THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROGRAM
AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL LOOK AT HOW THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE USE OF SELECT PSYCHOTROPIC PLANTS INFLUENCE INDIGENOUS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS IN THE NEW WORLD
RACHEL HANSON Spring 2010
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in Anthropology with interdisciplinary honors in Anthropology and Religious Studies
Reviewed and approved* by the following:
Catherine Wanner Associate Professor of History, Anthropology, and Religious Studies Thesis Supervisor
Timothy Ryan Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, Geosciences, and Information Sciences and Technology Honors Adviser
On-Cho Ng Professor of History, Religious Studies, and Asian Studies Honors Adviser
* Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College.
ABSTRACT
Psychotropic plants are those which alter the mood, behavior, or perception of the user. These types of intoxicating plants are used worldwide and serve many different purposes. Religious rituals are one of the most common venues for psychoactive drug ingestion, and are also among the most interesting. Religious hypnotic and hallucinogenic experiences induced by plants are critical to understanding the spirituality and ideology of the cultures they are found in, especially in the New World (primarily consisting of the Americas and Australia), where the use of psychotropic drugs is most developed. This is why I have decided to examine three popular New World psychotropic plants which hold central places in the native religions of those who use them. The three psychotropic plants I have chosen to explore are kava (Piper methysticum), a shrub native to Oceania, Virola (Virola theiodora), a South American tree, and the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) native to the Chihuahuan desert of northern Mexico. Each of these plants has been used by a particular group of indigenous peoples of the New World seeking an extraordinary experience for centuries. To better understand the role and function of these plants, I will first briefly examine the chemistry of each and how the plants relate to the particular environments in which they are found. I will then delve into the religious use of these plants in specific communities as described in various ethnohistorical records, focusing on shamanistic traditions, and then conclude with an analysis of the interactions between the environment, subsistence strategies, worldview, use of psychoactive drugs, religion, and culture in general.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 The Evolution and Classification of Psychoactive Plants………………………....1
Chapter 2 Experimental Motivations ………………………………………………………...5
Chapter 3 Types of Drug-Induced Experience ………………………………………………8
Chapter 4 Kava (Piper methysticum)………………………………………………………...11
Chapter 5 Virola (Virola theiodora)…………………………………………………………19
Chapter 6 Peyote (Lophophora williamsii)…………………………………………………..28
Chapter 7 Discussion………………………………………………………………………...38
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1-1. Major Biological Taxa……………………………………………………………..2
Figure 1-2. The Evolution of Plants…………………………………………………………....3
Figure 4-1. Map of Oceania……………………………………………………………………12
Figure 4-2. Leaves of the Kava Plant………………………………………………………….13
Figure 5-1. The Amazon Basin and Orinoco River……………………………………………20
Figure 5-2. Snuffing Paraphernalia…………………………………………………………....23
Figure 5-3. Amazonian Cosmos Organization…...... 25
Figure 5-4. Yanomami Men Using Virola Snuff………………………………………………26
Figure 6-1. Map of Peyote Distribution and Home of the Huichol……………………………29
Figure 6-2. The Peyote Cactus…………………………………………………………...... 30
Figure 6-3. Types of Hallucinations…………………………………………………………...33
Figure 6-4. Traditional Huichol Yarn Painting Depicting the Deer-Maize-Peyote Trinity……35
Figure 6-5. Huichol Shaman in Traditional Dress……………………………………………..36
iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Though she did not have an active role in helping me write this thesis, I would like to thank my dear friend Becky for her influence, insight, and companionship, without which I would have never known of the mysteries of psychedelics and the incredible worlds they can unlock. I would also like to dedicate this thesis, and any other subsequent works in this field of research, to my friends Josh, Lisa, and Mike. They knew of fantastic experiences and incredible heights and were gone too soon because of it.
“But the man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out. He will be wiser but less cocksure, happier but less self-satisfied, humbler in acknowledging his ignorance yet better equipped to understand the relationship of words to things, of systematic reasoning to the unfathomable Mystery which it tries, forever vainly, to comprehend.”
