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From Canaracuini we fly over the Sarisariñama tepuy.
Up there, the vegetation is just as down below,
but this tepuy contains an extraordinary phenomenon.
Here is the largest crevasse in the world, and the fourth in absolute depth.
The surface of the plateau is scarred by deep crevices and the largest crevasses formed by the collapse of sandstone rock.
The largest is 352 metres across, 350 metres deep and 502 metres in diameter at the bottom.
They were formed by the collapse of enormous cavities of sandstone rock.
They have their own drainage system formed by watercourses
that begin on the walls and edges and end by disappearing underground.
Near to Sarisariñama, the Canaracuni and the Merevari come together to form the river Caura.
Its waters plunge down the Para Falls, one of the most spectacular cataracts in Venezuela
and a sacred place for the native Indians.
Some relatives from the Itucu river have arrived at the Sanema village.
The compulsory greetings are a real ritual.
Two by two, they recite their respective family trees, which sometimes go back twenty generations.
Meanwhile, daily life continues at its slow, steady pace.
The Sanema work just enough to eat and be comfortable in the village.
They spend a lot of time doing nothing or playing simple, almost childish games.
The arrival of visitors always breaks the monotony. They prepare dances, games and food for all.
The warriors paint themselves with burnt wood as they do when they go into battle against other tribes.
This is a very old custom, challenging outsiders, even if it is only in play.
The Sanema have always been and always will be a warrior people.
The visitors enter the village with their bows strung. There, other warriors await them.
The tips of the arrows are wrapped in banana leaves so they will not wound anyone.
This is merely a welcoming ritual.
The Sanema believe that after the creation of the world the gods fought a cruel battle in the stars.
From the drops of blood that fell to earth, mixed with the dust, men were born.
So, they believe they came from violence, which could explain why war and confrontation in battle are so important for them.
They are always on the alert, observing the jungle that surrounds them.
Enemies always come through the jungle, this tangle of vegetation which here is especially dense.
On the Guayana plateau the jungle grows on granite soil.
The trees have had to develop both ground and aerial roots, and so there are parts of the forest which are virtually impenetrable.
The shamans are the most respected people of all.
It is their job to order the social behaviour of the community,
take charge of the worship of the spirits, and cure illnesses.
They know the pharmacopoeia of the jungle and how to make medicines and powerful poisons.
It is also their responsibility to collect and prepare the sacona or yopo.
They search in the jungle for the tree called ama-ahí.
The bigger and older it is, the stronger will be the hallucinogenic substances obtained from it.
First, they have to make a fire, which is not easy in the depths of the jungle,
because the atmosphere is extremely humid and the wood, though it is not green, is soaking wet.
They light it with a red-hot brand they have brought from the village.
Though at times they manage to get matches from the Yecuana, they always keep a fire lit in the village.
When someone wants to light another fire, they take some of the embers.
It has been like that since the beginning of time, the fire never goes out,
there was always someone, chosen by the shaman, entrusted with the supreme mission of keeping it alive.
There have even been wars over fire. When a group was left without their fire, they attacked another one
in order to steal the embers.
To extract the sacona, they tear off strips of the bark of the ama-ahi,
moisten them with saliva and place them over the flames so they release the alkaloid.
The wisdom of the shamans is the reason behind a new invasion of the jungle.
First, it was those who came in search of rubber, then later gold.
Now, the pharmaceutical laboratories have come to exploit the botanical knowledge of the Shamans.
They are less violent, they do not organise massacres of the Indians,
but their presence and the objects they bring with them in order to negotiate,
upset the balance of the culture of these indigenous communities.
They are the latest scourge to which the jungle has been subjected.
The hallucinogenic resin forced out by the action of the heat is put into a pot and then cooked until it solidifies.
The sacona can be classified within the group of enteogenous indolic pharmaceuticals.
They are only used ritually, as in the case over the societies with ***,
ayahuasca, the San Pedro cactus or, in Central Africa, the iboga.
Before returning to the village, one of the shamans tests the efficacy of the preparation.