International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338

Santo Daime and Santa Maria – The licit ritual use of ayabuasca and the illicit use of cannabis in a Brazilian Amazonian religion

Edward MacRae *

Estrada de Sa˜o La´zaro, 127 apto. 802, Edificio Bosque de Ondina 40210-730 Sal6ador, Bahia, Brazil

Received 1 March 1998; accepted 1 May 1998

Abstract

Several Brazilian religious groups make controlled ritual use of the Indian entheogen ayahuasca, which is legal in the country. But a parallel use of cannabis, by one of these groups faces serious legal obstacles that inhibit the development of ritual controls. The contrast between the licit and ilict use of these substances presents a paradigmatic model of the counterproductive effects of repressive drug leglislation. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Ayahuasca; Cannabis; Entheogens; Ritual controls; Santo Daime; Religon

Psychoactive substances have been puzzling and hegemonic Western culture is now to be found fascinating humankind since its earliest days. Ar- even in countries where traditional values con- chaeological research has shown their use by pre- demn their use, as happens in North Africa. historic peoples for a variety of magical/mystical/ In most cases the use was of psychoactive sub- medicinal purposes. Historical records report their stances socially integrated and, up to the end of use in ancient times in Mesopotamia, India, Per- the fourth century of our era, there are few sia, Egypt, Africa, China, Japan, Europe, and in records of their being seen as a cause of social PreColumbian America, for instance. The use of problems. This was when Christianity became an alcoholic drinks, of course, has always been quite official religion in the Roman Empire and all that generalised and thanks to its special place in the seemed to harken to ancient pagan practices and knowledge was condemned and subjected to vio- lent persecution. Thus most of the existing medic- * Tel.: +55 71 2453836; fax: +55 71 3364605; e-mail: inal knowledge was rejected, and with it the use of [email protected] most of the very rich ancient pharmacopoeia. The

0955-3959/98/$ - see front matter © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII S0955-3959(98)00045-0 326 E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 suspicion against botanical lore led to a gener- ical leaders, brandishing moralistic and racist alised rejection of the use of many plant species slogans. The involvement of doctors in the move- and even spices were viewed with reserve. Alco- ment to control drug use was initially, to a large holic drinks, wines and beers, were the only psy- extent, a ploy to impose their own professional choactive substances to be tolerated. All other interests in a field then dominated by pharmacists, substances, even opium until then greatly prized patent medicine manufactures and herbalists (Es- for its many medicinal, religious and recreational cohotado, 1989). Even so, it was members of this uses, were considered to pertain to the devil and profession who were some of the greatest victims those found using them were considered to be of the early American legislation, the 1914 Har- witches, subject to torture, mutilation and death. rison Act, as many were arrested for prescribing Similar consequences threatened those enjoying opiates to patients who were under maintenance the psychoactive properties of that most useful of treatment for drug dependence. plants: hemp or Cannabis; although it was only in However, with the development of institution- the supposedly rationalist twentieth century that it alised scientific medicine during the twentieth cen- was considered necessary to outlaw the plant itself tury, doctors came to be invested with the whatever the use it were put to. ultimate authority over the discourse on health At the end of the Middle Ages, with the weak- matters including the use of psychoactive drugs. ening of the Church hegemony and the cultural Modern pharmacology followed a totally biologi- changes brought about by the great voyages of cal approach to the understanding of the effects discovery, some of the botanical knowledge pre- produced by these substances and to this date it is served in non-Christian regions was brought to often thought that this is the only possible scien- Europe. Over a period of time; spices, tobacco, tific way to understand the subject, although psy- coffee, chocolate, tea, opium, were integrated into chologists also usually heard on the matter. the local cultures and rather than being seen as Legislative efforts to deal with the question led problems, became highly prized and profitable to an extension of the list of proscribed sub- commodities. Nevertheless other psychoactive stances, and although each of these had their own substances like Cannabis in Europe and a vast particular chemical characteristics, manner of use array of vision-inducing plants used in the Ameri- cas by Indians in their religious rituals, continued and political reasons for banning, the symbolic to be persecuted. From the 17th to the end of the effect of the legislation on the public mind was to 19th century Indians who insisted in communing equate all of them under the heading of ‘illicit with their traditional sacraments such as peyote, drugs’ and to attribute to them a demonic nature Amanita muscaria and morning glory had to not unlike the medieval view of the pagan phar- reckon with the possibility of hideous torture and macopoeia. This in turn affected scientific thought brutal execution (Ott, 1995). and by the early seventies it came to be generally During the nineteenth century excessive alcohol assumed that these substances could never be use began to be seen as a social problem, associ- taken on a long-term, regular basis without caus- ated with the unruly working classes and the ing serious harm. It was also believed that these exploited immigrant groups in the Americas. The substances were almost always used by people discovery of morphine, cocaine and heroin, how- with profound personality disorders. Drug re- ever led to a generalised use of medicines based search came to be influenced by a moralistic view on these active principles with total official en- that all illicit drug use was therefore ‘bad’, in- dorsement and it was only in the early twentieth evitably harmful, or psychologically or physiolog- century that the use of psychoactive substances ically ‘addictive’ and that abstention was the only other than alcohol began to be seen as a serious alternative. Studies of drug consumption tended threat to the health of the mainstream population. to equate any type of drug use with abuse and But the early temperance and anti-opium cam- seldom took occasional or moderate use into ac- paigns were mainly headed by religious and polit- count as a viable pattern. E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 327

