Word: paka
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...underbrush, alert to the forest's early-warning system: the cries of startled birds, the fetid scent of the deadly fer-de-lance, the click-click of an enraged wild boar. Xumu, the old chief of the Amahuaca, also instructed him in jungle medicine. The stem of the paka nixpo plant, when chewed, prevented tooth decay for years; the extract of the ayahuasca vine was especially prized for producing visions that, Córdova-Rios says, actually enhance human intelligence. After many adventures-hunting, harvesting rubber, procuring arms for the tribe-Córdova-Rios eventually tired...
...true god needs apostles, and Paka-Jake picked up plenty. He especially favored females between 15 and 18, and selected the likeliest of them on his excursions through the province. Each chosen one had to present herself alone at "Kullusmalla," favorite miracle-place of the gods. There & then the earth trembled, fire flashed and from behind clouds of smoke Paka-Jake appeared, smiling...
...reckoning. When his female disciples numbered more than 50, young Indians became jealous and old ones were shocked. Even the divine performance in the waters of Titicaca lost its interest, mainly because the Indians found it more fun to watch the new football team which had been organized in Paka-Jake's native village...
...Paka-Jake, needing another outlet, concentrated on clairvoyance: he could always tell that one of his more affluent neighbors was about to die in a few months. Forthwith one of the disciples would be dispatched with a warning-and a promise that Paka-Jake would intercede with the gods if the neighbor paid Paka-Jake a couple of thousand bolivianos (about $40). Sometimes he paid and sometimes not. If not, the neighbor kicked the bucket...
Last week Bolivian authorities put Paka-Jake in jail, began to produce evidence that, in at least 28 cases, his divine prophecies were nothing but ungodly murders...