Shamanism is practiced of many cultures in the Amazon. Often the shaman has access to the spirit worlds. The role of the shaman is to communicate with the spirits who can help him and his people. The Yanomami, Ye'kuana, as the Piaroa, and most indigenous cultures of the Amazon believe that all things in nature including rocks, trees and mountains have a spirit. In the Yanomami belief, shamans control these spirits called xapiripe by inhaling a hallucinogenic snuff called yakoana. As shown above, the Piaroa shaman enters into a trance like state through an hallucinogenic and is guided by chanting or singing often  accompanied with a rhythmic sound such as from a maraca. As, he enters into another reality, he has access and can communicate with the beings of the spirit world. The role of the Shaman takes various forms within their society. He is a leader, traveler, visionary, healer, and sometimes an artist. The information that the shaman has access to is often refered to as Ancient Knowledge and is derived from these inner experiences where powerful information can be obtained.

Davi Kopenawa, a Yanomami shamanexplains a shamanic vision: 

"Only those who know the xapiripë can see them because the xapiripë are very small and bright like light. There are many, many xapiripë, thousands of xapiripë like stars. They are beautiful, and decorated with parrot feathers and painted with urucum (annatto) and others have oraikok, others have earrings and use black dye and they dance very beautifully and sing differently." -Survival International

The recipes for the shamans hallucinogen are sacred and come from specific native plants and require specific preparations. For example, yopo which is used by the Yanomami is made by toasting the seeds of the Anadenanthera Peregrina tree over the fire until they split open. After their husks are removed, the cooled beans are ground into a fine powder with a pestle and mortar, and then mixed with ashes or snail shells. This mix is then moistened to a consistency similar to bread dough with some water and kneaded into a ball, before being left for several hours or days depending on intensity desired. Other groups such as the Peruvian shamans prepare a drink called Ayahuasca which is a combination of two specific plants and then boiled for 12 or more hours. The mystical properties of these plants are just now being discovered by western science and have become a growing trend in spiritual and natural medicine as being miracle plants that heals many illness. Today, it is easy to find a shaman ready to take you on an inner journey to cure your ills. It is important to know, that in the indigenous way of life, not everyone is a shaman or uses these prepared sacred recipes but only the ones who shows certain abilities, are trained, and/or guided.