This is the extraordinary account of Donner-Grau's experiences with doña Mercedes, an aged healer in a remote Venezuelan town known for its spiritualists, sorcerers, and mediums.

Shabano -- the name for the hamlets of palm-thatched dwellings where the Yanomama Indians of Venezuela and southern Brazil live -- recounts the vivid and unforgettable experience of anthropologists Florinda Donner's time with an indigenous tribe in the endangered rain forest. Shabano dramatically documents the daily life and mysterious rituals of a disappearing people.