-Aldous Huxley - The Doors of Perception
iv Chapter 1 The Evolution and Classification of Psychoactive Plants
An Introduction to Evolution Since the dawn of life, the process of evolution and natural selection has shaped the genetics, morphology, and physical appearance of every living organism on the planet. By looking at the traits of a plant or animal today we can understand something about the environment and stresses of its ancestors. The genes of the individuals with adaptations that helped them survive the trials and tribulations of the past are represented in the genotypes (genetic makeup) of today’s offspring. In the same way, traits which are essential to survival or reproduction are often lost. For example, humans have lost much of the dense body hair that covers other primates, and many cave-dwelling species have lost their eyes and skin pigments due to the lack of sunlight. The gaining and losing of traits is something that has affected plants as well. Plants have evolved many types of chemical weapons to deter herbivores from eating them. Some of these include tannins, flavonoids, and alkaloids. These types of chemical defenses are called secondary substances because they are not directly used for plant metabolism and growth, and they often have deleterious effects on the animals that ingest them (Siegel 1989, 28). In terms of mind-altering plants, alkaloids defenses are the most common. According to the book The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens by Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann, the discoverer of LSD, “most narcotics are of alkaloidal nature” and “at least 7,000 species of plants are known at the present time to contain alkaloids” (Schultes 21). Examples of alkaloids found in plants include nicotine, strychnine, and caffeine. Each of the three psychotropic plants that I will discuss contains at least one type of alkaloid, although their alkaloidal components are not always the active principle which contributes to psychoactive experiences. Still, it is to these specific evolutionary adaptations against predation that we owe most of the plant drugs that we know of today.
Biological Taxonomic Classification Biological taxonomic classification is any method used by scholars to organize and understand the relationships between living things. In biology today, a Linnaean scheme of binomial nomenclature is used to identify and name organisms based morphological characteristics. In the current system, each organism is identified by a two word scientific name which notates its genus and species. In addition to a genus and species name, each organism is classified into groups under at least six other headings. These taxa (groups) include domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, and family, and are arranged from the most broad and inclusive classification (domain) to the most specific (species). (See Figure 1-1) The kingdom level of classification includes the well known divisions of Animalia, Plantae, and Fungi. Within the kingdom of Plantae, there are eleven phylum groups. One of these, called Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, includes all flowering plants. Each of the three plants I will discuss fall into this category.
Figure 1-1. Major Biological Taxa
The flowering plants evolved from gymnosperms (a phylum of seed bearing plants) about 150 million years ago and have since become the most diverse and numerous types of plants on the planet (Earle). (See Figure 1-2) Over one-third of families within the Angiospermae phylum contain alkaloids (Siegel 1989, 31). Since most hallucinogenic drugs are a product of alkaloids, it makes sense that this largest plant phylum contains the majority of well known plant drugs. The taxonomic breakdown of each selected psychoactive drug can be found on the first page of each chapter. This reference provides clues about not only the morphological characteristics of each plant, but how each is related to the others.
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Figure 1-2. The Evolution of Plants
Classification by Effect As discussed above, morphology and physical similarity are two things scientists use to classify plants. Another way is by psychological effect. This type of classification does not include every plant species as Linnaean classification does, but only contains plant drugs which have some sort of effect on the human brain (psychoactive drugs). Because this type of classification is for all drugs, synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs are also included. In 1959, Albert Hofmann, a prominent psychoactive drug researcher, divided psychotropic drugs into the following five categories: 1) analgesics (pain relievers) and euphorics
3 2) sedatives and tranquilizers 3) stimulants 4) hypnotics 5) hallucinogens
More recently, the boundaries of these categories have been redrawn. Hypnotics are now included in the sedative category due to the similarity of hypnotic and sedative effects, and the analgesic group is now more commonly called opiates. Thus, the primary classifications of psychotropic drugs used today are as follows: 1) opiates 2) sedatives and hypnotics 3) stimulants 4) hallucinogens and psychedelics
Each of these four categories is known to produce a particular type of psychological effect. The opiates numb pain and produce a sense of euphoria. The most common opiates are morphine and heroin. Sedatives and hypnotics produce drowsiness and often slow down brain activity. They are known to produce sleep and relieve anxiety. Valium and Xanax are examples of sedatives, and the kava plant is an example of a hypnotic drug. The stimulant group includes nicotine and cocaine and is known to excite the brain. The final category, hallucinogens and psychedelics, includes any drug that produces hallucinations, such as mescaline, LSD, and ecstasy (Dietrich). These groups are not mutually exclusive, and many times drugs are hard to classify. Marijuana, for example, is sometimes classified as a hallucinogen because in high doses it can cause visual distortion, but it is more commonly thought of as a sedative. Of the plants I will detail, two are classified as hallucinogens. It is interesting to note that these two hallucinogenic plants play a larger role in religious ritual and spiritual belief than does kava, a hypnotic and sedative. This may indicate the importance of hallucinations in religion and tell us something about how psychoactive plants evolved in the context of religion.
