together with vegetable salt (prepared previously from certain forest plants).
The proportions depend on the use to which the ambilwill be put.
Use
Ambilis used to afford protection from, and to allay, negative energies.
Mambe(coca)
SabedorRene Moreno Vaneo from the Ethnic group Cocama explained the
ritual and medicinal use of coca (Erythroxylum coca), Leticia, Amazonas,
Colombia. He told the authors in an interview in November 2008 (interview
1 in the addendum).
Coca is for our ethnic group a plant which our ancestors have used over a
period of around six thousand years. It is a native plant, sacred for us in the
indigenous pueblosincluding Cocamas, Ingas, and other Amazonian ethnic
groups. For us, coca, together with ayahuascaform the foundation of our
entire traditional medicine. We consume or mambea coca together with yaje
or ayahuascabut in small quantities, only using three or five coca leaves –
depending on the size of the leaf.72 |Traditional medicine
Figure 4.3 Tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum
L.) in flower. ResguardoMonochoa, Caquéta
medio, Amazonas, Colombia, 1 September 1992.
Figure 4.4 SabedorOscar Román Enokayai-
cooking tobacco leaves in preparation of
ambil, 5 January 1997.