by Tahir Shah
Chuchuhuasi: Intoxicating jungle liquor made from the chuchuhuasi tree.
Chullpa: Ancient funeral tower.
Chumpi: Ornamental woven wool belt, worn by people on Taquile Island, Lake Titicaca.
Cipó d’água: Vine containing fresh water.
Cochineal: Red dye made from dried cochineal beetles.
Colibri: Spanish for “hummingbird”; one of the major images at Nazca.
Colectivo: Shared Peruvian taxi.
Corona: Spanish for “crown”; sometimes referring to Native Indian feathered crowns.
Crir: Ancient Aztec glider.
Curandero: Healer,-one who practises ayahuasca.
Curare: Resinous extract of the Stiychnos toxifera vine, used by Amazonian tribes as a tranquilizer for hunting.
Cuscomys ashaninka: Recently-discovered Andean mammal the size of a domestic cat.
Cuy: Spanish for “guinea pig”; a popular dish in Andean communities.
Datura: Brugmansia arborea, member of the potato family, whose leaves are a powerful hallucinogenic, used in the Amazon and by European medieval witches.
Deet: Synthetic insect repellent.
Dendrobates azureus: Indigo-colored species of poisonous frog, used by native peoples for hunting.
Ekeko: Ancient Aymara deity whose image is considered to bring good luck.
El Dorado: Mythical land thought to be made of gold.
Estofado: Thick chicken stew, popular in Andean communities.
Fly agaric: Poisonous hallucinogenic mushroom with a bright red cap.
Garimpeiros: Local self-employed gold miners.
Gaseosa: Peruvian word for a soft carbonated drink.
Guaje: Hard-shelled fruit, high in vitamin C, with yellow-orange flesh, popular in Upper Amazon.
Hacienda: Spanish word for a “property”, a villa.
Hardtack: Hard savory biscuit once popular fare with expeditions.
Harmaline: Alkaloid compound found in Banisteriopsis caapi.
Hashish: Narcotic resin collected from the female hemp plant.
Huaquero: Spanish word for “grave-robber”.
Icaros: Shamanic songs sung during an ayahuasca ceremony.
Iguachi: Shuar word for the Devil.
Jaca shoqpi: Andean divination technique based on the dissection of a guinea pig.
Jambiyah: Curved Yemeni dagger, traditionally with a handle fashioned of rhino horn.
Jivaro: See Shuar.
Kakaram: Shuar warrior.
Kapok: Tropical tree whose seed pods contain a silky fluff traditionally used for mattress stuffing etc.
Macumba: Brazilian religious sect founded on West African tribal beliefs.
Maestro: Master; a traditional healer or shaman.
Mahasse: Medium-sized tropical rodent, popular as food.
Mahicaris: Slang term for “Devil Worshippers”.
Mal de ojo: Evil Eye, popular superstition brought to the New World by the Spanish.
Maloca: Traditional thatched hut or long-house.
Mandrake: Plant of the Deadly Nightshade family, once used by European witches in flying ointments.
Manguaré: Pair of hollowed logs used as signaling drums over the jungle.
MAO-inhibitor: (Monoamine oxidase) Chemical substance (such as harmaline) which restricts the body’s natural ability to filter out specific toxins.
Mapacho: Strong jungle tobacco used in shamanic ceremonies.
Masato: Masticated cassava beverage prepared by Shuar tribe.
Matamata: Species of “prehistoric” turtle found in the Upper Amazon [Chelus fimbriatus).
Mate de coca: Tea made with coca leaves.
Maya: Ancient civilization and their language, who resided in Mexico and Central America.
Mescaline: Hallucinatory alkaloid contained in the peyote cactus.
Mestizo: Person of mixed European and Native American ancestry.
Mololo: Local name for an infusion of Cramp Bank.
Mormodes rolfeanum: Species of jungle orchid thought by some to resemble a bird.
