ABSTRACT
The scene described above was witnessed among the Cuicuru Indians of central Brazil in the twentieth century. It is a description of the ‘death’ and restoration of a tobacco shaman. Metsé was experiencing what seems to be an ordeal of self-inflicted pain and discomfort while being attended by other shamans. That, however, is a modern reader’s perception. For the Cuicuru, Metsé is performing a central and ancient tradition, dating back well before Europe discovered the New World. He is passing through a hallucinatory experience accompanied by specific physical changes. Both the experience and the physical changes are sought by the shaman, and their meanings are clear to the Cuicuru. What is perplexing about the scene, however, is that the hallucination is induced by tobacco. Why tobacco? To answer that we need to begin by considering the meaning
and importance of hallucinogenic plants and altered states of consciousness to Amerindian societies before contact with Europe.
