SNUFF AND SHAMANISM AMONG INIGENOUS GROUPS ALONG THE MIDDLE PURUS, AMAZONIA

Abstract

Based on tobacco, snuff occupies a special place in shamanism among indigenous groups in the middle Purus (Amazon region). The article focuses on the use and meaning of snuff among some of these groups, contributing for the understanding of the snuff ’s role, and shamanic practices in the region, taking in account the several beings that make part of their cosmologies. The authors present a multisited study based on historical and etnographic sources. The data point to an unavoidable connection between snuff and shamanism in the middle Purus, helping to understand the various indigenous groups as a system in communica­tion, beyond historic or ethnonymic differences. Keywords: snuff, xamanism, indigenous peoples, middle Purus, Ama­zonia