4 Chapter 2 Experimental Motivations
The question often arises of how people first came to discover the effects of the numerous psychotropic and otherwise poisonous plants used today. Experts claim that there is an innate motivation to experiment with plants in humans and other animals. I believe that this motivation could stem from our ancestral roots as hunters and gatherers. At a time when survival depended on an intimate knowledge of one’s landscape and the plants and animals in it, knowing the nutritional and possible deleterious effects of available plants would have been very advantageous. Over time, humans would have come across, experimented with, and observed the effects of more and more plants, whether accidentally or on purpose. Man, finding that he liked the way he felt when he ate certain plants, would pursue them time and time again. It would also make sense that man discovered the most potent preparations of these plants in much the same way. Kava, for example, needs to ground into a powder and emulsified in order to release the maximum amount of psychoactive principles in the plant. It seems logical that one day someone decided to grind up the roots of the kava plant and add water to the resulting powder to make it easier to drink and found that he became much more intoxicated than ever before. This is one explanation for how humans could have come to know and understand the hallucinogenic and hypnotic effects of the many psychoactive plants of the world, but there are others as well. Many herbalists of the sixteenth century followed the Doctrine of Signatures, a religious philosophy that said that God had given everything a signature so that humans may know what its intended use was. By this philosophy, plants were paired with and used according to the ailments and body parts that their physicality or environmental location resembled. For example, red plants were used for blood problems, twisted vines that looked like snakes were used as venom antidotes, and spotted plants were thought to be useful for skin diseases (Siegel 1989, 37). Whether or not the postulated relationship between ailments and look-alike plants really existed, the use of the plants informed humans of the actual effects and uses. This more purposeful method of experimentation provides another explanation for how humans discovered psychoactive plants but not why they continued to use them after discovering their effects. To answer this question, a discussion of the human brain is necessary.
5 Providing one explanation for why humans continued to use and abuse plant drugs after their discovery, Ronald Siegel, a prominent American psychiatrist and researcher of the effects of drugs on humans, in his book Intoxication: Life in Pursuit of Artificial Paradise states that: Our nervous system, like those of rodents and primates, is arranged to respond to chemical intoxicants in much the same way it responds to rewards of food, drink, and sex. Throughout our entire history as a species, intoxication has functioned like the basic drives of hunger, thirst, or sex, sometimes overshadowing all other activities in life. Intoxication is the fourth drive. (Siegel 1989, 10)
According to Siegel, we do not need any complicated evolutionary rationalization to explain the basic human nature which prompts us to seek out intoxicants. He argues that the act of seeking out intoxicating substances is something found in many other animal species, despite the fact that ingesting these substances often harms the animal directly through physical damage and/or indirectly by increasing vulnerability to predators. The reckless drug-induced behavior found in many animals is mimicked by humans enchanted by the new states of consciousness and fantastic experiences that accompany the sometimes risky ingestion of psychotropic plant drugs. I believe that it is not simply the feeling of intoxication or drunkenness that motivates humans to seek out drugs, but the specific types of experiences and altered states of consciousness that often supplement these feelings. When intoxicated, many hallucinogenic drug users feel as if they have come in contact with a different reality, a deity, or understand something new about life, the world, or man’s existence. Because of this, psychotropic drugs are one of the best ways that man has found to answer some of life’s unanswerable questions. This, I believe, adds yet another religious and cultural level of attraction to such substances. Vincent Lebot, the author of the book Kava: The Pacific Drug, cites anthropologist Weston La Barre’s theory concerning the importance of psychoactive drugs in religion, asserting that: Most traditional religions worldwide - with the exceptions of the great monotheistic religions based on well-established written traditions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - rely on revelation and inspiration for the production of religious knowledge and experience. Drugs are frequently an integral means to achieve psychic states amenable to religious inspiration. (Lebot 7)
As Lebot explains, drugs provide access to otherwise unattainable psychic states and experiences, and thus are often described as having ‘spirit power’. Drugs allow for a more direct confrontation with the supernatural which is often the basis for religious revelation in religions which do not adhere to written historical texts. This communication link between humans and their gods and ancestors nurtures and sustains any existing motivations to seek out and ingest psychoactive
6 drugs. In this way, even if the experimental motivations to seek out intoxicating substances began as a natural function of the structure of the human brain, after such plants were used for medicinal and religious purposes, the motivations became cultural.