When nonabusive use was acknowledged, it was ods of procuring and administering it, the selec- treated as a very brief transitional stage leading tion of the physical and social setting for use, the either to abstinence or (more likely) to compulsive activities undertaken after administration, and the use (Zinberg, 1984). The weight of legally inspired ways of preventing untoward effects. Rituals serve prejudice becomes more obvious when one takes to buttress, reinforce, and symbolise the sanctions into account the fact that research on alcohol had (Zinberg, 1984). long been comparing different patterns of con- Grund studying the risk behaviour of injecting sumption in order to understand how control of drug users in the Netherlands introduced two the substance taken into the body could be devel- other variables influencing self regulation: sub- oped, maintained or lost. It was only after the stance availability and life structure. According to mid-seventies that this approach applied to illicit him substance availability, rituals and rules and drug use led the scientific community to recognise life structure are a trinity – interactive factors in the importance of the wide range of using pat- an internally coherent circular process, in which terns. Since then researchers like the late Norman these factors are themselves modulated (modified, Zinberg and Jean-Paul Grund, among others, corrected, strengthened, etc.) by their outcomes. It have called attention to the need to take into is thus a ‘feedback circuit’ that determines the account, apart from the pharmacological action strength of self-regulation processes controlling of the substance itself, the ‘set’ (i.e. the attitude of use (Grund, 1993). the person at the time of use, including his per- From this point of view it is interesting to think sonality structure) and the ‘setting’ (the influence about the controlled use of ‘entheogens’, still cur- of the physical and social setting within which the rent among many groups, especially among North use occurs). and South American Indians, but also among Zinberg makes a distinction between ‘con- mestizo members of the rural population and, trolled’ and ‘compulsive’ uses. The first has low more recently, even among the urban middle social costs while the second is dysfunctional and classes. Here the observance of traditional taboos intense and its social costs are high. The differ- and rituals seem to provide paradigmatic exam- ence between them is that ‘controlled ’use is gov- ples of Zinberg’s and Grund’s theories. erned by values and rules of conduct (social Among these peoples these plants are often sanctions) and patterns of behaviour (social ritu- called ‘teacher plants’ and they are felt to give the als) shared by groups of users. These are called user direct access to the spiritual world and to ‘social controls’ and function in four basic and storehouses of wisdom not otherwise available to overlapping ways: them. Thus, it is common for shamans to claim “ defining acceptable uses and condemning com- that their knowledge of the healing power of pulsive ones; plants and the correct ways of using them was “ limiting use to physical and social settings that given them in dreams or visions produced by the are conducive to a positive or safe experiences; ingestion of entheogens. “ identifying potentially negative effects. Rituals One of the most widespread of these entheogens embody the precautions to be taken before and is ayahuasca. This is a psychoactive brew made during use; from the Bannisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psy- “ compartmentalising different types of sub- chotria viridis leaf which has been used for many stance use and supporting the users’ non-drug- purposes by the native inhabitants of Western related obligations and relationships (Zinberg, Amazonia since time immemorial. Its psychoac- 1984). tive properties are given by alkaloids such as Apart form the values and rules of conduct, harmine, d-leptaflorine, DMT and harmaline, which Zinberg called ‘social sanctions’, there are which appear in varying concentrations. Con- also the ‘social rituals’: stylized, prescribed be- ceived of as a means of opening the human per- haviour patterns surrounding the controlled use ception of the spiritual world, this brew has been of the substance and having to do with the meth- used mainly by shamans for a series of purposes 328 E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 such as the diagnosis and treatment of a large fatal illnesses, as many followers claim to have variety of ailments, divination, hunting, warfare, been. and even as an aphrodisiac. Although its use As if to underline the divine nature of the brew, probably originated among the inhabitants of the its preparation is always done in a ritual manner rain forest, ayahuasca was taken to the Andean and all those taking part drink Santo Daime highlands where it received the name by which it before starting the procedures. This leads daimis- is best known and which means in quechua ‘vine tas (as the Santo Daime followers call themselves) of the spirits’. to say that ‘it is the Daime that makes the In the last few years it has become the central Daime’. As long as there is obedience to the sacrament of a number of syncretic religions that founder, Mestre Irineu’s instructions, and all the originated among Amazonian rubber tappers and correct ingredient are used in an atmosphere of then spread to the urban middle classes, initially harmony, then ‘all Daime is good’. In other in Brazil but now reaching several European words, not much attention is given by the doctrine countries, the USA and even Japan. to matters directly related to pharmacological The oldest of them is an eclectic mixture of concerns like degree of concentration, dosage, etc. popular Catholicism, Spiritism, African religios- Mestre Irineu taught one way of making Daime, ity, and Indian shamanism, known as ‘Santo which guarantees a certain homogeneity in the Daime’, after the name its founder Raimundo chemical composition of different batches, pro- Irineu Serra (or Mestre Irineu, as he is known) duced in different places and at different moments gave ayahuasca. He was a poor migrant from of time. The few differences that were admitted to Northeastern Brazil who spent many years work- exist were related to aspects more of a spiritual or ing in the Amazonian forest. During this time he cosmological than material nature. He recom- came across a shaman who gave him ayahuasca mended taking into account the phases of the to drink, causing him to have many visions, in- Moon and the environment in which the brew had cluding some in which a woman appeared who been made, kept, transported and consumed. The was initially considered to be a forest spirit and Daime is believed to absorb the ‘energies’ of its later identified with the Virgin of the Conception, surroundings, allowing them to manifest them- in a characteristically syncretistic Amazonian manner. selves during the rituals in which it is taken. During many visions she repeatedly appeared More recently, with the growth in the number to him and offered to teach him how to use of followers, certain changes were made in the ayahuasca to become a great healer. As part of cooking process, in order to use the raw material her teaching she imparted to him a new religious in a more efficient manner, avoiding waste and doctrine based on the ritual taking of ayahuasca cooking some batches a little more, so as to which continued to be elaborated in visions he concentrate them for easier transport. Neverthe- kept having for the rest of his life. This then less, the ingredients used are still the same and became the basis for his teachings for those who differences in concentration are taken into ac- came to him for healing and after some time came count when the Daime is served during the rituals. to form a church in the remote town of Rio But daimistas have always been aware of the fact Branco in what was then the territory of Acre. that the same dosage of the brew, taken from the The followers of this religion maintain that same batch, will have different effects in different their sacrament is not a drug, but ‘ Christ’s blood’ moments on the same person, so little attention is or ‘a holy being’, of great power and even with a normally given to such questions of a more phar- will of its own. Thus, it is believed that every time macological character. Many daimistas even dis- someone takes the brew he has the opportunity to like giving too much attention to such details, enter into direct contact with God and, if he is since this implies in leaving aside the divine nature deserving, he might then be able to find solutions of the Daime and treating it like ‘just another for problems he is facing and even be healed of drug’. E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 329

