Anomala

The dried root of this manioc species, which is

known as sienejna, is used by the Ayoreo Indians of

Paraguay to initiate a shaman (naijna) so that he

can communicate with the spirits (SchmedaHirschmann

1993, 108*). But not all of the Ayoreo

believe that this plant works. It is said that the

shaman feels as though he is drunk when he

smokes sienejna. In this state, the spirits of the

animals (especially those of iguanas, poisonous

snakes, and birds) meet him in the shape of small

people so that they may let him know of their

whereabouts (Schmeda-Hirschmann 1993, 109*).

Smoking experiments, however, have not revealed

any type of hallucinogenic or other psychotropic

effect (Schmeda-Hirschmann 1993, 111*). Chemical

studies and other experiments are still needed.