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IYARINA
Napo-Pastaza, Ecuador
CENTER FOR LEARNING ALLIANCE: Fundación Cotococha | Andes and Amazon Field School | Shayarina Amazonian Resilience
Leaves Look Like Hair

Another “habit” that enhanced beauty could be acquired from the long leaves of the same tree. To Pastaza Kichwa (Runa) women these leaves looked like hair. Furthermore, they observed that very few fallen leaves accumulated below Grias neoberthii (pitón) trees. The long leaves thus seemed like strong hair that did not easily fall off the head of the tree. For this reason Runa women bathed their own hair in pounded Grias leaves. Over time this imparted the leaves’ habit of staying on the tree to the women’s hair causing it to be more likely to stay on their heads.
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