Every Daime ritual or ‘work’ is thought to be Another important element of control is the an opportunity for learning and healing and for music which is sung and played during most of the indoctrination of the spirits present either in the ceremonies, which help harmonise the group, the ‘ material’ or in the ‘astral’ planes. There are through marked rhythms and voices in unison. different rituals for different occasions or different The ritual use of music harks back to ancient needs. These are the ‘hinarios’, the ‘healing shamanic customs from which the ritual taking of works’, the ‘concentrations’, the ‘masses’ and the ayahuasca originates. Singing and the use of per- ‘makings’ or ‘preparations’ (see MacRae, 1992). cussion instruments with a strong, repetitive beat, They all involve taking the brew and entering into are powerful aids in bringing about altered states an altered state of consciousness in a social and of consciousness, and are thought to act as a way physical setting designed to contain and guide the of invoking spirits. The words of the ‘hymns’ that ‘voyages’. Anthropologists, like Couto, have con- are sung direct the ‘voyages’ in the desired direc- sidered them to be ‘rituals of order’ that promote tions and help relieve mental or physical ill- group and hierarchical cohesion and a search for feelings. harmony both within and without (Couto, 1989). The hymns also help in the interpretation of the Many aspects of the ritual setting contribute to experiences people have during the sessions. They this, such as: help to establish links between the lived experi- 1. Dietary and behavioural prescriptions that ences and the magical or mythical symbols with must be observed during the three days that which they become invested, which is of great precede and that follow the taking of the importance in avoiding the break up of the group. drink, thus setting the stage for an unusual The Catalan anthropologist Josep Maria Fericgla, event that escapes the daily routine. working on the Shuar Indian use of ayahuasca, 2. Hierarchical social organisation in which a like Victor Turner considers this to be a psychic ‘commander’ or ‘godfather’ is recognised as or spiritual function of symbols that was lost by the leader of the ‘work’, with the help of a Western societies when they abandoned their tra- body of ‘guardians’ who are responsible for ditional ways of organising unconscious drives the maintenance of order and obedience to the and using these ‘sources of renovation’ for indi- commander. 3. Control of the dosage of the drink taken by vidual and collective benefit (Fericgla, 1989). participants. However, the spreading of this religion and 4. Ritual spatial organisation and behavioural others that also use ayahuasca among the middle control. classes of the large Brazilian cities outside the There is a central table¯altar where the double Amazon region, the publicity involving the con- armed Cross of Caravacca and other religious version of media celebrities to the Santo Daime, symbols mark the sacred nature of the event. All and the moral panic over drug use, led a division those taking part are given a specific place in the of the Brazilian Ministry of Health to place room, usually a rectangle drawn on the ground, ayahuasca in the list of forbidden drugs in 1985. where they must remain, grouped by sex, age, and One of the ayahuasca using religions, the Uniao sexual status (virgins and non-virgins). do Vegetal, then petitioned the Federal Narcotics Uniforms of a sober cut stress the unity of the Council demanding the annulment of this mea- group and help maintain a mood of seriousness. sure. The council adopted an unusually enlight- The movements of those taking part are rigidly ened approach and set up multidisciplinary work prescribed and one of the main duties of the groups made up not only of lawyers and police- ‘guardians’ is to ensure obedience to the posture men but also of doctors, social scientists and recommended for the seated ‘works’ (raised heads psychologists. Over a period of two years this and relaxed and immobile arms and legs) or the group visited numerous ayhuasca using religious correct performance of a few simple steps during communities, examined and interviewed their fol- the ceremonies that include dancing. lowers and read newspaper reports. 330 E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338

