HEALING TODAY - AUGUST 2001

Preparation of the Ayahuasca, b l o w i n g tobacco smoke into the m i x t u r e .

AFTER BEING virtually ignored by Western civilisation for centuries, there has been a huge surge of

interest in Ayahuasca recently. There is a growing belief that it is a kind of 'medicine for our times', giving hope to people with 'incurable' diseases like cancer and HIV, drug addictions and inspiring answers to the big ecological problems of modern civilisation.

Spirituality is at the centre of the Ayahuasca experience. Purification and cleansing of body, mind, and spirit in a shamanic ceremony can be the beginning of a process of profound personal and spiritual discovery. This process can continue indefinitely even if one never drinks Ayahuasca again. One thing is sure, and that is that every person gets a unique experience. We believe that by seriously looking at the way Ayahuasca is used we can improve our life experience and benefit more from this medicine.

Ayahuasca is the jungle medicine of the upper Amazon. It is made from the Ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis Caapi) and the leaf of the Chacruna plant (Psychotria Viridis). The two make a potent medicine which opens the doors to experiencing the energetic world which underlies the world of everyday. The vine is an inhibitor which contains harmala and harmaline among other alkaloids, and the leaf contains vision-inducing alkaloids. As with all natural medicines, it is a mixture of many alkaloids that makes their unique properties. For example, Peyote, the cactus used by the North Native Americans, is said to contain 32 active

alkaloids, so when one of those alkaloids, mescaline (LSD) is synthesised in a laboratory, contrary to popular opinion, the result is not at all the same.

Ayahuasca is a name derived from two Quechua words: 'aya' means spirit, ancestor, deceased person, and 'huasca' means vine or rope, hence it is known as vine of the dead or vine of the soul. It is also known by many other local names including yaje, caapi, natema, pinde, daime, mihi, and dapa. It plays a central role in the spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the Indigenous and Mestizo (mixed blood) peoples of the upper Amazon, Orinoco plains and the Pacific coast of Colombia and Equador.

Always respect the Ayahuasca and it wii! allow you to walk the path which

will make you strong, happy, and healthy.

The plants are collected from the rainforest in a sacred way and it is said that a shaman can find plentiful sources of the vine by listening for the 'drumbeat' that emanates from them. The mixture is prepared by cutting the vines to cookable lengths, scraping and cleaning them, pounding them into a pulp, and then adding the chacruna leaves. The mixture is then boiled about twelve hours until it is a thick brown liquid.

To understand Ayahuasca in the local

context, one cannot avoid taking a look at the ecological environment, such as the forest, cultural environment and indigenous cultures. This has structured the cultural content of Ayahuasca.

There are many legends and myths about Ayahuasca, one the more romantic is from the Shipibo people who live up the river in the heart of the jungle in the Peruvian Amazon.

This tale is centred around women, more so than men, as they look after the children and their health, whilst the men are out hunting and fishing. Men are more interested in plants that aid their inner spirits whilst hunting. Women are more interested in plants that wil l allow their children to grow.

There was one particular woman who was very interested in plants, and who liked to pick the leaves of different ones, crushing the leaves into a pot and soaking them in water overnight. She would then take a bath every morning before sunrise (the way to find out about various plants and their effects is to bathe in them). She bathed in them every morning until she had a dream in which a woman came and said, "Why are you bathing every day?" She answered " I am doing this as I want you to teach me." The other woman said "You must seek out my uncle, his name is Kamarampi. I will show you where to find him". She then led her to the uncle. He showed her how to mix the leaves of the chacruna bush. He then showed her how to brew the Ayahuasca and to go and tell the people the knowledge of how to use it. The Indigenous people, past and

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present, have taken Ayahuasca to enable them to focus on other dimensions. One example: To enable them to be more successful on a hunting trip, they would contact the Mother spirit of certain species, through the Ayahuasca. The hunt would be more successful.

One of the many mysteries sunounding Ayahuasca is how the vine came to be used with the Chacruna leaves as, although they both come from the same soil, they grow apart, otherwise the Ayahuasca winds around the Chacmna and kills it. We are given a clue as to how the shamans interact with the plant from Javier Arevalo, a shaman from the Peruvian Amazon. He told us that in the old days his grandfather and uncles used to sit around after taking only Ayahuasca and, in a vision, they saw that Chacmna was missing. In the vision Ayahuasca said " I am the doctor that gives the vision". His grandfather responded, "How can we find this plant? The answer was: "You can find it by turning two corners". So they searched and were attracted to a chacruna bush.

