For the World Health Organization, tobacco is a legal recreational drug for which more than 8 million people die each year, about half of its users. Although smoking in Western societies is considered an epidemic, in native cultures of the Amazon on the other hand tobacco is a spiritual plant: it makes the user aware of his or her environment, of the beings of the forest, helps to scare away unwanted spirits and to communicate with other beings. The Shuar people of Ecuador are no exception to this practice.
In a visit in 2018 I had the opportunity to participate in a tobacco drinking ceremony in the Shuar community of Consuelo, Pastaza province (Ecuador). The ceremonial tobacco consumption is done by depositing dry leaves of this plant in a bowl with water, maceration of the mixture which is then consumed by drinking it through the nose. Tsanku means “tobacco” in Shuar Chicham, the original language of the Shuar people. This photo essay is my approach and interpretation of the ritual in this specific geography.
This essay was featured on Visura.co