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Let ikitos.com be your guide to the
Amazon Rainforest’s best kept secret! |
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Myths and legends guarded by Peru’s Amazon Rainforest
(JP- evh-) — The Amazon, apart
from housing the most amazing biodiversity, is also home to a myriad of
magical myths and mysterious occurrences. I was fortunate enough to have
lived in the southern part of the Peruvian Amazon in the Madre de Dios region
for 5 months, and I was always captivated by the many mysterious stories and
anecdotes locals told me. I would like to narrate some of these
tales which will hopefully have the same enchanting effect on you as they had
on me, perhaps even to the extent that you may begin sensing the rainforest’s
hot and humid air; hear the buzz, chirp and growl of the animals; and you
want to pull out your machete and cut down that ripe bunch of bananas.
This is one of the spirits that
protects the rainforest, and more specifically it is said to be the spirit of
people that took their last breath inside the rainforest. The technique of El
Tunchi is to whistle a certain tune, always the same short melody, and if you
chime in by whistling the exact same tune, the spirit will appear, its wrath
will fall upon you and terrorize you. If you are well-behaved and respect
nature by not harming flora and fauna, El Tunchi will just scare you a little
and move on. However, if you mow down trees like there’s no tomorrow,
pollute the air or displace animals from their habitat, then watch out and
take heed! The best advice that even the locals follow religiously, is not to
answer its whistle, thus not giving it a chance to “play” with
you.
Giant Lupuna Tree (Photo: Dawn on the
Amazon) La
lupuna The lupuna is a tree found in various
parts of the Amazon. It is one of those beautiful giants of the Amazon,
grand, imposing, and well rooted in the jungle’s soil. Its trunk can be
as wide as 10 meters (33 ft) when given the time to grow. The lupuna
distinguishes itself from other tropical trees because of its
“belly”, a part of the trunk that is wider than the rest and
bears some resemblance to a human abdomen. And it has another characteristic: its
spirit is also widely known to be a protector of the rainforest.
Unfortunately, it is not entirely safe from deforestation but local loggers
and lumberjacks are very careful about which lupuna to cut down, because if
they choose the wrong species, the tree will take revenge… You must also show your respect for
the lupuna in other ways, which is reflected by the following story: |
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