Poetry of shamanism

When we speak, it is like sing, because our mother tongue is tonal so we need to use tones to communicate. But not every Mazatec person knows this, as a friend once said, "when we speak, we don´t think about it" and he is right, we don´t ask about the structure of our language. It is like that with shamanism too, but it is more special because it is like Mazatec Poetry. When a Mazatec shaman is on a ceremony mushrooms, he or she speaks in different way than we usually speak everyday. Mazatec shamans are not poets, but their songs are poetic. From moment to moment during the ceremony, they improvise what they say, someones calling upon forces of nature, at other times they call the Catholic "santos" (saints), but they all use the language as if it were poetry.

Jo sanda ’ndsokoi As from your feet Como desde tus pies
jo sanda jña tijnai As to where you are como hasta donde estas
jin ’ny’alen xkuin within the cold of your eyes entre el frio de tus ojos
’ngayeje jo tisui all of what you are (like you) todo lo que eres

Ka ta tsje ka ta ma To clean, to will to happen Que se limpie, que suceda
ka ta xkúen ka ta ’ny’an That is tender again, that is cold again que sea tierno otra vez, que se vuelva a enfriar
jin nangui joni ’ng’ajmi on earth and in the sky en la tierra y en el cielo
jin sjue ’ndoa jonni jin jtsí below the heat and below the rain bajo el calor y bajo la lluvia


Shamans are normal people. In our community, in our village everybody knows who the shamans are, and we go to their house when we are sick. In a normal situation, shamans speak like normal persons. Another interesting thing in poetry is metaphor, shamans use this frequently because it is much easier to improvise.

I enjoyed your post about the chota chjine. You are right to be proud of your culture. I hope to meet a good chota chjine one day.

Frank