo shamans is setting out in a supernatural launch manned by demons to recapture the stolen soul of a sick patient from the demon launch of an enemy shaman. A non-shaman under the influence of ayahuasca may likewise have his soul taken away by a demon launch. Under such circumstances, his body appears to observers as "dead," with no noticeable heart beat nor respiration, according to the Indians. A shaman, taking ayahuasca, pursues and recovers the patient's soul.

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