centipedes, wasps, spiders and bees. It is also reported 
to be a cure for snake bite (17, 27). 
Because it is thought so generally valuable, many 
country people who do not use chimo carry it to cure 
wounds and for insect bites (Dupouy, pers. comm. ). 
Chim6 not only cures but also protects; its odor is 
thought to frighten away snakes, wild animals and in- 
sects, and if some is held in the mouth, safety is assured 
(27). Further, if a man be overtaken by a foreboding of 
evil, his chimo wards off evil spirits. Country people 
going to and from their little plots of cultivation (conu- 
cos) habitually carry chimo6 for these reasons, as well as 
to consume it (Valero, pers. comm.). 
These uses of chim6 are reminiscent of the role of 
tobacco smoke in cures effected by witch doctors (60). 
Medicine becomes magic in folk beliefs about the cura- 
tive powers of chimo. Tesser (pers. comm.), listing ills 
which it supposedly helps, adds that if chim6 is applied 
to the afflicted part in the form of a cross, its efficacy is 
believed to be increased. Magic takes over when chimo 
is used to counteract the evil eye (mal de qjo)—an idea 
that Tesser (pers. comm.) advances without details. 
(This is the only mention of evil eye encountered in the 
course of my investigation, although belief in it is com- 
monin Venezuela. The reason lies probably in reluctance 
of individuals to discuss the supernatural. ) 
A magic use of chimo is described by Dupouy (27). 
On Good Friday night, river waters, said to be ‘‘sleep- 
ing’’, are ‘‘awakened”’ by an exorcist who, after keeping 
chimo in the mouth, throws it into the river. He adds 
that just as there is the ‘‘prayer of tobacco’’, so among 
chimo users there are beliefs in its magic properties. 
Attitudes toward chimo are difficult to evaluate ex- 
cept by repeated contacts in an atmosphere of mutual 
[ 26 ] 