Among their findings it was noted that ing to have been divinely appointed. While most ayahuasca had been used by these religious of these had been longtime followers of the groups for decades without untoward social harm. founder, one of them, a charismatic spiritual Among the users of the brew the predominant healer even prior to meeting Mestre Irineu and moral and ethical standards were similar to those taking Daime for the first time, Sebastiao Mota found in mainstream Brazilian society. The rural de Melo, was a relative outsider. Unlike the oth- communities were considered to be well integrated ers, he did not live in Mestre Irineu’s neighbour- into their environmental setting and harmoniously hood and had only been taking Daime since 1965. aggregating individuals of different age groups, Popularly known as Padrinho Sebastiao, he was social classes and social backgrounds. In spite of the leader of a community of his own, a relatively their distance from the Amazon the urban com- long way away, called Colonia 5000; and had munities were found to follow closely the doctri- been given permission by Mestre Irineu to make nal practices originating in the rain forest. his own Daime and to hold his own ceremonies Although the brew was classified as a hallucino- with his group. As a sign of his allegiance he was gen and as having other effects apart from those expected to give a certain amount of the Daime he common to this type of substance such as vomit- made to Mestre Irineu and to attend a few special ing and diarrhoea, it was considered that no ceremonies with his followers at his master’s medical abnormalities had been detected by the church. But in 1974 he finally broke away from work group and recommendations were made for the original organisation and started his own in- further and more detailed clinical studies. Follow- dependent church at the Colonia 5000, ceasing to ing the work group’s recommendations, the use of pay his Daime tribute and holding all the major ayahuasca for religious purposes was then en- ceremonies at his own centre. This in itself was dorsed by the Federal Narcotics Council and enough to sour his relations with the rest of the since then has been considered totally legitimate Santo Daime followers, but greater provocation from a legal point of view although still occasion- was to come. ally subject to social prejudice on the part of This was a time when Brazilian society was people who insist on seeing the followers of the undergoing radical changes due to the ‘moderni- ayabuasca religion as mere drug addicts (MacRae, sation’ policies of the military dictatorship intent 1992). on opening the country to modern capitalism Keeping within the Santo Daime universe it is based on advanced technology and crisscrossing useful to compare the fortunes of the legally the country with roads. Economically the country accepted ayahuasca with another sacramental was going through a boom that was heralded as a substance also worshipped by the followers of one sign that Brazil was on its way to becoming a of its branches but which remains illegal: Santa world power, however politically and culturally it Maria or Cannabis. was in a very bad state. A largely student based In order to understand the violent polemics this left wing guerrilla movement had been violently has aroused it is necessary to go back to the squashed, the prisons were full of political prison- internal disputes that tore apart Mestre Irineu’s ers, the media were under heavy censorship and flock after his death in 1971 in the town of Rio Brazilian culture was undergoing a radical Ameri- Branco, capital of the extreme north-western canisation. Faced with the defeat of organised Brazilian state of Acre. It is quite common for political opposition, part of the country’s youth such organisations, centred around a charismatic resorted to more individualistic forms of resis- leader to have great difficulty in finding a succes- tance, adopting the hippie, and New Age ideas sor for him after his death. The Santo Daime that only then began to reach Brazil. Free love, Church was no exception and its doctrinal empha- drug experimentation, mysticism, hitchhiking, etc. sis on the personal revelations afforded by the became escape valves for the frustrations of many taking of the brew possibly stimulated the faction- young people, usually urban and often of middle alism with different aspirants to leadership claim- class origin. The Amazonian region, newly pro- E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 331 vided with roads and improved means of commu- anti-drug hysteria rife in the more metropolitan nication attracted many who had opted for a life urban centres and which, in 1976, led to the ‘on the road’. Some went there on their way to passing of new a draconian Narcotics Law, in Macchu Picchu, one of the hippie Meccas. Soon force to this day. For the members of Colonia the news of a potent Indian brew, supposed to 5000 in the mid 70’s the smoking of marijuana give instant access to spiritual realms began to was not an issue although a few had heard tales spread and a steady stream of long-haired, drug- about its supposed diabolical nature, and of its taking, rebellious youth began to flock to the only being used by outlaws. Their main concern different Daime groups. was with alcoholism, endemic in the region and a However, the original followers of both Mestre personal problem for many of the veterans, who Irineu and Padrinho Sebastiao were very poor considered the Santo Daime as responsible for rubber tappers, often illiterate and imbued with their having given up excessive drinking. Tobacco the Amazonian popular values, which although smoking, though discouraged during rituals,was a differing in many ways from orthodox Roman socially accepted practice and quite widespread. Catholicism (mainly with regard to a more ani- On the other hand, many of the new young mistic approach to religion, borrowed from In- converts had originally been attracted to the reli- dian shamanism and from the African cults as gion because of its uses of a psychoactive brew as well as from old European peasant religiosity), its main sacrament. Their conversion, although shared most of its more traditional and, often, implying many changes in their value systems had already discarded norms and rules of day to day also led them to view consciousness alteration conduct, such as the rigid gender roles, the em- through substance use not only as socially accept- phasis on the importance of hard work, the re- able but also as a sure way of acquiring spiritual spect for hierarchical authority, political and knowledge and development. As they lived in a moral conservatism, etc. So their general reaction hut a little apart from the rest of the community, to these visitors was of rejection and few were a few were able to continue to smoke secretly and allowed to partake of the ayahuasca ceremonies. even grow a little marijuana for their own use. The notable exception was Padrinho Sebastiao, Once they had gained acceptance in the com- who sympathised with these outsiders and, invok- munity, some of them showed Padrinho Sebastiao ing Jesus’ predilection for the outcast, welcomed how to cook certain psychoactive mushrooms them to his community even if this shocked some which grew abundantly in the area in the cattle of his more conservative followers. This accep- dung. He took a liking to these and in keeping tance however did not imply in a weakening of with traditional shamanic practice decided to start the austere doctrine he taught, and in many cases, a study of this new plant, in order to learn its after a period living in his community, some of spiritual secrets and its healing properties. For these visitors became fully converted to his views, some time mushrooms were used frequently by getting themselves haircuts and adopting many of the members of the community and a few times the Amazonian rural values. they were even incorporated into the Santo Daime Nevertheless, these conversions did not neces- ritual. Alfredo, Padrinho Sebastiao’s son and sarily imply in a total abandonment of old prac- present leader of the group, even received a hymn tices, especially when these were not perceived as about a spiritual being incarnated in those mush- antagonistic to the Santo Daime doctrine or as rooms called Cogu-Rei (Mushroom King) (Ove- directly affronting the customs of the community. jero, 1996). After some time, however, Padrinho Such was the case with the use of certain drugs, Sebastiao decided to end his studies of this plant, especially those perceived to be ‘natural’ like Can- considering its side effects to be prejudicial. nabis and mushrooms, whose use was quite unfa- On another occasion, during a Daime session, miliar to most of the members of the community, shortly after Padrinho Sebastiao’s formal declara- who until then had been living in great isolation. tion of independence, one of the marijuana using Thus they had not yet been contaminated by the newcomers felt an irresistible need to confide his 332 E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 secret to Padrinho Sebastiao. According to