A well-known Colombian shaman from the Huila department’s capital city of Neiva performed a ceremony to exorcise an evil spirit that had supposedly possessed a 14-year-old girl.
Diario del Huila along with other members of the local press was invited to witness the ceremony hosted by shaman Maitum Yenda.
The minor’s family traveled with her from Bogota to meet with Yenda, claiming that she had been possessed for three months and suffered from uncontrolled screaming and convulsions. The family said they had chosen Yenda based on a recommendation from people who said they had witnessed the shaman saved a boy from a “spiritual trance.”
Yenda performed the ceremony on the outskirts of Neiva in a wooded area, where he had built a fire and a small altar on which he placed plastic bottles filled with holy water, garlic, kernels of corn, among other unidentifiable objects.
To begin the ceremony the shaman said a few words, took a drank of what was believed to be wine and entered a trance, in order to make contact with the spirit. He stood by the fire and took hold of the girl, who he made walk several times around the fire. Suddenly the fire exploded and she began to scream, according to witnesses.
With gloves reportedly designed to be used for white magic the shaman rubbed the young girl’s body, knelt and spoke to the spirit, causing the girl to scream loudly and vomit.
The shaman washed her with liquid he took from a bottle and she began to calm down. Then she was made to change her clothes, which were thrown in the fire to burn.
More incantations, another rub down with the gloves and the girl announced she felt an internal peace. The ceremony ended and the attendees headed back along the road to Neiva.