7 Chapter 3
Types of Drug-Induced Experience
Introduction The term psychoactive connotes some change in mental processes. Thus, any discussion of psychoactive drugs requires a necessary understanding of these changes, commonly referred to as altered states of consciousness (ASC). As one might expect, trying to classify and delineate between different states of consciousness is not an easy task. The subject matter can be quite varied, abstract, and subjective, which results in an inherent margin of error. For my purposes here, I will focus only on those types of intentional altered states of consciousness which are commonly associated with New World drug use and religion, especially those correlated with animistic and shamanistic traditions. While dreams, spirit possession, prophecy, and hypnosis are all various types of ASC, I will limit my examination to only trance, unitive, and mystic experiences.
Altered States of Consciousness Altered state of consciousness can be induced in many ways, such as through sleep deprivation, oxygen deprivation, fasting, chanting, drumming, dancing, meditation, prayer, and of course drugs. Drug-induced ASC are shaped and determined by certain variables. Individual health and personality, dosage, the method and frequency of drug ingestion, setting, state of mind, and preceding expectations all influence the drug experience. Due to these confounds, particular ASC can be strategically harnessed for individual or communal needs, making every experience unique and very personal. It is through the manipulative use of ASC that religions influenced by hypnotic and hallucinogenic drugs have grown and changed. The following three states of consciousness are found in many religions, and knowledge of the particularities of each will help clarify how religion is influenced by psychoactive plant ingestion and why specific drugs complement certain religious traditions.
Unitive Experiences Unitive experiences are a type of non-functional ecstatic experience characterized by some sense of a union with a feeling, object, or supernatural entity. Examples of unitive experiences include sexual climax, a sensation of merging with some sort of aesthetic object like
8 a piece of music or art, or perhaps a loss of self in a large crowd (Paper 46). Often the feelings of cosmic oneness and harmony between all things which are noted effects of many hallucinogenic drugs are also classified as unitive experiences, however this is also sometimes referred to as cosmic consciousness. Although in somewhat different capacities, this type of experience has been associated with each of the three plant drugs (kava, virola, and peyote) that I will discuss.
Mystic Experiences The distinction between unitive experiences and mystic experiences is not always clear. Some would argue that they are identical, some that mystic experiences are a type of unitive experience, and others that they are inherently different. In his book The Mystic Experience, Jordan Paper states: The mystic experience, as defined in this work, goes beyond unitive experiences and consciousness-itself in that the experiencer is utterly unaware of the experience at its height. […] Thus, the mystic experience differs from all other ecstatic experiences variously included under the rubric of mysticism, because it, and it alone, is utterly ineffable. (Paper 50)
While this definition clearly addresses some of the differences between mystic and unitive experience, I argue that mystic experiences are actually a type of unitive experience. This is based on the widely accepted definition of mysticism as the “belief that man can experience a transcendental union with the divine in this life through meditation and other disciplines” (Schade 615). In this interpretation, unity is a critical ingredient and is in fact identified as the ultimate goal of mystic experiences, which is why I would classify the mystical experience under the heading of unitive experience. The mystic experience requires a constant exploration into the supernatural, necessarily involving seeking communication and ultimate union with God. Mysticism is often thought of as a more radical religious trajectory inasmuch as it requires complete and utter devotion to the cause. Because the supernatural is an important part of every religion, mystic traditions are found in every major world religion, despite often being discouraged. Many mystic experiences are very similar to, if not identical to, the ultimate goals of moksha and nirvana in Hinduism and Buddhism. It is important to remember, however, that each mystic experience can only be understood within the context of the religious beliefs, individual psychology, and culture of the experiencer. This is also true of trance states, especially in the context of shamanism.
9 Shamanism and Trance Experiences As opposed to mystic and unitive experiences, trance states are primarily a functional type of experience. This is because trances, especially shamanic trances, are often entered into with an important, tangible goal. While the purpose of the trance may be easily identifiable, the nature of the trance experience can be difficult to describe. Trance can be described as an ineffable half-conscious, dream-like state where one may retain control over thoughts and actions Traces are a critical tool used by shaman. In the countless shamanistic cultures that have and continue to exist across the planet, shamans are exalted messengers between worlds who use trance states to embark upon soul flights. A shaman’s power is derived from guardian spirits and power animals that enable him to use otherworldly flights to battle hostile spirits, help heal the sick, rescue lost souls, discover new and otherwise unattainable information, and to ensure the health and well-being of the community (Harner 20). While this type of religious system is one of the oldest and is found throughout the world, the use of hallucinogenic drugs to induce trance states is disproportionately found in Central and South America. The use of the hallucinogenic plant Virola theiodora in South America is inextricably tied to the shamanistic religious views of the region, and it is within the context of the use of this plant in South America that the discussion of specific types of shamanic trance states will continue in more detail.