Motocarro: Three-wheeled motorbike taxi, as operated in Iquitos.
Motorista: Man in charge of driving a boat.
Mumatatchi ant: Species of jungle ant which secretes a toxin when disturbed.
Murrel: Oily sardine-like freshwater fish, commonly found in South Asia.
Musiak: Said by the Shuar people to be a warrior’s avenging soul.
Naka-naka: Amazonian slang for “lies”.
Namaste: Traditional Indian greeting.
Nape: Alternative name for ayahuasca.
Natema: Shuar name for ayahuasca.
Native American Church: Religious organization founded on the ritual use of hallucinogenic peyote cactus.
Ocelot: Medium-sized wild cat, found in the Amazonian jungle and elsewhere in the Americas.
Paiche a la Loretana: Grilled fillet of piraruca, commonly served with roasted cassava.
Pampa: Extensive flatlands of western Peru, as at Nazca.
Peki-peki: Local name in the Peruvian Amazon for a dugout canoe driven by a crude motor.
Pele: Large balls of cured latex.
Peyote: Cactus-based hallucinogen; used in Native American Church rites.
Phyllobates terribilis: Most toxic species of poison arrow frog; resides in Surinam’s jungle.
Pinde: Alternative name for ayahuasca.
Piraruca: Large primitive freshwater fish, found in Upper Amazon and prized for its meat.
Pisco: Grape brandy made in the coastal town of Pisco.
Pisco sour: Whipped beverage containing Pisco and egg white.
Pishtao: Mysterious – possibly erroneous – practice of melting human corpses to acquire fat.
Psyilocybe: Mushroom (Psilocybe mexicana) from which is derived a hallucinogen called psilocybin.
Punga: Local word for kapok.
Quechua: Ancient Andean language, supposedly predating the Incas.
Quenas: Pan-pipes,-popular Andean woodwind instrument.
Quinua: Weed found in the Andes whose seeds are ground and eaten.
Rashed: Flying vehicle thought to be possessed by King Solomon.
Rub” al-Khali: The Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert.
Ryuku Kempo: Style of martial art, originating in Okinawa.
San Pedro: Andean cactus used as a hallucinogen.
Sanango: Hallucinogenic nerve agent; sometimes taken alone as an infusion, or mixed with ayahuasca.
Santo Daime: Religious organization of Brazilian origin, founded on the ritual use of ayahuasca.
Saqqara glider: Model of a supposed glider found in an Egyptian tomb, kept at Cairo Museum.
Selva: Spanish word for “jungle”.
Sendero Luminoso: Shining Path, Marxist organization which terrorized Peru from about 1980 until 1992.
Seringueiro: Traditional rubber tappers in Peruvian Amazon.
Shuar: Native tribe residing in the Pastaza region, near the Peruvian-Ecuadorian border. Formerly known as Jivaro which means ‘savage”.
Siete raices: Amazonian tonic made from seven roots.
Sillar: Volcanic stone light in color.
Sinicuichi: Hermia salicifolia, shrub used as an auditory hallucinogen.
Sirena: Spanish word for “mermaid”.
Sol: Currency of Peru.
Solanaceae: Family of plants, which includes numerous hallucinogens and the potato.
Soma: Hallucinogenic beverage drunk in South Asia in antiquity.
Spider monkey: Agile South American monkey with slender limbs and long prehensile tail.
Susto: Literally “fear”; idea that a sharp fright splits one’s soul from the body.
Suyos: Agricultural and administrative divisions of Taquile Island.
Syrian rue: Middle Eastern plant containing harmaline.
Takpa: Ominous interruption during an Andean shamanic ritual.
Tía: Spanish word for “aunt”.
Titanus giganticus: Enormous species of beetle with very powerful
mandibles, growing up to 2.0 cm.
Tobacco water: Bitter water flavored with an infusion of tobacco; used in shamanic ceremonies.
Toé: Shuar word for datura.
