Reviewed by Timothy White, Editor, Shaman's Drum

Taped in the Amazonian rainforest of eastern Peru, Sacha Runa, Spirits of the Rainforest offers a delightful portrait of the Peruvian mestizo shaman Don Agustin Rivas-Vazques and provides an insightful introduction to the shamanic use of ayahuasca -the visionary psychotropic drink made from ayahuasca vines and chacruna leaves. Filmmaker Sean Adair and producer Miguel A. Kavlin have produced an educational yet entertaining video that should appeal to persons interested in the shamanic use of enthogens. I would particularly recommend it for anyone contemplating traveling to Peru or Brazil to participate in Ayahuasca ceremonies-with don Agustin or with others.

The video relies heavily on a series of stationary on-camera interviews with don Agustin, but its editors have skillfully enhanced its monologues with a lively montage of illustrative cutaway shots-scenes of rainforest plants and animals, shots of don Agustin's intriguing sculptures, close-ups of Pablo Amaringo's paintings depicting ayahuasca visions, footage of don Agustin performing indigenous music and engaging in rituals, and whimsical sequences of Western visitors having a good time letting it all hang-out at one of don Agustin's workshops. Don Agustin's perceptive comments and Pablo's informative paintings work particularly well together-helping convey the unique spirit of this sacred medicine, which has been used shamanically for by Amazonian tribes for centuries and which has inspired several new religious movements in Peru and Brazil. Incidentally the producers did a good job at providing thorough and accurate English subtitles for the interviews-conducted in Spanish-although some non Spanish speakers may need to watch the video several times in order to fully absorb its rich content.

The video is also an indirect tribute to don Agustin's many skills as a spirited and entertaining shamanic ritualist. because bright lights are too disruptive to permit filming during the most intense parts of ayahuasca ceremonies, Adair was unable to record an actual ayahuasca ceremony from beginning to end. Nevertheless, by supplementing don Agustin's lively descriptions of the ceremony and his spirited enactments of ritual details with footage of his altar and early parts of the ceremony, some special-effects animation, more images from paintings, and various workshop demonstrations of healing rituals, the filmmakers managed to recreate a sense of the ceremony.

The video's soundtrack is appropriately enriched by don Agustin's performances on Andean reed flute, drums, and marimba-like wooden gongs, as well by his impromptu renditions of the ceremonial songs, and the haunting sounds of his homemade mouth harps. Born and raised along the Amazon River, don Agustin worked and trained with traditional indigenous ayahusqueros for many years before beginning his practice as a healer and ceremonial leader. As don Agustin delights in pointing out in the video, he has taken ayahuasca over 1,500 times, and he is living proof that ayahuasca is a transformative medicine that is neither addictive nor destructive. As this video shows, he is a highly articulate and entertaining speaker, a wonderfully creative artist and musician, a wise and compassionate healer, and a remarkably well-balanced person.

It is easy to understand why this elfish-and unselfish-shaman from the Amazon has become sort of an international celebrity, with a following of individuals in Europe and the United States, as well as in Peru. Don Agustin's willingness to share his intimate knowledge of ayahuasca is complemented by his ability to frame that knowledge in modern metaphors and psychological terms that westerners can easily understand. his comments on how ayahuasca heals by purifying people on a molecular level are insightful, his explanations of how the shamans obtain and use the icaros (tunes) and mariris (words) are discerning, and his views on drug abuse and ecological destruction are perceptive and provocative. for those who are considering a visit to Yushintaita, his camp in eastern Peru, this video may be an excellent place to start. Timothy White is editor of Shaman's Drum and a practitioner of psychotropic shamanism.