GERMANY: SOCCER / FOOTBALL - Tzamarenda Naychapi, a shaman from Ecuador's Shuar tribe at the Olympic Stadium pitch in Berlin to chase away any evil spirits from the building

Record ID: 867340

  • Title: GERMANY: SOCCER / FOOTBALL - Tzamarenda Naychapi, a shaman from Ecuador's Shuar tribe at the Olympic Stadium pitch in Berlin to chase away any evil spirits from the building
  • Date: 28th April 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) SHAMAN TZAMARENDA NAYCHAPI SAYING: "The one with the best heart and the strongest spirit will win the World Cup." (TRANSLATION IN GERMAN)
  • Embargoed: 13th May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • City:
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Religion,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA92ELW13ISQ3EZYYO6ZX5PP0R2
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  • Story Text: Tzamarenda Naychapi, a shaman from Ecuador's Shuar tribe, took to the Olympic Stadium pitch in Berlin on Wednesday (April 26) to chase away any evil spirits from the building.
    The priest, who practises magic for healing and divination, walked out onto the pitch and let out a loud scream to frighten any bad spirits and bless the venue. Tzamarenda Naychapi has come from Ecuador to cleanse all 12 World Cup venues in Germany of spirits before the football tournament starts on June
    "When Ecuador qualified for the World Cup, we thought about what we could bring to Germany," Beate Zwermann-Seibert from the Ecuadorian Tourist Office said.
    "It is a big present from this little country to be in the World Cup and they wanted to bring a present back, so we thought about what Germany is missing. Shaman Tzamarenda said he could bring Germany peace and lots of positive energy," she said.
    Ecuador are drawn in Group A and play Poland on June 9th in Gelsenkirchen, Costa Rica on June 15 in Hamburg and Germany on June 20 in the purified stadium in Berlin.
    But the shaman cannot help his team to win any matches. According to Tzamarenda: "the one with the best heart and the strongest spirit will win the World Cup."
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