kano and Kuripako Indians. In all cases, the fabrication 
was essentially the same and corresponds closely to Koch- 
Griinberg’s brief description of its manufacture amongst 
the Yekwanas. Descriptions of the preparation as given 
to me by several Kubeo, Barasana and Makuna Indians 
indicate that no appreciable difference marks the process 
as practised by these tribes. In all instances, the same 
species were pointed out as sources of the snuff. We are, 
therefore, justified, I believe, in assuming that, in the 
area of its distribution in the Comisaria del Vaupés of 
eastern Colombia, as well as in the upper Rio Negro of 
Brazil, the preparation of ydhee is well standardized. In 
this respect, it resembles coca (Avrythrovylum Coca Lam.), 
the fabrication of which is, for practical purposes, the 
same throughout the area; on the other hand, it is unlike 
the famed narcotic caapi or yajé (Banisteriopsis spp.), 
the preparation of which seems to vary with almost each 
tribe. 
The Indians usually strip the bark from the trees dur- 
ing the early hours of the morning, before the sun has 
begun to penetrate the forest canopy to heat up the 
trunk. Large strips of the bark, which peel easily from 
the cambium, are torn from the trunk and tied into loose 
bundles. Almost immediately upon separation of the 
bark from the tree, a profuse exudation or ‘“‘bleeding”’ 
of a thick reddish resin-like liquid, which soon becomes 
viscous, oozes forth from the inner surface of the bark in 
small drops. The active principle is contained in this ex- 
udation—called oom (latex), or, specifically referring to 
these species of Vrola, hd-oom-tee-et or yd-kee-oom, in 
Puinave. According to the Indians, this exudation is 
greatly reduced in quantity and is weaker in its narcotic 
effects when the trunk of the /7ro/a tree has received the 
warmth of the sun’s rays. 
The bundles of bark are brought in and placed in water 
[ 248 ] 
