Irineu then started channeling a series of hymns from the heavens that now make up the Hinário, a collection of prayers containing powerful messages of love, truth and harmony. His first followers were poor and uneducated natives, mostly from the Amazon rainforest who sought healing for serious illnesses. Irineu created the first Santo Daime church in Rio Branco, Brazil and made the beverage Ayahuasca the holy sacrament of the doctrine. These developments marked the start of the first spiritual Works', a religious service which consists of ingesting the brew, singing the hymns and then simple two-step dancing. The rituals are called Works because the experience is believed to be difficult work: "the initiate would be expected to take the responsibility of correcting personal flaws and transforming themselves during the religious service- (Visitor Information Package). Initially, many people were attracted to the Santo Daime religion because it offered healing of the spirit and it did not discriminate against anyone, no matter their ethnic or religious background. People soon started to call Irineu, "Mestre- (master) because of his infinite wisdom and overflowing compassion for the human race.
One of the early members of the Santo Daime religion was Sebastia£o Mota de Mela, an illiterate canoe builder with strong intuitive powers who had a close connection with Mestre Irineu. Mota de Mela believed that his mission was to take the Santo Daime a step a further and create an entirely self-sufficient community deep in the jungle. When Mestre Irineu died in 1971, the religion split into three branches, one of which was led by Mota de Mela, who indeed lead the people into the forest to create the community of his vision. Many people were scared to venture into an even more remote area and risk their lives because the rainforest was unpredictable and few survived there alone.
