Yachay
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{{Redirect|Mariri|the Austronesian language of Indonesia|Mariri language}}
Image:Chaman Amazonie 5 06.jpg, June 2006]]
{{lang|qu|Yachay}} is a special type of phlegm generated by shamans and sorcerers of the Peruvian Amazon Basin which is believed to contain the essence of their powerPiers Vitebsky. Shamanism. University of Oklahoma Press (2001), [https://books.google.com/books?id=DwuBGjEyN64C&pg=PA102 p. 102]. in the form of {{lang|qu|virotes|italic=yes}}, {{lang|qu|tsentsak}},{{cite book|last = Beyer|first = Stephan V.|title = Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon|publisher = University of New Mexico Press|year = 2009|isbn = 978-0-8263-4730-5}} darts, arrows, or splinters of bone that are believed to be contained in the phlegm. It is believed that these may be fired from the mouth, and that being pierced by virotes causes various conditions. These may be removed by a shaman, who sucks them out of the victim's body.
Etymology
{{lang|qu|Yachay}} is the Quechua word that means knowledge. It is derived from the verb {{lang|qu|yacha|italic=yes}} (know), specifically referring to ritual knowledge. Similarly, the word for shaman is {{lang|qu|yachak|italic=yes}}, or one who knows.{{cite book|last = Beyer|first = Stephan V.|title = Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon|publisher = University of New Mexico Press|year = 2009|isbn = 978-0-8263-4730-5}}
Mariri
{{lang|qu|Mariri|italic=yes}} is the traditional name for a nature spirit that is believed to live in the phlegm.{{cite book
|last = Luna
|first = Luis Eduardo
|authorlink = Luis Eduardo Luna
|title = Vegetalismo (Stockholm Studies in Comparative Religion)
|publisher = Almqvist & Wiksell Internat
|year = 1986
|isbn = 9122008195}} It is believed that the spirit is fed with tobacco smoke. Shamans believe that they can regurgitate the spirit at will and pass it on to a disciple. The disciple either receives the {{lang|qu|mariri|italic=yes}} by swallowing the regurgitated substance from the hands of the shaman or by smoking it through a pipe. It is also believed that {{lang|qu|mariri|italic=yes}} can be given to someone from nature spirits, such as the {{lang|qu|ayahuasca|italic=yes}} plant spirit.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
For the kokama of the Ucayali region in Peru, in Kokama language mariri is a synonym of ikara (or icaro in Spanish), that are specific magical songs used in ayahuasca rituals. {{Cite book |last=Brabec de Mori |first=Bernd |url=https://www.academia.edu/5327195 |title=The internationalization of Ayahuasca |publisher=LIT-Verlag |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-643-90148-4 |editor-last=Jungaberle |editor-first=Hendrik |publication-place=Zurich |page=34 |chapter=Tracing Hallucinations: Contributing to a Critical Ethnohistory of Ayahuasca Usage in the Peruvian Amazon |editor-last2=Labate |editor-first2=Beatriz C.}}
Shamans use {{lang|qu|mariri|italic=yes}} as a defense and protection in acts of magic, it is also considered a powerful healer.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}