2007, Volume 5, Number 1
Ayahuasca: Earth’s Wisdom Revealed
The noted ethnologist Mircea Eliade poetically describes shamans as “technicians of the sacred” because they mediate between the world of mortals and spirits. “Shaman” is the term for an Indian tribal leader that actually performs a number of functions for the tribe including artist, healer, magician, priest, and storyteller. One of their most important jobs is leading ritual ceremonies wherein nature spirits and ancestors are contacted to advise members of the tribe. These rituals often involve mind-altering plants as well as chanting, dancing, and drumming. These experiences are lucid because the shaman and the participants are aware during the experience and can later recall its events. The shamans of the western Amazon basin use a plant called ayahuasca during these ceremonies. The role of ayahuasca in the shamanistic ceremonies of the Amazon basin is to guide the participants to another realm where they can be healed spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.Ayahuasca, “vine of the soul”, is a vine that grows in northwestern South America, mainly in the Amazon basin of Peru and Brazil (Kavlin). In Plants of the Gods, Richard Schultes identifies the two species of Banisteriopsis that are most widely used for their psychedelic qualities: B. caapi and B. inebrians respectively. Both species of vine climb the trees of the tropical rainforest and are known to kill their supporters in the battle for sunlight. The vine is usually light chocolate brown and smooth with a diameter of up to six inches at the base. Its small pink flowers, rarely seen, are found only in the sun (Schultes, Hofmann, and Ratsch 36). The bark is made into a tea that is consumed at the beginning of the ceremony.
The preparation of this ayahuasca tea is of the utmost importance as it affects the intensity of the experience for its partakers. Schultes mentions that the brew is made mostly of the vine part of the plant; it is cut into six inch pieces. The bark is pounded or shaved off and boiled for hours, sometimes even a full day. Another method is to soak the bark pieces in cold water for a day (Schultes, Hofmann, and Ratsch 126). Sometimes another plant, Psychotria viridis, a member of the coffee family, is added to the ayahuasca before it is boiled (67). These additives can be localized depending on the country of the particular tribe. A common dose of the boiled brew is about an ounce and a half, with the effects lasting three to four hours. Schultes also notes that if one is using the cold water infusion, a larger dose is taken because it is less concentrated (126). The effects of the brew are, of course, different for every person.
The main effect of the ayahuasca brew is visions. These are preceded by feelings of nausea, happiness, and anxiety (“Botanical” 151). These visions occur in color, ranging from reds and oranges to blues and greens. The visions are said to show the partaker the history of our existence; the first humans and animals, the gods, and the development of our social structure. Plants of the Gods states that many partakers speak of seeing visions of snakes and jaguars, or tigers. These animals are the most respected animals of the area, due to their power and the fear they instill in the people of the jungle. These animals are commonly seen during ayahuasca trips, so much in fact, that this phenomenon has been studied by psychologists (Schultes, Hofmann, and Ratsch 126). Depending on the plant additive used in the brew, the visions may be longer, more vivid, and in different ranges of color (129).
The shaman’s job, when conducting this ceremony for a group of people, is to guide them in finding the answer they seek. A tribe member might come into the ceremony needing the remedy for an illness, solutions to family or personal problems, or simply the location of a lost or stolen object. The participant often works through very deep emotional issues, sometimes causing him to cry or scream. If the partaker approaches the ceremony with selfish, greedy purposes or has been dealing with addiction, he might experience intense visions of an object he fears, such as spiders or demons. The shaman will help participants when faced with these things.
The shaman can also provide assistance if someone is physically sick during the ceremony. It is common for one to vomit or have serious diarrhea after ingesting the ayahuasca brew as it is a foreign substance in the body (“Botanical” 151). The shaman will usually take a lesser dose of the brew to avoid getting sick himself so that he can be more involved in the ceremony itself. When alone, the shaman will take large doses to enhance his own learning and teaching abilities.
The shaman strives to provide a meaningful focus and a safe container for the psychedelic experience (Kavlin). Timothy Leary’s set and setting hypothesis applies to Kavlin’s statement. Leary’s hypothesis is that the psychedelic experience is a function of the set (the person’s intention, expectations, and basic personality) and the setting (the immediate physical and social environment). This is why the shaman’s job is crucial to the ceremonial experience; he supplies a good setting for the ayahuasca to take its full effect on the patient. The shaman can also use mantras or guided visualizations to guide participants back to their focus.
There are several key elements to these shamanic ceremonies that are used to keep the participants focused and the energy flowing. The first key element is that the ceremony be held at night. The primary reason for darkness is that it facilitates the emergence of visions. The second key element is the ritual format of circles. The circle format allows the participant to see what the shaman is doing and also allows the shaman to keep a better watch over the proceedings. The circle is a very ancient and natural structure usually used to bring people together in a cooperative manner. The third element is one of the most important, rhythmic drumming, singing, and dancing. These rhythmic sounds and movements provide support to keep the visions flowing. Schultes, Hoffman, and Ratsch also document the shaman and the participants dressing up in elaborate costumes with face paint and feathers in their hair (129). Everyone plays musical instruments such as the flute, guitar, or pan pipes while the shaman sings songs called icaros, songs sung to contact spirits for healing or divination. Often, a shaman will help an indivdual in their healing by singing a particular icaro while waving leaves over their head. All of this is done by the shaman to assist the medicine in taking its course.
Participants are regularly asked to do certain things to prepare for an ayahuasca ceremony. Kavlin says that participants should stay away from sex and alcohol and follow a certain diet. Their diet is to remain this way after the ceremony as well, with no salt, grease, not a lot of meat, and mostly bland foods (Kavlin). This is all done so that the ayahuasca medicine has its full effect. The participant must enter the ceremony with a high degree of preparedness to get the desired results.
Ayahuasca is part of a plant teacher tradition. When one drinks the ayahuasca brew, one enters into a dialogue with the plant; in essence, one becomes the apprentice of the plant. It teaches one to see through its eyes and to communicate with other spirits, plants, and animals. It shows its user that the natural and supernatural worlds are connected and dependant on each other; they are unified. When one learns the perspective of the plant, one is inherently healed and strives to find solutions to his problems as well as those of our earth. There are many paths one can take when approaching self-healing and spirituality, and one of these is ayahuasca.
Works Cited
“Botanical Sources of the New World Narcotics.” The Psychedelic Review Nov. 1965:147-153. Oct. 2003
Kavlin, Miguel. “Peruvian Amazon Shamanism.” Peruvian Amazon Journeys. 7 Oct. 2003
Schultes, Richard E., Albert Hofmann, and Christian Ratsch. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers. Vermont: Healing Arts Press, 1992.
This paper was written for English 100