his ayahuasca and that for a long time (three years own account, feeling unable to remain in the according to da Silva, 1985) its use was restricted room, he decided to go out for fresh air. Outside to a few people, meant that a more informal the church he met Padrinho Sebastiao and manner of use developed in which it was simply promptly told him all about it. Far from being smoked in a circle. But even here a few rules are angry, the old man told him he had recently had observed to mark the group ritual nature of these a dream in which a strange warrior on horseback procedures which were different from the stan- and wearing a black cape had told him he was dard hedonistic and individualistic uses of Can- about to move to another spiritual line. When he nabis. The ceremony is sometimes called ‘the asked what line this was, he was told he would consecration of Santa Maria’ and in some cases find out for himself. A little later he had had may even involve the reciting of the Roman another vision of a garden being tended by an Catholic prayer ‘Hail Mary’. During the ritual the angel who showed him a plant he did not know partakers should remain silent and orderly while and said: ‘This is for healing’. the cigarette is being consumed. It must always be Padrinho Sebastia˜o then asked his young fol- passed to the person to the right of the last lower for a little marijuana to study. For some smoker and be kept in constant circulation until it time he kept the use of the plant restricted to is totally consumed and each user should limit himself, his wife, the youths who had presented himself to three puffs, mentally invoking the him with the plant and one or two close followers. Daime symbols sun, moon and stars; make a sign After a while, he came to the conclusion that of the cross and pass it on. If silence is not kept, while ayahuasca worked with the spiritual energy then the smokers must at least keep the conversa- of Christ, Cannabis had the energy of the Virgin tion on a high spiritual level, and avoid using it in and he then renamed the plant Santa Maria. He parties or mixing it with the consumption of explained that he had been instructed to ‘take the alcoholic drinks. Santa Maria should also never herb from the mouth of the devil and return it to be used while eating, and a reasonable amount of its proper mistress, the Virgin Mary’. Thus began time should be allowed to pass before food is a series of instructions that he imparted to his consumed. Padrinho Sebastiao’s followers are followers on the proper sacred use of Cannabis, also expected to only use this herb among them- distinct from the profane manner it was being selves, refraining from smoking with those un- smoked by those who simply wanted a ‘buzz’. aware of its sacred nature. Street marijuana, Emphasising its specific character, this new reli- bought from drug dealers ought to be avoided, gious use was to have a different vocabulary from due to its contamination with heavy energies ab- the profane street use, so that like Santo Daime, sorbed from the underworld environment and Santa Maria should never be considered a ‘drug’. there are prescriptions as to the correct manner of Not only was the name commonly used in Brazil growing, tending and harvesting the plant so as to ‘maconha’, rejected and substituted for ‘Santa emphasise its divinity. Maria’, but all the other terms used in connection After some time, its use, jointly with Daime, in with it, like the standard urban Portuguese word healing in ceremonies became common. The two for ‘to smoke’, or hippie slang expressions for substances taken together are considered to pro- cigarette papers and the top of the female plant duce very good effects. Santa Maria taken after very prized for being rich in THC, were substi- Santo Daime can lead to a feeling of ‘un- tuted by other expressions of a more local flavour. blockedge’, propitiating visions, and acts as a Ideally it should only be used in rituals similar soother in moments of difficulty during the ‘voy- to the Santo Daime ones, to be held every two age’. They were considered to belong to the same weeks. But the specificities of its pharmacological spiritual realm and as being able to unite their nature and of its effects, the fact that initially children on earth and to transform and liberate there was probably resistance on the part of mem- them on the ‘astral plane’. In accordance with the bers of the community in fully equating it with daimista doctrine that divides the world in two E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 333 great categories, while Santo Daime represented (Adiala, 1986a,b). As often happens in situations the male principle, Santa Maria was the female of racial oppression, this prejudice was even inter- one and should be used to invoke the help not nalised by Black people who commonly associate only of the Virgin but of all the other female its use with a life of crime. Mestre Irineu’s follow- saints and elemental spirits. ers themselves adhered to these ideas even though The plant’s medicinal properties were also ex- their leader himself had been a Black man and plored empirically. A tea made from its green had come from a part of Brazil, the state of leaves and from its roots was used in the treat- Maranhao, where the African influence is particu- ment of flu, fevers, indigestion, vomiting, di- larly great and where the use of marijuana was arrhoea, headaches, ‘neurasthenia’. Smoked it until recently totally integrated into the popular served as an anaesthetic, and as a relief for pains culture, being used for both recreational and in general, being used to help in child birth, and medicinal purposes. Even Mestre Irineu himself as a relief for haemorrhoids, hernias, colics, de- has been alleged to have used the plant, in certain pression, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, insomnia, special occasions, for healing, although today this high blood pressure, athsma etc. Its ashes were is vehemently denied by most of his followers (da thought to have antiseptic and cicatrizant proper- Silva, 1985). ties and were used topically in pomades to treat On the other hand, Padrinho Sebastiao’s recog- mycosis, wounds, ulcers and eczema. In com- nition of the spiritual nature of some of the illicit presses it was used on bruises, tumours, boils and substances in use in Brazil, attracted increasing fevers. A tincture was also made from it and used numbers of drug users to Colonia 5000. Fre- for colics, indigestion and spasms (da Silva, 1985). quently these people experienced difficulty in ac- The other ayahuasca taking groups in Rio cepting the rigid moralism and patriarchal Branco already viewed Padrinho Sebastiao with authoritarianism of the religious doctrine and in- suspicion owing to his separation from the origi- volved themselves occasionally in trouble in Rio nal Santo Daime group and to the hospitable Branco, where they were, in spite of their rebel- manner he received what they considered to be a liousness with regard to his teachings, still iden- bunch of disreputable hippies. But they became tified with Padrinho Sebastiao. This contributed particularly incensed by his adoption of Cannabis to an increase in the stigmatisation already suf- as a new sacrament. Although this plant had long fered by Colonia 5000. This and other problems been in use in Brazil, it had always been associ- such as the growth in the numbers of the commu- ated with Black culture, owing to its original nity members, led Padrinho Sebastiao to go in introduction in the region by slaves from Western search of another place to settle, where the land Africa. As many other elements of African origin was more abundant and where they could be in Brazilian culture, it was stigmatised and consid- more isolated so as to live in their own way ered to pertain to the devil.(In fact, to this day without outside interference. After some time a some still call it ‘the devil’s weed’). very remote and difficult to reach place was found From 1934 onwards Cannabis was placed in the called Rio do Ouro and there began a gradual first official Brazilian list of narcotic substances movement of exodus from Colonia 5000 with and thus began a campaign with a clearly racist many of the characteristics of the Messianic slant presenting the use of the plant as a public movements which frequently develop among poor problem and focusing the workings of the disci- Brazilian peasants. plinary punitive system on the social areas occu- One day while Padrinho Sebastiao was away a pied by the Black population. This served to young frequenter of his community was arrested maintain and reinforce racist stereotypes and the in Rio Branco and found to be in possession of a construction of a Cannabis Problem is considered bottle of Daime and an amount of Cannabis. This by some to have contributed in an important way was used as an excuse for the police to invade to the consolidation of the political and economic Colonia 5000 in large numbers and heavily armed domination of the Afro-Brazilian population with machine guns, rifles and revolvers, ready to 334 E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338