In the visions it is always the spirit doctor of Ayahuasca who tells them what is wrong with their patient, what medicine is needed, or who has caused the illness or malaise.

Ayahuasca and the spirit of plants In the West there are many stories like

'Jack and the Beanstalk' reminding us that plants have spirit power; Alice in Wonderland explored this world too. There is a large body of knowledge of power plants even if the form has been adapted to fairy tales and 'domesticated', not to undenate the richness of Grimms' tales.

When a person drinks Ayahuasca, especially with a trusted shaman, there is an opportunity for that person to learn about and develop a trust in the plant. He will discover that it works in its own way, also demanding tmst from the user in that it can be abused and used in the wrong way. Without intention, vision, preparation, and an accompanying Shaman, it is a drug not a healing medicine.

We worked extensively with Javier Arevalo and had many discussions on the role of the Amazonian Shaman and the use of Ayahuasca. Javier comes from Nuevo Progreso, a community of 50 families on the Rio Napo, Department of

Javier Arevalo Amazonian shaman

Loreto, Peru. Several generations of his family have been Shamans and at the age of 17, he knew this would be his future. However it was not until he was 20 when his father died from a 'virote' (a poisoned dart in the spiritual world) sent by a jealous brujo, (sorcerer) that he felt compelled to follow the arduous five-year apprenticeship to be a Shaman.

Javier was more than co-operative with us and willingly gave us answers to the following questions: What is the role of a Shaman?

"He learns everything about the rainforest and uses that knowledge to heal his people since they do not have money for Western style doctors. He uses Ayahuasca to discover in his visions which plants will be effective for which illnesses." How do you perceive this?

"The spirits or plant doctors tell us. As they are pure, they are made happy when we are too, so we must diet in order to attract them. That means we should not eat salt, sugar or alcohol, and abstain from sex. The spirits come and say, for example they will cure in two months if the patient takes a particular plant. Then the shaman goes out to look for the plant." It is said that every environment has the necessary plants to heal the people. Is that so?

"Yes, every plant has a spirit, the shaman goes into the forest as part of his apprenticeship and spends two years taking plants and roots. He takes Ayahuasca too and the spirit tells him what it cures. Then the shaman tries another plant, each time remembering which ailment is cured by what." Does each Shaman have to find it all out for himself or is there a body of knowledge handed down?

"The maestro goes with the apprentice into the wilderness and gives him the different plants and it is like a test or trial to overcome. The maestro is usually a

member of family. In my case both my grandfather and my uncle were maestros. You go off deep into the forest with your maestro and make a very simple shelter or 'tambo'. A shaman must not live in a big house, it's just for sleeping and dieting." How long do you have to diet the plant?

"fust one day to know its process, the next day you move onto another. This is if you do not return to the city, you can get through a lot of plants. This is different from dieting a plant for a month say." So does every condition or illness have a particular plant to remedy it or is it a spirit energy which comes through the plant which can cure many things?

"One plant may cure lots of ailments. A particular plant has a spirit which can either heal or kill. As for example with another shaman (who we worked with earlier), who had not dieted Ayahuasca correctly and poomf it caused fever and people caught colds." So why would a plant kill or cure?

"Because an hechicero (sorcerer) also learns from the plants. He may for example learn from dieting a plant which has spines or phlegm which could be good for certain things. But if he is bad no one can stop him and in the night ffoooo' he uses it for harm or to kill. These are the brujos who come back from theforest with eyes red like the huayruro (red beans with black spots). He is a bad shaman and we have to cure the people they harm. " Who would want to do such things?

"There are some people who have a squabble with someone, and then they go off to see a brujo and say 'This Senora talks too much and has insulted me, kill her and I'll pay you'. They pay them and they do harm." Why and how did you become a Shaman?

"I never thought of being a shaman. I took Ayahuasca from 14-years old just to clean my stomach. later my father said I heard you chanting, you are going to be a shaman. I don't want to I said. later when I was 20 my father died from sorcery so then I wanted to learn in order to take vengeance. During my apprenticeship I had a change of heart and understood that God knew best in such situations." Why did the brujo want to kill your father?