Totora: Type of reed found at Lake Titicaca, woven into simple boats.
Trachyte: Pale volcanic stone.
Tsantsa: Trophy head taken in a Shuar raid and shrunk to the size of an orange.
Tsentsak: Invisible magical dart regurgitated by a shaman.
Tumi: Sacrificial Incan dagger, sometimes fashioned from gold.
Uña de gato: Literally “claw of the cat”; a potent Amazonian aphrodisiac and healing potion.
Vimana: Mythical flying machine said to have flown in ancient India.
Virola: Hallucinogenic snuff related to nutmeg, taken in the Upper Amazon.
Volador: Aztec ceremony in which Birdmen swoop down around a towering pole, simulating flight.
Vulcanization: Process which makes raw rubber malleable.
Wak’a loom: Traditional collapsible loom found near Lake Titicaca.
Wakani: Spirit helping bird, faithful to a Shuar shaman.
Wawek: Bewitching shaman.
Wayuro seed: Red and black bean, acquired from the pods of a jungle tree, credited with mystical powers.
Yagé: Alternative word for ayahuasca.
Yarena: Common palm with long slatted fronds, commonly used for building jungle shelters.
Yuca: See cassava.
Bibliography
FLIGHT
The Prehistory of Plight, Clive Hart, 1985, University of California Press, Los Angeles
Interpretive History of Plight, M. J. B. Davy, 1937, Science Museum Press, London
Men in the Air, ed. Brandt Aymar, 1990, Wings Books, New York
Nazca, Plight of Condor I, Jim Woodman, 1977, John Murray, London
Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India and Atlantis, ed. David Hatcher Childress, 1991, Adventures Unlimited Press, Illinois
Flight Before Flying, David Wragg, 1974, Osprey Publishing, Reading
Wings, ed. H. G. Bryden, 1942, Faber and Faber, London
The Inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Gibbs-Smith, 1978, Phaidon Press, London
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PERUVIAN HISTORY
The Conquest of Peru, William H. Prescott, 1896, George Routledge and Sons, London
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Shamanism, Colonialism and the Wildman: A Study in Terror and Healing, Michael Taussig, 1987, University of Chicago Press, Illinois
TRAVEL & GUIDES
Exploration Fawcett, P. H. Fawcett, 1953, Hutchinson, London
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THE INCAS
Highway of the Sun, Victor Von Hagen, 1956, Victor Gollancz, London
History of the Inca Empire, BernabeCobo, reprinted 1991, University of Texas Press, Austin
Lost City of the Incas, Hiram Bingham, 1951, Phoenix House, London
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Everyday Life of the Incas, Ann Kendell, 1973, Dorset Press, New York
Popul Vuh, ed. Dennis Tedlock, 1985, Simon and Schuster, New York
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The History of the Incas, Pedro Sariento de Gamboa, 1573
Inca Myths, Gary Urton, 1999, British Museum Press, London
TEXTILES & ART
Ancient Andean Textiles, Rebecca Stone-Miller, 1994, Thames and Hudson, London
The Weavers of Ancient Peru, Moh Fini, 1985, Tumi, London
Culturas Precolombinas Paracas, 1983, Banco de Crédito del Perú en la Cultura, Lima
Textile Traditions of Mesoamerica & the Andes, Margo Blum Schevill, 1996, First University of Texas Press, USA
Arts of the Amazon, Barbara Braun, 1995, Thames and Hudson, London
Art of the Andes, Rebecca Stone-Miller, 1995, Thames and Hudson, London
Early Nazca Needlework, Alan Sawyer, 1997, Laurence King, London
SHUAR
Off With their Heads, Victor Von Hagen, 1937, The Macmillan Company, New York
Jivaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls, Michael Harner, 1972, University of California Press, Berkeley
Jivaro: Among the Head-shrinkers of the Amazon, Bertrand Flornoy, 1953, Elek Books, London
