Cohoba is a Taíno Indian transliteration for a ceremony in which the ground seeds of the cojóbana tree (Anadenanthera spp.) were inhaled, the Y-shaped nasal snuff tube used to inhale the substance, and the psychoactive drug that was inhaled. Use of this substance produced a hallucinogenic, entheogenic, or psychedelic effect. The cojóbana tree is believed by some to be Anadenanthera peregrina although it may have been a generalized term for psychotropics, including the quite toxic Datura and related genera (Solanaceae). The corresponding ceremony using cohoba-laced tobacco is transliterated as cojibá. This was said to have produced the sense of a visionary journey of the kind associated with the practice of shamanism. The practice of snuffing cohoba was popular with the Taíno and Arawakan peoples, with whom Christopher Columbus made contact. However, the use of Anadenanthera powder was widespread in South America, being used in ancient times by the Wari culture and Tiwanaku people of Peru and Bolivia and also by the Yanomamo people of Venezuela. Other names for cohoba include vilca, cebíl, and yopó. In Tiwanaku culture, a snuff tray was used along with an inhaling tube. Fernando Ortiz, the founder of Cuban Cultural Studies, offers a detailed analysis of the use of cohoba in his important anthropological work, . History Cohoba is also known as yopo. Historically, this narcotic snuff was prepared and used by the indigenous people living in South America and the Indians of the Caribbean. Early accounts of it first appeared during the time of Christopher Columbus's exploration, with its first documentation written in 1496 by Ramon Pane—who travelled with Columbus in the second voyage. The name of "cohoba" refers to the finely ground, cinnamon-colored snuff itself, as well as the ceremonial practice using it by South American tribes. Cuiva and Piaroa people of Orinocoan descent commonly consume Cohoba. As a part of important shamanistic rituals, cohoba represents identity and sociality. The blending step of the plant mixture determines the potency of cohoba, based on the quality of the ingredients and its preparation. Cohoba seeds are harvested once they mature, from October to February, such that cohoba can be prepared fresh by shamans throughout the year, when necessary. The bark of the cohoba tree is then collected, with its quality judged by the fineness and whiteness of the powdered ash after burning the bark. Meanwhile, the seeds of the cohoba plant are pulverized and skillfully blended