By Nathan Graham
The spiritualists among the Yamomamo are called shabori. Only males are allowed to be shabori, and these males choose to walk the path of spirits early on in life. They are trained by the elder shabori for at least a year, in which time they must fast ritually, as well as take up complete sexual inactivity. The Hekura, those spirits the shabori deal with, think sex to be shami -- filthy. The teachings of this apprenticeship consist mostly of descriptions and tales of these Hekura, their habits, songs, likes, and dislikes.
After this period of instruction, the novices spend their days attempting to attract particular Hekura into their chests -- wherein, they believe, the spirits will find a veritable cosmos of forests, rivers, and mountains in which to live. The more Hekura a Yanomamo shaman has within him, the more powerful and respected he is. But these spirits are often demanding and pushy, especially the larger, more powerful ones. A shabori must always strive to keep his spirits happy, or else they may desert him. When the spirits will allow it, the shabori can resume normal eating and sexual activities.
The Hekura are small humanoid spirits that range from the size of a grain of sand to thumb-size. They are all extremely beautiful, and males have glowing haloes around their head (which the tribesmen imitate with leaves), while the females ride on glowing wands. Most of these spirits are named after animals.
There are three kinds of Hekura: the Helpers, the Hurters, and the Far Ones. The Helpers are those that are used by the shabori for healing and other magicks that are helpful to his Shabono, or village. The Hurters are sent to enemy villages to kill their warriors and children. The Far Ones are those who do not regularly communicate with the Yanomamo, and who are somewhat different than the Helpers and Hurters. The Far Ones can only be seen by moonlight.
Singing: The songs the Hekura sing are able to attract and impress them when sung by a human.
Decorations: The spirits are more likely to come to a shaman who has made himself beautiful; this is usually done with feathers and paint.