Mission to the Head Hunters, Frank and Marie Drown, 1961, Hodder and Stoughton, London
Amazon Head Hunters, Lewis Cotlow, 1953, Henry Holt and Co, New York
Head Hunters of the Amazon, F. W. Up de Graff, 1923, Garden City Publication Company, New York
Historical and Ethnographical Material on the Jivaro Indians, M. W. Stirling, 1938, United States Govt. Printing Office, Washington
Blood Revenge, War, and Victory Feasts Among the Jibaro Indians of Eastern Ecuador, Rafael Karsten, 1923, United States Govt. Printing Office, Washington
AMAZON & ITS TRIBES
Across the River of Death, Jorgen Bisch, 1958, The Scientific Bookclub, London
People of the Amazon, Lilo Linke, 1963, Robert Hale, London
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The Rivers Ran East, Leonard Clark, 1954, Hutchinson, London
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The Rivers Amazon, Alex Shoumatoff, 1979, William Heinemann, London
The Amazon, Alain Gheerbrant, 1992, Thames and Hudson, London
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FLORA & FAUNA
Insight Guide to Amazonian Wildlife, Hans-Ulrich, 1992, APA Publications (HK), Hong Kong
Poison-Arrow Frogs, Ralf Heselhaus, 1992, Blandford, London
The Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants, Andrew Chevallier, 1996, Dorling Kindersley, London
Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and the Andes, Richard Spruce, 1908, Macmillan &. Co, London
A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, Alfred Russel Wallace, 1892, Ward, Lock, Bowden and Co, London
AYAHUASCA
Amazon Healer, Marlene Dobkin de Rios, 1992, Prism Books
The Visionary Vine, Marlene Dobkin de Rios, 1984, Waveland Press Inc, Illinois
Ayahuasca, ed. Ralph Metzner, 1999, Thunder’s Mouth Press, New York
Abismos Cerebrales/El Chamanisimo, Fernando Cabieses, 1999, Lima, Peru
The Spears of Twilight, Philippe Descola, 1997, Flamingo, London
Forest of Visions, Alex Polari de Alverga, 1999, Parkstreet Press, Vermont
The Three Halves of Ino Moxo, Cesar Calvo, 1995, Inner Traditions International, Vermont
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isco
The Alchemy of Culture, Richard Rudgley, 1993, British Museum Press, London
Vine of the Soul, Richard Evans Schultes, 1992, Synergetic Press Inc, Arizona
The Cosmic Serpent, Jeremy Narby, 1998, Victor Gollancz, London
HALLUCINOGENS & SHAMANISM
Plants of the Gods, Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann, 1992, Healing Arts Press, Vermont
The Long Trip, Paul Devereux, 1997, Penguin Aricana, New York
Phantastica, Lewis Lewin, reprinted 1998, Parkstreet Press, Vermont
The Shaman, Piers Vitebsky, 1995, Duncan Baird Publishers, London
Hallucinogens and Shamanism, ed. Michael Harner, 1973, OUP, New York
Wizard of the Upper Amazon, F. Bruce Lamb, 1974, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley
Dance of the Pour Winds, Alberto Villoldo, 1995, Destiny Books, Vermont
Dreamtime, Hans Peter Duerr, 1985, Basil Blackwell, London
Tobacco and Shamanism, Johannes Wilbert, 1987, Yale University Press, New Haven
The Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Substances, Richard Rudgley, 1988, Little Brown, London
Consuming Habits: Drugs and History and Anthropology, ed Jordon Goodman, Paul E. Lovejoy & Andrew Sherratt, 1995, Routledge, London
Narcotic Plants, William Emboden, 1972, Studio Vista, London
Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, Mark J. Plotkin, 1993, Penguin Books, New York
A Witch-Doctor’s Apprentice, Nicole Maxwell, 1962, Victor Gollancz, London
The Healing Journey, Claudio Naranjo, 1975, Hutchinson, London
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