gifted with a physical token by the forces representing the archetypal animal-totem; these keepsakes are regarded as magickal tools and as symbolic of the oneness and bond between the practitioner and his/her animal-totem. The occult gifts that Nature of the tropical wilderness of Indonesia present to native shamanic practitioners or fortunate ones come in an array of forms; predictably, they are derived from their native ambient flora and fauna and have mineral and/or organic structures in their composition–these objects are often in a crystallized, fossilized or concretized form. For instance, unusual shapes of fossilized roots, organic in the initial stages of their growth, are often presented to the shamanic-practitioner in his magickal interaction with the hidden forces of Nature. Pearls produced by plants, trees, and animals as a result of unusual organic functions or environmental influences are some of the objects imparted by Nature in her desire to establish a harmonious relationship between humanity and the lives of the various forms of spirit-intelligences composing her being. Lost or unowned objects such as kerises, spear-heads, gem stones, rings and other accessories, etc. when left in the open in the wilds for many years are often collected and hoarded by the intelligences of Nature and kept in secret or hidden places unknown to the mortal mind and unseen to the naked eye–these objects are likewise gifted to shamans under certain conditions. At first reading the above may seem like a tall-story, like a “fairy-tale”–and so it is: fairies are involved; the tales, however, are true.
Journeys to areas of pearl-retrieval often require hours of hiking through jungles and forests. Hardships are endured by shamans during