10 Chapter 4
Kava (Piper methysticum)
Taxonomy Kingdom: Plantae Division: Angiospermae (flowering plants) Class: Magnoliopsida/Dicotyledonae Order: Piperales Family: Piperaceae (pepper family) Genus: Piper Species: methysticum
E hanai ‘awa a ikaika ka makani Feed with kava so that the spirit may gain strength
- Polynesian Proverb (Pukui 1983
11 Geographic Description
Figure 4-1. Map of Oceania
Piper methysticum is found most abundantly in the region of the South Pacific called Oceania, which includes Australia and the island grouping sub-regions of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. The majority of the islands in this area are volcanic, have tropical rainforest climates, and remain relatively warm and humid all year. Despite such warm temperatures and fertile lands, there is a relatively low level of biodiversity in this region. This is due to the biological Pacific Ocean barrier which makes areas of Oceania very difficult to reach. In the Melanesian island nation of Vanuatu (see Figure 4-1), the most probable birthplace of the kava plant, there are as few as 1,500 species of plants. One of the few, Piper methysticum was made possible because the tropical and sub-tropical forest islands of Vanuatu are wet, humid, and are over 75% covered in trees, creating perfect conditions for a plant that enjoys shade, high temperatures, and high humidity (The World Factbook).
12 Physical Description Piper methysticum is a perennial, slow-growing, evergreen plant that usually grows to be 6 to13 feet tall. It is a small shrub that has a limited number of large, alternate, heart-shaped leaves and produces long greenish-white male inflorescences (clusters of flowers). Female flowers, fruits, and seeds are very rare and the plant can only be grown by stem-cutting techniques due to the human-induced sterility of the plant. The roots, the most important psychoactive part of the plant, are thick and knotty and range from a white to a yellow color depending on the amount of psychoactive kavalactones present. The plant has a strong smell which is often used to identify it, and an acrid, mildly peppery taste. In fact, the word kava means “bitterness” or “poison” in many Oceanic languages (Lebot 27).
Figure 4-2. Leaves of the Kava Plant
Chemical Description The psychoactive principles in the kava plant are called kavalactones. When dried, the roots contain about 15% kavalactones, although this varies depending on the age and variety of the plant (Lebot 60). Kavalactones are a type organic compound containing oxygen. Early kava researchers tried many times to isolate the specific kavalactones comprising the intoxicating
13 substance within kava, calling it both kavahine and methysticin (now known to be two different kavalactones), but many of the early samples have been found to be impure. With time, these kavalactones have been isolated and can now even be synthesized, although synthetic kavalactones do not have the same effects as the natural raw extract. It has been concluded that the psychoactive effects of P. methysticum are a result of a complex mixture of many types of kavalactones, all of which must necessarily be present in order to manifest the most potent effects. Unlike most other hallucinogenic and hypnotic plant drugs, kava does not contain alkaloids in the root resin, which is where the psychoactive elements of the plant are concentrated.
History Origins Although kava likely came from Southeast Asia or New Guinea like most Melanesian crops, the origins of the first selected and vegetatively produced P. methysticum plants have been traced to the northern islands of Vanuatu. While this is still controversial because tracing the spread of flora and fauna throughout these islands is very difficult, there are several lines of evidence that point to Vanuatu as the true birthplace of the kava plant. Researchers have studied the local names for kava throughout Oceania and speculate that the fact that Vanuatu is home to the greatest variety of terms for the plant means that it has been present there the longest. Using similar reasoning, botanists studying the many different cultivars (varieties) of P. methysticum have found the most diversification of this plant in Vanuatu. Archaeological evidence from Melanesia suggests that the arrival of humans happened relatively recently, which means that the domestication of ancient kava could have happened only 3,000 years ago. Since that time, human selective pressures have severely altered the morphological and chemical properties of this plant, making modern kava a true human creation.
Folk Origins The matter of the origins of kava is a very different one for native users and scientists. There are numerous folk myths about the origins of the kava plant, most of which have been passed along through time orally. These myths change often depending on the time and person, but often carry common themes. The first of these is indigenous generation, which tells of the plant first sprouting from the genitals of a buried corpse of a native woman or the discovery of the
14 plants and its properties by a rat. The second theme involves an external divine explanation and describes how kava was bestowed upon the people by some deity. While these myths do not conclusively tell us much about the actual origins of P. methysticum, the themes found within them can help researchers understand much more about the cultural belief systems of kava users. The ideas of spirituality, gender, and death found in kava origin myths will be explored more in a later discussion of kava’s role in religion.
