Xapiri Bruce Albert Analysis

This video “Xapiri” by Bruce Albert observes the xamãs Yamomami or the shamans of the Yamomami tribe in their spiritual ritual involving the use of a plant produced from the resin of the Virola tree. “At the beginning of time, Father Sun practiced incest with his daughter, who acquired Viho by scratching her father’s penis.”1 This is considered as a “sacred snuff from the sun’s semen, and since it is still hallowed, it is kept in containers called muhipu-nuri, or ‘penis of the sun.’”1 It is a hallucinogen that enables one to consult the spirit world.1 Popularly used among shamans of different tribes, the shamans are only able to contact other spiritual forces through the good graces of Viho-mahse.1 Although there are sixty species of the Virola
The hallucinogen is often snuffed in frighteningly excessive amounts and, in at least one annual ceremony, constantly over a two- or three-day period.”1 In the Xapiri video, the Nyakwana is used as a powder since it is shown that the shamans blow the Nyakwana through a long tube into the other’s nostrils. Since the Yamomami is located around southeastern Venezuela and northern Brazil, it is safe to assume that the way they prepare the Nyakwana is by felling trees and peeling off long strips of bark from the Virola tree.1 After this occurs, a plentiful amount of liquid flows out while almost immediately turning blood red accumulates on the inner surface of the bark.1 The strips are then gently heated and the “resin” is gathered by the shamans in an earthen ware pot that is then set on fire.1 The liquid is then reduced to a thick syrup and then sun-dried.1 The final product results in a crystalized, beautiful, amber-red solid that is very carefully ground to a refined powder-like consistency.1 The fine-powdered Nyakwana snuff product can be then used directly or mixed with the pulverized leaves of Justicia in order to make the smell