fire. Obviously they did not find the armed hood- religion of a few television celebrities were irk- lums they were used to dealing with, but only a some to many. Matters became even worse when very humble and peaceful group of people who new police incidents involving supposed followers looked at them with uncomprehending surprise. of Padrinho Sebastiao with Cannabis use oc- Nevertheless they found a well tended Cannabis curred and led to further efforts on the part of plantation which was then destroyed before the certain authorities to ban altogether the ritual use community dwellers, many of whom were reduced of ayahuasca. As we have already seen, this in to tears by the brutal sacrilege being committed to fact happened in 1985, when the brew was placed their sacred Santa Maria garden. These proce- on the list of forbidden substances for six months dures also had great media coverage and for the and was only liberated after a new scientific com- first time news the great Brazilian public had news mission was set up to investigate the matter fur- of this entheogen using religion. ther and for a period of two years there was Although Padrinho Sebastiao later presented uncertainty as to the long term legal status of himself to the local police authorities and was ayahuaca use in Brazil. able to convince them of his religious integrity in Even though this commission ended by again the use of Cannabis and ayahuasca, there was recommending the liberation of ayahuasca for nevertheless a great deal of controversy over the religious use, the fright increased the prejudices of subject. This was still the time of the military the other ayahuasca using religions against regime with its obsessive concern with left wing Padrinho Sebastiao and his followers, once they subversive activities and so it was deemed neces- felt that their own sacramental use of ayahuasca sary to look into the activities of what was felt to was under permanent threat due to what they be a potentially threatening movement of poor considered its misuse by those who insisted in peasants allied to drug taking young dropouts. using it with the ‘drug’ Santa Maria. On the other hand there was a realisation that this Here one sees in almost caricature form the was an unusual situation since the community was process of religious dogma turning one person’s renowned for its hard work and religiosity and sacrament into another’s ‘drug’. Although aware had never been involved in any serious trouble of the importance of ayahuasca in the history of before. So a special government commission, the Americas in general and in theirs in particular, made up of police and army authorities as well as they were unable to generalise the notion of the a group of scientists, was dispatched to Rio do sacredness of entheogens to other substances dif- Ouro in order to carry out investigations into the ferent from those they used themselves. Here one life of the community. It also had the express sees a repetition of the intolerance of medieval recommendation to be careful not to create a Christianity and of the Inquisition, who perse- situation of needless religious conflict, once cuted many groups similar to present day Brazilian history is marked by many cases of the ayahuasca religions. At the same time there is a government trying to put down messianic move- forgetting of the botanical eclecticism of the In- ments not unlike this one, leading to fanatical dian shamans whence originated the use of the resistance and usually ending in bloody massacres brew and whose influence is still very marked in (Ovejero, 1996). Already in this case some of the these religions. Above all one detects great igno- daimistas were bringing up the story of Canudos, rance of the long history of the sacred use of one of the most notorious examples of Brazilian Cannabis. religious intolerance ending in civil war. Rather than being the ‘devil’s weed’, Cannabis Although the commission’s report was fa- is in fact one of the oldest plants cultivated by vourable to the community and recommended humankind. According to Schultes and Hofmann, that its members be left to continue their life in historically it has been used for five purposes: as a peace, this was not the end of their troubles. Their source of hempen fibres, for its oil, for its seeds relatively unabashed ritual use of Cannabis and consumed for food, for its narcotic properties and the press coverage given to the conversion to this therapeutically to treat a wide spectrum of ills. E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 335