Discovery The first record of kava was made by Europeans in 1769 on the first voyage of British explorer James Cook. Cook’s series of three expeditions to the South Pacific gave us the first drawings and descriptions of P. methysticum. The first recorded account of its use was documented by Gilbert Cuzent in 1856 when he witnessed the ingestion of kava by the native people of the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.
Harvest and Preparation The psychoactive part of the kava plant is a resin found in the rootstock. Every 3 to 4 years, growers will cut the stem of the plant off close to the ground, to be re-planted later, and dig out the large root system of the plant. In most instances, kava is prepared and consumed soon after being harvested. The rootstock is usually always cut into small pieces and scraped clean of dirt, but what occurs next differs from place to place. In Vanuatu, the most common way kava is prepared is through grinding or mastication, and often the plant is consumed fresh instead of being dried. The kava plant must be ground or masticated in order to release the resin stored in the cell tissues of the plant. Grinding is done using a wooden dish and a coral stone. Mastication involves chewing the plant and then spitting it out into a dish. This method is thought to be more effective at releasing active ingredients because it produces finer particles; however, years of mastication has been associated with tooth erosion. Both of these processes result in a greenish milky liquid. This liquid is then emulsified, which allows the insoluble active kavalactones in the resin to become available. While the rootstock could be ingested at any time, frequent use and experimentation with kava have informed users of how to create the most potent concoction possible.
15 Effects Like most drugs, the effects of kava can depend on many things. Generally speaking, in normal doses kava is a relaxing drug known to cause sleep, muscle relaxation, and feelings of harmony, contentment, sociability, and camaraderie. For these reasons, kava is used socially to ease tensions and maintain good relationships. Kava is also frequently described as sharpening the mind, honing sight and sound faculties, enhancing memory, and providing a mental clarity. In higher doses, kava’s sedative properties can cause a severe slowing down of the body, a mental disconnect, and an almost immediate sleep. Reports show that kava is chemically non-addictive and no tolerance buildup has been reported. Only a few adverse effects have been noted, including tooth erosion caused by years of kava mastication. The most deleterious long term effect is a skin disease caused by heavy ingestion of lactones. The skin of chronic kava drinkers can appear exfoliated, scaly, and shriveled. Skin lesions can also occur, but appear only in those who are allergic to a certain type of lactone and disappear when kava ingestion is reduced. A lingering feeling of apathy that affects diet and energy has also been reported by heavy kava drinkers, but if the drug is taken in moderation there are no adverse effects.
Users While kava is used widely throughout the South Pacific, I will focus on the indigenous Melanesian people of Vanuatu, where the plant originated. The people of Vanuatu are traditionally farmers who focus on sugarcane and root plants such as yams. It is in this native area that kava has influenced the culture and ideology of the people the most, which makes it the most interesting for my discussion of kava’s role in religion.
Ingestion As stated earlier, the psychoactive kava plant rootstock is usually made into a cold-water drink. The kava concoction is drunk in one sitting by all male members of a community around dusk. It is done before the evening meal to ensure the maximum psychoactive effects. Everyone drinks in silence, and immediately spits onto the ground. It may take up to 30 minutes for the drug to kick in, and effects can last from two to eight eight hours depending on the concentration and potency of the drink.
16 Religious Use It is no coincidence that altered states of consciousness play a very large role in many world religions. In fact, it could be argued that it was those new states of consciousness brought on by plant drugs that first allowed people to glimpse the supernatural, effectively creating religion. On the island of Vanuatu, even if indigenous religious beliefs existed before the discovery of the effects of the kava plant, there is no way to deny that kava now plays a central role in the religious and social systems of indigenous Melanesians. Kava has become a part of Melanesian culture in many ways. The first way is through its inherent chemical nature which produces certain effects on the human brain. The chemicals in kava cause muscle relaxation, numbness, and sleep. Because of these intrinsic chemical effects, social kava drinking results in a communal feeling of relaxation, allowing the mind to free itself from everyday worries and focus on the kava experience. Communal relaxation is one of the main uses of kava, as it eases tensions between people. The relaxing feelings one has towards others after sharing a drink of kava “evokes feelings of camaraderie - an emotional response that symbolizes within a drinker’s body the strength of ongoing social relations” (Lebot 119). In this way, kava can create, maintain, mend, and help one navigate all social relationships. This is why kava is used almost daily in many places, although there are still a number of social prescriptions that restrict use. Most restrictions are based in the mythical folk origins of the kava plant, which exhibit two basic themes - death and sex. As mentioned earlier, the kava plant is often said to have first sprouted from the vagina of a dead native woman. Combining both sex and death, myth has had a dramatic effect on the way people use kava and how they construct their religious