by his wife, the ido prepares the drug by scraping the bark and 

 slowly boiling the brew. 



According to our informants, the use of this drug is considered 

 an aggressive act. It may be taken to cure illness but only if 

 prepared by the one who caused the illness in the first place. 'Mf 

 someone consented to cure, it was an admission of guilt. If he 

 didn't cure the victim, he would be killed. Sometimes he was 

 killed after curing someone, because he was the one who caused 

 it." 



The Waorani call this species mii and clearly associate certain 

 powers with it. A boy's uncle or grandfather will take a tiny piece 

 of the liana and, using the wind pipe from a toucan, piping guan or 

 curassow as a blowgun, bow the wadded niii into the boy's lungs 

 so that he will grow up to have powerful lungs and become a great 

 hunter. 



The Witoto of Puco Urquillo on the Rio Ampiyacu in Peru call 

 it sacha ayahuasca — ''wild ayahuasca" — and say that it can be 

 used just as ayahuasca {B. Caapi), but that it is weaker. 



Hiraea sp. nov. 



Collect.: Davis & Yost 1038. 



Woarani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect; n.v. dowemenei 



The fruit of this liana of the primary forest canopy is eaten. 



DiCHAPETALACEAE 



Tapura amazonica P. et E., Nov. Gen. et Sp. 3 (1845) 41 t. 246. f. 

 2. 



Collect.: Davis & Yost 1044. 



Waorani Informant: Tomo (m). Upriver dialect: n.v. aw^n- 



catonio 



The Waorani eat the fruits of this primary forest tree. 



In the northwest Amazon a related species, Tapura peruviana 



Krause, (known 



n Colombia as calentura chiricaspi) is used 

 fusion of the leaves is taken to reduce fevers 



(Schultes in prep.). 



191 