"Because he was a curandero who had cured someone who had been harmed by the brujo. It happens because we curanderos undo the work of the brujos and they get angry with us. This is

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the famous spiritual battle between the brujos. When you cure you send the bad magic back to where it comes from and the brujos get their own dirty medicine back. This is why there is a fight between the good and the bad." I've heard that if the Shaman cannot control himself, then the spirits get out of hand?

"Ifyou can't dominate the spirits of the jungle you are nobody, instead of curing they run away or take no notice of you." So the control of the spirits is fundamental?

"Spirits are like angels. God withstood 40 days of hunger and temptation by the devil and was resurrected. That's what we have to do too." This is Christianity, but your people were practising long before the missionaries came. Is it possible to separate the Christian from the wisdom of the jungle?

"No, no, they work together'. But it has nothing to do with going to a church. You learn all this in the wilderness. The spirits there are the angels of each plant to which you add your will to heal the client. This is the will of Christ." Where does the power of the Shaman end and the spirits begin?

"The shaman receives the power from the jungle, he doesn't have any power of his own that he doesn't get from the forest."

When I look at you by day I see just a normal young man, when you wear your clothes and move into the Ayahuasca space you become different, a different presence, you become larger...

"The medicine is not in the body, the body can wear clothes for example, and you see that by day. But at night you don't see my body, you see my spirit which receives the medicine which transforms me through the vision. I have to be pure so as to be a receptacle of the spirit of the medicine. It is essential too for a shaman to be happy, the shaman laughs at everything, because a happy heart is what cures. He can't have a long face or fight with his wife and children." You started off wi th a desire for revenge, what changed you into a Shaman?

"My grandfather saw that my heart was bitter and he told me that it would not get me anywhere. My heart was still hard and wanted to kill! Bit by hit through taking the very plants that I had intended to use for revenge, the spirits told me it was wrong to kill and my heart softened."

Conclusion One of the most important principles

that we have found talking and working with Shamans all over the world is the commitment, dedication, and sacrifices that they make in being of service to their community. Their discipline is formidable

as their practice includes strict dieting or fasting for extended periods, also sexual abstinence plays a major role. In essence they have to control their basic natural drive and strive to total mastery of their body. Only in this way do they have the strength to work with the spirits and so help others. It is also difficult to separate the working of the Ayahuasca and the involvement of the Shaman and these healing spirits. One thing is clear and that it is the chanting, or the icaros, that the Shaman sings, influences the form and direction of the experience. Whether it is to be a healing ceremony, or for example a divination is dependent on the specific icaros that the Shaman chants. To separate the Shaman and the spirit from the drinking of Ayahuasca has no purpose. The Shaman may chant very specific icaros for a particular patient that in some way is communicating with the consciousness or energy of an illness or virus. Once again there can be no separation between the spirit of Ayahuasca and the physical form of Ayahuasca. It is also important not to take Ayahuasca without considering and embracing the recommendations and traditions that accompany it. Always respect the Ayahuasca and it will allow you to walk the path which wil l make you strong, happy, and healthy. •

Peter Cloudsley has been researching Peruvian fiesta music since

1980. He has built up a documented archive of traditional music and

interviews, and has collected for the British Museum. Throughout this time

he has travelled extensively in Latin America, especially Peru, studying the

wealth of music and diversity of popular religions. Peter has taught courses at the City Lit and elsewhere

(on music and popular culture in Latin America) and speaks fluent Spanish &

Portuguese.

Howard G. Charing is a partner in Eagle's Wing Centre for Contemporary Shamanism. His initiation into the world of Shamanism

was sudden - caused by a serious accident (a lift crash) resulting in severe injuries and a

near-death experience. After months of physical pain and disability, he had a transfor­mational experience which started him on the

path to healing. Details of Eagle's Wing programmes, workshops, journeys to meet

indigenous shamans in Pern, Roger Delin in the Philippines, together with books, tapes and

CD's can be found on the internet at www.shamanism.co.uk, or call or write to

58 Westbere Road, London NW2 3RU, tel. 020 7435 8174.

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