beliefs. The first of these themes, death, has obvious connections to the supernatural, and is thus usually a part of religion. Death is inherently mysterious, which may be why the ambiguous origins of kava are said to be from the dead. Interestingly, in the South Pacific, the words meaning ‘to die’ and ‘to be drunk’ are very similar. This creates a link between not only kava and death, but also intoxication and death. The drunken sleep that follows kava ingestion is in some ways a state parallel to death. This is why the effects of kava are sought out to assist in communication with the dead. It is thought that “in order to converse with the dead, it helps to be somewhat “dead” oneself” (Lebot 132). To communicate with ancestors, after consuming the kava drink, users will spit onto the ground in a symbolic sacrificial libation to invoke ancestral spirits. During this tamafa, as it is called, a prayer, wish, or demand is expressed to the ancestors, which serves to open the lines of communication to other realms. The silence that follows allows
17 one to listen for ancestors and possibly receive new information or divine revelation from them. These rituals usher in the gradual transcendence into an altered state of consciousness that relaxes the mind and body and is a way to fashion, reinforce, and validate supernatural relationships and beliefs. Other rituals and ritual prescriptions are a result of the second theme found in kava myths. Sex, just like death, is one of the most important parts of human existence. The fact that myth cites the origins of kava as a woman’s vagina has had great influence on how kava is used. Kava has come to be associated not only with death, but also life, fertility, and femininity, as the vagina is the female means of giving birth. The life-giving powers and feminine essence attributed to kava are only allowed to men, for the ingestion of kava by men symbolizes a correct heterosexual intercourse. Females are usually not allowed to drink the kava mixture because it would be a dirty homosexual act because of the alleged female origins of the plant. Along the same lines, sex with a woman is prohibited while a man is under the effects of kava. The act of sex is said to negate or even deleteriously transform the live-giving powers and spiritual effects of kava. Virgins are usually prepare the kava mixture because they are sexually pure and cannot contaminate the kava or its effects in any way. Occasionally higher ranking or post-menopausal women are allowed to drink kava because they are thought to be more masculine than most females, but for the most part kava’s association with sex and gender render it accessible only to men. The cultural and religious restrictions on kava consumption are not only a way to establish social relationships and expectations, but also regulate kava ingestion and promote healthy kava use. The societal changes that have occurred as a result of the use of kava are not limited to restrictions on use. Kava has become a social mechanism which connects nearly every aspect of life. It is not only used in spiritual endeavors, but in virtually every rite of passage. Kava is given as a gift at weddings, offered to the dead at funerals, and is an integral part of male puberty rituals. It is used to negotiate the waters of nearly every social relationship and is a declaration of peace that has lasted through the ages.
18 Chapter 5
Virola (Virola theiodora & Virola elongata)
Taxonomy Kingdom: Plantae Division: Angiospermae (flowering plants) Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Magnoliales Family: Myristicaceae (nutmeg family) Genus: Virola Species: theiodora or elongate
19 Geographical and Physical Description The Virola tree is most abundant in the tropical South American Amazon Basin. (See the large starred region in Figure 5-1) Use o the Virola tree for hallucinogenic purposes is found throughout South America, particularly in the smaller starred region in the Northern part of Venezuela near the Orinoco River. The tree is slender and can grow to be 25-75 feet tall. The bark of the tree is smooth and the leaves are large, dark, and glossy. Male inflorescences are made up of many small yellow-brown flowers, which have a notably pungent smell, and the tree produces ellipsoid fruit. The psychoactive part of the plant is a blood-red resin found in the inner bark of the tree.
Figure 5-1. The Amazon Basin and Orinoco River
Chemical Description The chemical elements of the Virola tree follow the pattern of most psychoactive plant drugs. The active hallucinogenic component is a type of tryptamine alkaloid called Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a substance found in a considerable number of plant drugs. While DMT and other alkaloids can be found throughout V. theiodora, it is most concentrated in the resin of the tree, comprising about 11% (Schultes 134). DMT is found in small amounts in the
20 human body, so it is able to be metabolized very fast. This is why oral ingestion of DMT mixtures is not usually effective. The effects of DMT are visions, a feeling of euphoria, and sometimes lasting hallucinations that seem to create a new reality. These effects have contributed to DMT’s status as a drug commonly used in religious settings (an entheogen).
History Discovery Virola theiodora was first documented in 1938 by a Brazilian botanist named Adolpho Ducke who was recruited by Emilio Goeldi to study and describe the trees of Amazonia. Ducke discovered the use of Virola species in snuffs, but did not know of their psychoactive properties. Ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes was the first to discover the ritual uses and hallucinogenic powers of Virola snuffs while he was studying South American Indian groups. Schultes conducted extensive research in the Amazon Basin and is largely responsible for spreading the knowledge of Virola snuffs and the Indians who use them.
