Alter Mundi Collection -The Awapa
The shamans, like the curanderos, were important figures in all the indigenous communities of Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, unfortunately persecuted and even murdered when the Spanish conquerers arrived. Fortunately, later, when Catholic priests realized the similarity of indigenous beliefs and practices with theirs, there was a relative integration.
The Awapa are the shamans of the Bribris, people of Talamanca, Costa Rica. As in any shamanic religion, the Awapa are the connection between the physical and spiritual world. Each Awapa has some magical stones (siah) which he wears around his neck and which he uses for different healing interventions.
Interesting in the Bribris beliefs is the concept of the opposite, whereby in the spiritual world every thing or living being is diametrically the opposite of what is seen on earth