white man have become favorites and must likewise be 
imported, since the climate of the Guajira makes the 
cultivation of good tobacco impossible. In spite of the 
restrictions imposed by the climate, I believe that the use 
of tobacco is an old culture-trait, associated (in the period 
of the Conquest and in Colonial times) with the employ- 
ment of coca or hayo tor chewing, a habit borrowed prob- 
ably from the neighboring Indians of the Sierra Nevada 
de Santa Marta. This is attested to by several chroniclers 
(10, 19). It seems also to be supported by its marked 
connection with magic; for the piache (man or woman), 
believes himself to be appointed by Wanuru, Spirit of 
Death, and begins his intoxication by chewing tobacco 
for several days until a state of ecstasy is attained (29). 
This ecstasy brings to mind that of the Kogi priests from 
the Sierra Nevada who induce similar semi-narcotic states 
through taking coca mixed with concentrated tobacco- 
water. Differences in concentration of this tobacco- 
extract account for the different names: moat and mo or 
chimo (12) referring to a thick paste or jelly-like extract, 
ambire or ambira to the liquid extract or water. It seems 
that this culture-trait passed from the Sierra Nevada de 
Santa Marta to the Venezuelan Andes and thence to the 
east-central region of that country. The Guajiros ac- 
quired it at the same time they acquired coca-chewing. 
Due to difficulty in transporting coca, which cannot be 
grown in the Guajira, coca-chewing died out, the cus- 
tom surviving only in magic rituals with the chewing of 
tobacco or macuira-leaves, instead of coca (50, 51). 
Kogi, Ika, Sanka: linguistic family Chibcha, accord- 
ing to Rivet (38), Holmer (17). 
These tribes are known under the generic name Arau- 
acos or Arhuacos, an epithet causing considerable con- 
fusion with the name of the linguistic family Arawak. 
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