ABSTRACT
Tobacco in the form of non-commercial cigarettes is widely used throughout Amazonia, and particularly in Guiana, during healing practices by the pijai (‘shaman’), as vividly described by Jules Crevaux and illustrated by Edouard Riou. This chapter prefers the local Wayana term pijai over the more generally used ‘shaman’ and has used it. It describes and discusses the broadcasts of Voyage sans Passeport where commercial cigarettes are being handed out. When the bagnard first begins to climb the steps towards the village, he has a cigarette in his mouth, and when he explains how to catch the butterflies with his net, a young Wayana boy is standing in the middle of this circle smoking. The power and qualities of commercial cigarettes are always trumped by the traditional tami ale. The chapter provides a picture of a global trend, the spread of tobacco and tobacco products, in one area of tobacco’s historical ‘source’ region.
