Through dieting with plants, shamans are often given icaros. Icaros are the language of the plants, a song given to the shaman to envoke the spirit of the plant for healing, protection, attack, and any other specific qualities of the plant. As one mestizo shaman puts it, “you cannot enter the world of spirits while remaining silent.” It is a two- way communication, the icaro is the language by which the shaman communicates with the plant, and through the icaro the plant will reply. Anthropoogist Graham Townsley explains, “the most frequent and important activity of a shaman is chanting.”