Because of its various uses, it has been taken to There is an unresolved controversy over many regions around the world and integrated whether or not PreColumbian America already into a great number of different cultures. It is knew Cannabis, with suggestive archaeological ev- difficult to say which of the several uses of Can- idence pointing towards very early use (Bennett et nabis was the earliest but the Vedas, supposed to al., 1995). What is certain is that at present Can- have been written around 2000 B.C. in India, nabis plays a role in the religious life of several already sang the praises of Cannabis as one of the different Indian peoples such as the Cuna in divine nectars, able to give man anything from Panama and the Cora in Mexico. The Tepehua, good health and long life to visions of the gods. another Mexican Indian group also use it under The Zen Avesta, dating from 600 B.C. Persia and the name of Santa Rosa in healing ceremonies, containing the teachings of Zoroaster mentions an considering it to act as an intercessor with the intoxicating resin thought to be extracted from Virgin and the Tepecanos, of northwestern Mex- hemp and the Assyrians used it as an incense as ico occasionally use it as a substitute for Peyote in early as the ninth century BC The Chinese also their rituals calling it Rosa Maria (Emboden, seem to have known and probably used its psy- 1972). choactive properties at very early dates. About But apart from being the result of simple his- 500 B.C. Herodotus described a kind of sauna torical ignorance, the intolerance of the other bath of the Scythians in which hemp seeds were ayahuasca religions with regard to Padrinho Se- thrown onto hot stones inside a closed tent, lead- bastiao’s followers also reflects the symbolic im- ing all those present to delight and shout for joy. pact of legislation. After all alcohol and tobacco Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, Dem- are also seen as pathogenic, evil and addictive by ocritus reported that it was occasionally drunk most members of these religious groups, but their with wine and myrrh to produce visionary states, use does not arouse feelings of such strong rejec- and Galen, about A.D. 200, wrote that it was tion for its users. Among the Brazilian poor, often sometimes customary to give hemp to guests to living in conditions of total misery, the use of promote hilarity and enjoyment. Cannabis frequently serves as a one of the few Its use for spiritual purposes goes far back in marks distinguishing the respectable poor from Indian history, as can be seen from ancient mythological beliefs. One Cannabis preparation, the total outcasts. For this reason it is common to Bhang, was so sacred that it was thought to deter find a much greater emotional investment in the evil, bring luck and cleanse sin. Those treading condemnation of its use on the part of the poor, upon the leaves of the plant would suffer harm even though it might be part of their traditional and sacred oaths were sealed over hemp. Indra, cultural heritage, than among the members of the god of the firmament had his favourite drink middle class, who do not feel a such need to assert made from Cannabis and hemp was also smoked their respectability at all times. This might, then, in rituals to the god Shiva. In Tibet, Cannabis also serve as a partial explanation for the different was also used in Tantric Buddhist ritual to facili- reactions of the increasingly middle class follow- tate deep meditation and heighten awareness ers of Padrinho Sebastiao and the much poorer (Schultes and Hofmann, 1987). members of some of the other religions. Cannabis was introduced to Africa quite early This, however, can only be seen as a partial on and transcends Moslem areas, being used both explanation, since one of the ayahuasca using in social and religious contexts. It was used by, religious groups most critical of Santa Maria, the among others: the Hottentots, Bushmen, Kaffirs, Uniao do Vegetal is even more middle class than and the Kasai in the Congo considered it to be a the one that worships Cannabis. In their case one god, a protector against physical and spiritual is dealing with a group that has a definite social harm. Treaties are sealed with its smoke and and even political project aiming at a total institu- many hemp using cults exist in East Africa, spe- tionalisation of their religion and at its complete cially near Lake Victoria (Schultes and Hofmann, social acceptance. They have a rigidly hierarchical 1987). organisation, and a pretension to being the 336 E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 only bearers of the true ayahuasca doctrine. The denied Santo Daime, once he believed that it was greater emphasis on the validity of personal reve- only through coming into contact with the ‘divine lations, often conceived of by the daimistas as being’ of the drink that they might be indoctri- being open to everyone, is an implicit challenge to nated. Consequently, compared to the members their hierarchical structure which bases the differ- of the other religions who are much more selective ence between its members on the degree to which of whom they accept into their fold, his followers they are cognisant of their doctrinal secrets. They to this day seem particularly rebellious and un- consider Mestre Irineu’s followers and other users ruly. Many of them have a long past history of of ayahuasca as, at best, ignorant ‘masters of drug use and only considered joining this religion curiosity’ and so any successes they may have because of the dignity it accorded certain psy- question the significance of these exclusive secrets choactive substances. They especially prize its re- and of the often oppressive hierarchical organisa- jection of the more narrow-minded prejudices tion built around them. Thus the use of Cannabis against marijuana, a plant already used by a great in conjunction with ayahuasca not only affronts number of them prior to their religious conver- their dogma, but also puts in jeopardy their cher- sion. Thus, moves to cease the ritual use of Santa ished social pretensions. Maria can only be justified by pragmatic argu- But even Padrinho Sebastiao’s conviction of the ments, which are often questioned under the argu- importance of Santa Maria to the ritual life of his ment that earthly laws cannot go against spiritual flock could not resist the force of legal repression truths. and of the social ostracism implied by its contin- So, although official authorisation is nowadays ued use. This became especially true once they systematically denied by the leaders of the group ceased to restrict their activities to isolated Ama- for the use of Santa Maria in the Santo Daime zonian communities and began to spread their ceremonies, it is very difficult for them to impose doctrine to the large Brazilian cities. As one of the the total ban on its private, somewhat ‘wild’ use conditions for the liberation of ayahuasca use, his as suggested by the religious doctrine. So, as they followers had to sign a joint declaration, whose cannot make the ritually correct use of Santa wording clearly shows it to have been drawn up Maria, it is common for the followers of this by Uniao do Vegetal members to suit their own interests (it insists, for instance, in calling particular branch of the religion to smoke before ayahuasca by the name given to it by that religion and after the ceremonies and sometimes even to and not by the more common ‘Daime’). Several sneak out of the rituals to take a few puffs away items of this joint declaration deny some of the from the sight of the others. It is even more basic tenets of the other religions, like those that common for them to show a pattern of relatively ban the use of ayahuasca for healing and,of frequent use in their daily lives. Even in these course, the use of any other psychoactive sub- cases they tend to preserve the basic simple ritual stance in conjunction with the brew. Even though initially proposed by Padrinho Sebastiao, smok- not all the items of this declaration are closely ing in an orderly circle, keeping the conversation kept by the different groups, the followers of restricted to elevated topics, avoiding mixing it Padrinho Sebastiao have since felt compelled to with the use of alcoholic drinks and avoiding avoid their ritual use of Santa Maria, however smoking with outsiders to the religion. Often unwilling they may be to deny its sacred nature, there is the singing of specific hymns which em- which they continue to consider as elevated as phasize the differences between the divine Santa that of Santo Daime itself and as its female Maria and the profane ‘maconha’ insisting on the counterpart. respect and discipline needed for its correct use. This, however has not been easy, since Nevertheless, certain of the prescriptions applying Padrinho Sebastiao’s flock bears the mark of his to its fully ritualised use are not observed, mainly tolerance and even predilection for ‘difficult those concerning frequency, physical setting and, cases’. He taught that nobody should ever be above all, manner of acquisition. E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338 337

