| Ayahuasca is an entheogenic drink prepared from segments of the
vine Banisteriopsis caapi. Sections of vine are
boiled with leaves from any of a large number of other plants (such as Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana) yielding a brew containing the powerful hallucinogenic
alkaloid N,N-dimethyltryptamine, combined with an
MAOI, such as harmaline, harmine, d-tetrahydroharmine from the
Banisteriopsis caapi vine. The potency of this brew varies radically from one batch to the next, both in strength and
psychoactive effect, based mainly on the skill of the shaman producing it, as well as other admixtures sometimes added. Generally
speaking, due to its lengthy preparation process, ayahuasca is used strictly as a religious substance, no matter the culture it
is tied with. This means that those who use ayahuasca in non-traditional areas, align themselves with the traditions of the
visionary shamans. This includes U.S. citizens, who put their faith above the restrictive laws of the state.
Other names:
- "caapi" (or more usually "Daime") in Brazil
- "yage" or "yaje" in Colombia
- "ayahuasca" in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru
("vine of the dead" or "vine of souls": in Quechua aya means "spirit,"
"ancestor," or "dead person," while huasca means "vine" or "rope")
Nowadays, the term ayahuasca also means analogous concoctions made with other plants that contain the two main components, an
MAOI and DMT, or one of
its analogues. The DMT is the main "active ingredient", causing
the desired effects. The MAOI is necessary for DMT to be active orally. However some actual shamans object to this and state that
the Banisteriopsis vine is the only defining ingredient, everything else being of secondary importance.
- Acacia maidenii
(Maiden's Wattle) - bark
- Acacia
phlebophylla
- Anadenanthera peregrina, A. colubrina, A. excelsa, A. macrocarpa
- Banisteriopsis caapi - vine stem sections
- Diplopterys
cabrerana (Chaliponga, Banisteriopsis rusbyana) - leaves
- Mimosa hostilis
(Jurema) - root bark
- Phalaris arundinacea (Reed Canary Grass)
- Phalaris
tuberosa (Phalaris aquatica, Harding Grass)
- Psychotria viridis (Chacruna) - leaves
Some plant sources of MAOI:
In Brazil there are a number of religious movements based on the use of Ayahuasca, the most famous of them called Santo
Daime, usually in a animistic context that may be Shamanistic or, more often,
mixed with Christian imagery.
Ayahuasca was made more widely known by Terrence and Dennis McKenna's experiences with Amazonian tribes as detailed in the book
Invisible Landscape,
they co-authored. Dennis later extensively studied the pharmacology,
botany, and chemistry of ayahuasca and
oo-koo-he, which were the subjects of
his master's thesis.
External links
Books
- Heavenly Highs: Ayahuasca, Kava-Kava, Dmt, and Other Plants of the Gods] (2004) ISBN 1579510698
- Ayahuasca: The Visionary and Healing Powers of the Vine of the Soul (2003) ISBN 0892811315
- The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience (2003) ISBN 0199252939
- Ayahuasca Reader: Encounters with the Amazon's Sacred Vine (2000) ISBN 0907791328
- Ayahuasca: Human Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature (1999) ISBN 1560251603
- Forest of Visions: Ayahuasca, Amazonian Spirituality, and the Santo Daime Tradition (1999) ISBN 089281716X
- Ayahuasca Visions (1999) ISBN
1556433115
- Ayahuasca Analogues (1994) ISBN
0961423455
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