Healers of the Amazon: Supernatural entities and conservation in a rainforest

                                               
by Nigel Smith

The largest rain forest in the world stretches over 6 million square kilometers of lush vegetation on the Amazon river basin of South America . Here, an average 80” of rain falls yearly while thundershowers occur more than 200 days in a year. Fecund with life, it shelters tens of thousands of plant species, around 250 species of trees, more than 1500 species of birds, 3000 known species of fish, and some 30 million different insects buzz and crawl through these forests. Having researched and dwelled with the joys and perils of the rain forest, Nigel Smith reveals how traditional healers sustain a community vulnerable to natural afflictions and ‘supernatural encounters'.