According to Canela tradition, the soul would go to a village of souls some place in the west, where it would live in a situation similar to life in a village, with the difference that things were bland and less pleasing. For example, the food was less tasty, the water was lukewarm but not cold, and sex was less pleasurable. After a certain time, the spirits turned into game animals, then smaller animals, and finally, something like a mosquito or a treestump. According to Canela tradition, after death the soul goes to a village of souls some place in the west, where it lives in a situation similar to life in a village, with the difference that things were bland and less pleasing. For example, the food was less tasty, the water was lukewarm but not cold, and sex was less pleasurable. After a certain time, the spirits turned into game animals, then smaller animals, and finally, something like a mosquito or a treestump. Finally, the entity ceased to exist.

Souls that still retain their human form can be contacted by shamans. But if someone has a chance encounter with them, that individual could become seriously ill or even die. The Canela believe that, if they break certain rules, such as going to the forest at night or getting water from the stream after dusk, the souls can get them. In any case, souls bring harm to humans, and only shamans can discover what they have done.

It is believed that, some time ago, powerful shamans had extraordinary supernatural power, essentially that of omniscience - knowledge and prevision of everything. That, however, was only possible with the aid of the souls of recently deceased, most of whom were great shamans when alive. The good shamans would summon a soul which would tell them all that they needed to know. For example, if a woman's newborn died, the shaman is able to say why that happened, which is probably attributed to "bad [heavy]" and consequently polluted food. Several shamans would have seen and told others, who in turn would have reported the fact to the interested shaman. The diagnosis of the shaman is definitive, even though the mother may have another version. His decision is never disputed.

The shamans do not compete for power with the political chiefs. Many chiefs have had some shamanic power, but never as great as that of a good shaman. The shamans cure patients through the extraction of sickness or pollution, and are remunerated only when successful. On rare occasions, women become shamans but, in the 1970s, there were several women shamen and at least two received a place in their mythology.

The shamans cure patients through the extraction of sickness or pollution, and are remunerated only when successful. There are also anti-social shamans, who can cast evil sorcery, which enters the body as sicknesses. Other shamans struggle to remove the sorcery, seeking to send it back. In the past, an anti-social shaman, accused by the village council of homicide by sorcery, was clubbed to death with sticks. The last time that this happened was around 1903.

To undergo food and sexual restrictions is a means for the individual to become strong in character and skill, and so that he can develop, through personal effort, the skills for the principal careers - hunter, runner, or shaman -, but not to dance and sing with the maracá.

The Canela believe that pollution penetrates the body through the ingestion of meat soups and by means of contact with sexual fluids. Such pollutions do not affect a healthy person, however they weaken the powers of a warrior, hunter, runner, or shaman. Nevertheless, if an individual is sick, or weak, as in the case of a baby, common pollutions can make him become sicker, or even kill him. The Canela believe that the blood of the parents, uterine siblings and children of an individual is very similar to one's own. Thus, this nuclear family is so interconnected that the pollution of one of its members can affect the others. If they are already in a more vulnerable situation, these additional pollutions can make the individual sick or kill him. So, when someone of a person's nuclear family becomes sick, he or she has to submit to sexual and dietary restrictions in order to help in the recovery of the sick.

An individual becomes a shaman after receiving the visit of one or several souls, during a serious sickness, when the souls come to cure the dying person. A young man who wishes to become a shaman must undergo an intensive process of dietary and sexual restrictions, in order to prevent the penetration of contaminating elements into his body. He can also ingest certain infusions of herbs that eliminate polluting elements. Souls are attracted by the individual who is free of polluting elements. When they find such a person, they visit him and give him the powers to be a shaman. Generally the powers are specific for curing certain bodily intrusions, like snake bites, but, for the great shamans, such powers can be applied more generally.

In summary, the Canela traditionally possessed various forms - supernatural, natural and human - of strengthening their life conditions. First, the shamans could communicate with souls when they needed information and powers. Second, a source of strength in general derives from the singing of certain songs during specific festivals. Third, a Canela could observe sexual and dietary restrictions in order to keep pollution away from his body and thus, achieve certain capacities. Fourth, it was also possible to snuff certain infusions in order to increase his skills as hunter and improve his health conditions in general.

The Ramkokamekrá believe that the Apanyekrá shamans are more powerful as curers, such that they often seek their cures. In the mid-70s, the universe of the spirits and the dangers of pollutions were given more credit among the Apanyekrá than among the Ramkokamekrá, and the Apanyekrá also observed the restrictions more seriously.

Since 1830, the Canela have taken part in the practices and beliefs of popular Catholicism. Since 1970, the number of Ramkokamekrá who say they are "believers" (protestants) has been growing, in 1993 it reached 25% of the population, but in 2001 this number had diminished to 15%. By contrast, the Apanyekrá have always had less contact with Protestants.