Las armas nucleares y los principios estructurales de Derecho Internacional Público

Don Emilio gave me a long list of plants that "teach" icaros. I will here give some examples. There is a clear association between the qualities or properties of certain plants and the icaros they inspire.

Icaro de la Bobinzana

Bobinzana is a beautiful tree (Swartzia arborecens (Aubl.) Pit-

tier (Leguminosae) (Soukup 1970:332) which is considered a plant-teacher by the vegetalistas of Loreto. According to Don Emilio the smell of the flowers of this tree has healing pro- perties. Birds, monkeys and insects use it as "their medicine", and it has the virtue of "clarifying" the mind of human beings. The spirit of this tree is a prince, who presents himself dressed in beautiful garments and carrying a sword. The tree is

5 4

T o my knowledge only two papers have been written on the magic melodies sung by the vegetalistas of the Amazonian provinces of Peru. Both analyse only the icaros taped during one ayahuasca session (Katz & Dobkin de Rios 1971; Stocks 1979)

I learned recently that in 1965 Rosa Alarco published a brief article "Análisis musical de las canciones del ayahuasca usadas por los brujos de la tribu de los orejones del río Napo y por los curanderos de Iquitos. Informe.". This article is to be found in Chiappe et al. (1985:135-136). Until now no attempt has been made to make a systematic survey of the whole reper- toire of a mestizo shaman. A. Padilla (1984), wrote a paper on the melody, harmony, rhythm and expressive features of seven of Don Emilio's icaros based on the material I gathered during my first period of field work.

his palace, and this is the reason why it is always blossoming. Emilio says that the icaro of this tree is used both for curing and as a melody to win the love of a woman.

Icaro de la Catahua

Catahua (Hura crepitans L.) (Euphorbiaceae) is considered to

be a very strong and even dangerous plant-teacher. It is pos- sible to "gain knowledge" from this tree, if a few milliliters of its latex are consumed, after a good vegetalista has brought it to boil carefully and sung a powerful icaro during the pre- paration. A strict diet of several months is required, other- wise the tree "may kill the person". Don Emilio explained to me that a mixture of the latex of this tree, together with pati-

quina (Dieffenbachia sp.), a genus containing very toxic cons-

tituents (Arditti & Rodriguez 1982) and pucunucho (capsicum pepper) is used to destroy lakes where there are yacuruna or evil inhabitants of the water (see V a l d i z á n & M a l d o n a d o 1922:11; Karsten 1964:197; Dobkin de Ríos 1972:80), often iden- tified as huge boas, bufeos (fresh water dolphins) and mermaids

(Regan 1983: 176-185).

As a matter of fact this plant contains strong piscicidal (Sakata & Kawasu 1971) and other biodynamic compounds (Evans & Soper 1978; Pere, Pere & Rouge 1981). According to Don Emilio the icaro de la catahua is whistled before one approaches dan- gerous cochas (ox-bow lakes). Some cochas (also called colpas) are considered especially powerful places, the dwelling of spi- rits, which one cannot enter without special protection. If this is not done, diabolic spirits may produce heavy winds and rain, and the person runs the risk of being devoured by a boa

(cf. Reátegui 1984).

Icaro del Doctor Ojé

Ojé (Ficus anthelmintica Mart.; F. insipida Willd.; F. glabrata

HBK) (Moraceae) is a large tree, whose latex is widely used in the Peruvian Amazon as antihelmintic. Scientific study of its properties as a medicinal plant is in progress (Hansson 1984). Species of this genus are rich in biodynamic compounds (Eid- ler, Genkina & Shakirov 1975; Elgamal; El-Tawil & Fayez 1975; Venkatachalam & Mulchandani 1982). Don Emilio considers Ojé a powerful plant-teacher. The spirit of this tree is supposed to be a big, fat, elegant white man, wearing a hat and a walking stick, who instructs the shaman who calls him how to cure cer- tain illnesses. The icaro of this tree is a powerful defence against evil shamans. By whistling this melody, a dense fog will be created around the witch, rendering him incapable of seeing where he is and unable to cause any harm (cf. appendix III, icaro 2).

