The ritual of spiritual purification is an ancestral practice which is now offered as a standard to all retreat participants staying for at least a week or longer. This ceremony has been practised by shamans, since immemorial time, as the name itself suggests, for spiritual purification.
Ritual of spiritual purification. Photo: S. Witte
The ritual is usually done in the afternoon, with the shaman blowing jungle tobacco smoke over his patient or apprentice whilst moving around him/her, singing softly whispered icaros. Afterwards, the participant has his/her forefront rubbed with shamanic colognes prepared with teacher plants/trees (rainforest flowers, Remocaspi, Chullachaki caspi, or Ayahuasca, among others). Other shamans prefer to smudge the body of their patient/apprentice with Palo Santo smoke, but Mapacho smudging and cologne smearing are more frequently adopted.
Using a Remocaspi cologne in the purification ritual. Photo: S. Witte
Read more on the origins of this ritual.