{"id":4930,"date":"2013-04-09T16:19:37","date_gmt":"2013-04-09T23:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philborges.com\/blog\/?p=4930"},"modified":"2014-03-05T17:58:46","modified_gmt":"2014-03-06T00:58:46","slug":"mengatohue-shaman-of-the-huaroriani-tribe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philborges.com\/blog\/2013\/04\/09\/mengatohue-shaman-of-the-huaroriani-tribe\/","title":{"rendered":"Mengatohue: Shaman of the Huaroriani Tribe"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November of \u201999 I made a trip to the headwaters of the Amazon in Ecuador\u2019s Northern Oriente as part of my series on indigenous people and their spiritual mediators\u2014the people we in the west refer to as Shamans.\u00a0 I traveled with a three man film crew working for the Discovery Channel. My intention was to meet with one of the well respected shamans of the Huaoriani Tribe, a 64 year old man named Mengatohue.\u00a0 Our guide was Mengatohue\u2019s grandson, Moi, a 35 year old Huaoriani warrior who had learned Spanish and had managed to unite the very independent Huaoriani people in their fight against the Oil Companies that threatened their territory.<\/p>\n

\"Moi,<\/a>

Moi, 35 yrs old<\/p><\/div>\n

Once in the Amazon we met up with Moi who introduced us to the Huaoriani in the very remote village of Bameno.\u00a0 For a tribe that are known by their neighbors as \u2018Savages\u2019 and are feared for their brutality and fierceness in battle I must say that I did not see any aggression or disharmony between people in the tribe.\u00a0 In fact, I was taken by their fun loving nature and the affection they showed each other.\u00a0 During our stay we accompanied a few of the men on one of their hunts.\u00a0 I was amazed at the sensitivity and knowledge these men had about their environment.\u00a0 They could hear, see, and smell things I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 It made me realize how much my senses have been deadened by spending so much time in my head. Armed with blowguns they were able to track and bring down monkeys that were almost 100ft up in the canopy.<\/p>\n

\"Mengatohue,<\/a>

Mengatohue, 64 yrs old<\/p><\/div>\n

Mengatohue became a shaman by taking more and more powerful doses of Auyasca (a plant hallucinogen) until he bonded with his spirit allies.\u00a0 He was very young when he started this dangerous process\u2014the initiate can go crazy.\u00a0 Today, every five to seven days Mengatohue goes into trance and his main spirit (the Jaguar) enters his body and gives him guidance in healing patients, and leading his community. Here are some clips taken from the Discovery Channel series.<\/p>\n