Don Emilio's repertoire includes the icaros of several other plant-teachers such as the icaro del Clavohuasca (Tynnanthus

panurensis (Bur.) Sandwith) (Bignoniaceae), icaro de la raya- balsa (Montrichardia arborecens Schott) (Araceae), icaro del ayahuman (Couroupita guianensis Aubl.) (Lecythidaceae), etc.

Don Emilio explained to me that it is also possible to

"dietar", a term that means to follow the diet and gain know-

ledge learn from perfumes, certain minerals like pedernal (flintstone), and even metals such as steel, so that one will be able to learn their icaros. By adding some drops of a per- fume to the ayahuasca beverage during its preparation it is possible to learn huarmi icaros to attract women. By putting a piece of flintstone or of steel in a glass of water for several days, drinking the water and following the diet, it is possible to assimilate certain qualities of these objects. The icaro del

pedernal is used by witches to cause destruction by fire.

The icaro del acero (icaro of steel) makes the body strong enough to resist rains and heavy winds. In Yarinacocha, near Pucallpa, by the Ucayali river, Guillermo Arévalo told me that he believes that it is also possible to learn from gasoline and certain acids, not by ingestion, but by inhaling them, and fol- lowing the prescribed diet.

The spirits of the plant-teachers, in their turn, teach the shaman apprentice during his initiation other icaros by which some qualities of certain animals can be incorporated. Here are some examples:

Icaro del Pelejo

The pelejo (sloth) (Bradypus tridactylus) is, according to Don Emilio, a very clean and strong animal. It is not disturbed by rain or heavy winds. It never eats meat or fruit, only the sprouts of certain trees. The icaro of this animal is used for curing children with digestive disturbances or affected by illnesses "produced by water." (cf. appendix III, icaro 3).

Icaro de la Pinsha

The pinsha (toucan), according to Don Emilio, is a bird that sings in the evening to attract females. Its song is sad and beautiful. By singing the icaro of this bird one can make a woman cry and win her love.

Icaro del Flautero-Pinsha

The flautero-pinsha is another bird (unidentified) whose icaro is used as a defence against the Chullachaqui (cf.4.1.1.), and against illness produced by other jungle spirits. By singing this icaro the vegetalista is able to "enter" the beautiful and well built nest made by this bird.

Icaro del ninacuru

According to Don Emilio, the ninacuru is an insect whose eyes look like the headlights of a car. By singing this icaro one is able to look for a person that has been abducted by the ya-

kuruna (water people). The shaman, projecting light out of his

eyes, will become like one of those insects and will easily find the person in the underwater world.

Invocations of other animals are frequent. Animals such as the eagle, the condor, the boa, the eel and the jaguar are called upon for healing, for protection, or even, in the case of evil shamans, to cause harm. Each of these animals is able to transport the vegetalista to its particular domains in the underwater world, the forest or the sky.

All my informants claim to be good hunters, and are extre- mely good at imitating animals. Don Emilio says that he "under- stands" the language of certain animals. As I wrote earlier, during the period in which the novice is following the diet one of his tasks is to watch carefully the animals and plants of the jungle in order to learn from them. According to Calvo (1981:232) and Lamb (1985:24?), Don Manuel Cordoba Ríos, when taking ayahuasca, was able to convey to people the visions of birds and animals by imitating them. The person is then able to study their behaviour. Through the icaros the shaman is able to "identify himself" with the animal and see the world accor- dingly. This idea is admirably expressed in Lamb's (1985: 24) narration based on interviews with Cordoba Ríos, a vegetalista from Iquitos (cf.1.6., on Lamb's work).

It seems to me that the central idea is that certain quali- ties or properties of plants, animals, minerals or metals can be incorporated by the ingestion of some part of them. The ica- ro, which is the result of this absorption, is like the quint- essence of the corresponding object, and can be used by the shaman for curing, to cause harm, to protect himself against evil shamans or spirits, etc.