When men go to the forest to hunt or fish, it is never a trivial passage. _ First the shaman must travel in trance to negotiate with the masters of the animals, forging a mystical contract with the spirit guardians, an exchange based always on reciprocity. _ The Barasana compare it to marriage, for hunting too is a form of courtship, in which one seeks the blessing of a greater authority for the honor of taking into one’s family a precious being. _ Meat is not the right of a hunter but a gift from the spirit world. _ To kill without permission is to risk death by a spirit guardian, be it in the form of a jaguar, anaconda, tapir, or harpy eagle. People in the forest are always both predator and prey. _ All of these ideas and restrictions create what is essentially a land management plan inspired by myth. _ Words by author and explorer, Wade Davis, on the way of life of the Barasana, an Amazonian tribe living down the Apaporis River in Colombia. _ #ancientwisdom #wadedavis @wadedavis9136 #oneriver #animalmedicine #plantmedicine #spiritworld #wildlife #animals #barasana #colombia #amazonas #explore #motoadventure #hunt #forest #ferns @royalenfield @royalenfieldcolombia #myth #wearealltrulywild (at Tolima, Colombia)