The participation in Santo Daime ceremonies rituals which are not only social but religious as and the partaking of its sacramental brew is usu- well, we see how they can be quite effective when ally a very moving experience that leads to a allowed to develop in a licit manner even in questioning of much that usually people take for dealing with potent substances like ayahuasca. On granted about their lives. This destructuring effect the other hand, when their banning makes it is countered by many cues present in the ritual difficult for them to become fully institutionalised, setting, such as the religious symbols, the chants as is the case with Santa Maria, their controlling that accompany the ceremonies, the ‘guardians’ influence is weakened and it is more difficult for whose presence affords a feeling of security that them to prevent undesired effects. Further evi- order will be maintained, and the figure of the dence of this is the fact that in contrast to the leader of the session who is ultimately responsible ‘wild’ use of Santa Maria we find that Santo for the proceedings. On the other hand, the extra- Daime is never used out of a strictly ritual context ritual smoking of Santa Maria often provokes a except for when it is used in small doses as a kind of ‘flash-back’ effect that can lead to a remedy. reliving of the ayahuasca experience outside the ceremonial setting. This in a few cases can be a painful and unsettling experience mainly for inex- 1. Notes perienced users and for those with psychological problems. This haphazard multiplication of the ‘entheogens’ – A word suggested by R. Gordon original experience can, in a few cases, generate Wasson and others to name in a non-pejorative difficulties in settling back into normal life and a manner certain substances whose ingestion pro- lack of motivation for any but ‘spiritual ’ activi- vokes altered states of consciousness, leading to ties, which on occasion lead to dropping out of states of shamanic ecstasy or possession. school or jobs and subsequent situations of mal- ‘Padrinho’, meaning ‘got/father’, is a common adjustment and disorientation. expression used in Brazil for leaders of popular But whereas psychological problems only ap- spiritual communities. Mestre Irineu was also pear in a very few cases, the most serious problem called ‘Padrinho’ by his closest followers. is the breaking of the ritual manner of acquisition of the herb. Instead of the elaborate ritualised tending of ‘Santa Maria Gardens’ where the doc- References trinal norms are symbolically stressed and rein- forced, the users are obliged to resort to illegal Adiala JC. A Criminalizacao dos Entorpecentes. In: Seminario dealers, and to face all the dangers inherent in this ‘‘Crime e Castigo’’. Rio de Janeiro, Fundacao Rui Bar- contact with the underworld and its violent ways, bosa, 1986a. as well as running the risk of being caught by the Adiala JC. O Problema da Maconha no Brasil- Ensaio Sobre Racismo e Drogas. Rio de Janeiro, Instituto Universitario police and maybe suffering violence, stigmatisa- de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro, serie Estudos no. 52, tion and even long term imprisonment in institu- Outubro 1986b. tions notorious for being ‘schools of crime’. This Bennett C, Osbourn L, Osbourn J. Green Gold the Tree of in fact has happened to a few of Padrinho Sebas- Life-Marijuana in Magic and Religion, California, Access tiao’s followers and has been the cause of most of Unlimited, 1995:267. Couto FR. Santos e Xamas. Dissertacao de Mestrado em the bad publicity they have suffered in the last few Antropologia, Universidade de Brasilia, 1989:251. years. Emboden WA, Jr. Ritual Use of Cannabis Sativa L. – A So here we see, in an almost paradigmatical Historical Ethnographic Survey. In: Furst PT, editor. Flesh case, the importance of the setting, as argued by of the Gods The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens. New York: Zinberg and Grund, among others. As Zinberg Praeger, 1972:229. Escohotado A. Historia de las Drogas-Madrid, Alianza Edito- maintained, controlled use is a result of social rial, 3 Vol. 1989;2 and 226. learning and requires suitable social and cultural Fericgla JM. El Sistema Dinaˆmico de la Cultura y los Diver- conditions to develop fully. Here dealing with sos Estados de la Mente Humana – Bases pare un 338 E. MacRae / International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 325–338

Irracionalismo Sisteˆmico – Cuadernos de Antropologia. Ovejero FC. Relatos del Santo Daime. Madrid: AMICA, Barcelona: Editorial Anthropos, 1989:13. 1996:124 and 131-2. Grund JPC. Drug Use as a Social Ritual-Function- Schultes RE, Hofmann A. Plants of the Gods Origins of ality, Symbolism and Determinants of Self-Regulation. Hallucinogenic Use. New York: Alfred Van Der Marck Rotterdam: Instituut voor Vesslvingsondeerzoek, 1993: Editions, 1987:92-101. 301. da Silva CM. Ritual de Tratamento e Cura; 1 Simpo´sio de MacRae E. Guiado Pela Lua – Xamanismo e Uso Ritual Sau´de Mental. Sociedade Brasileira de Psiquiatria: da Ayahuasca no Culto do Santo Daime. Sao Paulo: Santare´m, August 1985:9 and 11. Brasiliense, 1992:95 and 79-92. Zinberg N. Drug, Set and Setting – The Basis for Con- Ott J. The Age of Entheogens. California: Natural Products, trolled Intoxicant Use. New Haven and London: Yale 1995:21. University Press, 1984:3, 5 and 17.

. .