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Of all the photographs taken of indigenous Amazonians over the years, this
picture taken by explorer Chuck Clark is perhaps the most incredible and rarest
image ever taken. One night when Clark was sleeping in his hut, he heard
the unmistakable sound of a big cat such as a puma or jaguar. Being raised
in the mountains of Colorado, Clark knew all too well the eerie sound of the
puma screaming which is almost identical to that of the jaguar. Clark left
his hut to investigate the sound and luckily he brought his camera. What
he witnessed was something that probably no other outsider had witnessed up to
that time or since, a secret Ashaninka spiritual session. If he had been
caught, he most assuredly would have been sacrificed. Clark peeked into
the maloka where the ceremony was taking place and hand-held his manual
Hasselblad camera to capture this phenomenal image. Few photographers
would have had the skill to correctly expose the image or have hands steady
enough to hold the camera without moving, but Clark did. The sound that he
heard was not that of a jaguar or a puma, but rather that of an Ashaninka shaman
imitating the sound of the animal spirit associated with the Ayahuasca plant,
the jaguar. Indigenous Amazonian shamans use plants to manipulate animal
spirits. In their worldview, animal spirits are all powerful forces that
determine health and fortune. Plants do not have spirits, but rather can
be used to manipulate and control the all powerful animal spirits. The
jaguar and puma spirits are the most powerful of all animal spirits and the
ayahuasca plant is how shamans control these almighty spirits. According
to traditional indigenous Amazonian beliefs, ayahuasca does not have a spirit,
nor does it teach (as most charlatan shamans falsely preach), however, ayahuasca
can be used to manipulate and control the powerful jaguar and puma spirits.
At great risk to his own life, photographer and explorer Chuck Clark secretly
recorded for prosperity this rare and incredible image, and it is with great
honor that Amazon-Indians.org exclusively publishes this photograph.
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