Harvest and Preparation The hallucinogenic V. theiodora resin can be extracted from the tree in many ways. An incision can be made into the bark to let the resin flow, a part of the bark can be completely removed to gather the resin, or the inner bark can be scraped. Most commonly, a portion of the bark of the tree is heated over a fire, which then induces the resin to exude through the bark. The Indians who use the resin of the Virola tree say that the process of harvesting the potent resin must be done early in the morning before the light of the sun has hit the trunk of the tree. The rays of the sun are believed to have a harmful impact on the effects produced by the resin. Once extracted from the tree, the resin is first mixed with plant ashes to get rid of its stickiness and then ground into an extremely fine gray powder. It is believed that the alkaline nature of the plant ashes in the mixture is required to produce the desired effects. While this is the most commonly used preparation technique of the Waika Indians of Venezuela, other groups boil the resin into a syrup, coat it with plant ashes, form the mixture into tiny balls, and then eat the tiny balls or dissolve them in water and drink them. The method of preparation of the Waika Indians allegedly produces a more potent drug cocktail, which is perhaps why the use of this particular drug mixture is the most intense in Waika Indian culture.
21 Effects Unlike the relatively tame effects of the Polynesian kava plant, the effects of the Virola tree can be much more aggressive. While most users report an initial burst of excitability soon after ingestion, a host of negative effects can follow. Such effects include nausea, severe headaches, ocular pressure, and dizziness. Other effects of the drug include numbness in the limbs, muscle twitching, a lack of coordination of muscle activity, sedation, hallucinations, and drug experiences often end in deep, disturbed sleeps. There is also at least one account of an alleged death of a shaman under the influence of Virola, although this has not been confirmed. One of the more interesting effects of Virola ingestion is macropsia, where objects appear to be larger than they actually are. This particular effect of the Virola plant had directly influenced the spiritual beliefs of the users, a phenomenon which will be described in more detail in the following discussion of the use of Virola in religious practices.
Users The Virola tree, most often prepared as a snuff, is used by many indigenous Indians in the Amazon Valley area. The term Waika is a generic term applied to the indigenous people of this region, most of whom use Virola on a regular basis. I will focus on the specific religious implications of plant drug use for the Yanomami people, one of those tribes included under the generalization of Waika Indians. According to the book The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens, “gradually, studies have indicated that perhaps the most intensive use of Virola snuffs might be found to the east, centering amongst the several related Waika Indian groups inhabiting the headwaters of Orinoco in Venezuela,” which is the traditional homeland of the Yanomami people (Schultes 125). Within Waika communities, snuff use is not restricted to just ceremonial and religious events, but is also used on a daily basis by individuals. The individuals allowed to ingest Virola, however, are limited to males of the community over the age of 13 or 14, as the use of the snuff is prescribed and controlled according to social law. The Yanomami Indians live in egalitarian villages and collectively number about 25,000, making them the largest indigenous group of people in South America. They clear areas of the rainforest for the farming of crops like plantains and yucca and also hunt and gather for survival. Their ties to the land and reliance upon a volatile food supply have influenced the development of shamanism in this region, a very naturalistic religious ideology which is often associated with hunter-gatherer societies.
22
Figure 5-2. Snuffing Paraphernalia
Ingestion Ingestion of V. theiodora is done primarily through snuffing, which involves the inhalation of a substance through the nose. Inhalation is often done using a pipe or straw-like tool made of bone or shell where one person blows the snuff inside the tube into the nose of another person. (See Figure 5-2) Each dose is usually about a teaspoon worth of the Virola mixture, and is traditionally snorted three times in short intervals about ten to fifteen minutes apart. Drinking of another psychoactive infusion, called ayahuasca, also regularly accompanies the use of Virola snuffs, although the reasons for this are not clear.
23 Religious Use The religious uses of both Virola, and the third plant I will discuss, peyote, is found within the context of shamanism. According to the book Anthropology and Religion by Robert Winzeler, “cultural anthropologist Weston La Barre has sought to link the origin of religion with shamanism and hallucinogenic experience. He thinks both can be traced with relative certainty to the Mesolithic and probably to the earlier Upper Paleolithic” (Winzeler 56). Like La Barre, I am of the mind that religion as we understand it today could have arisen from hallucinogenic drug use among hunter-gatherer communities. Though psychoactive drug use has not been a part of every shamanistic tradition, trance flights and the use of altered states of consciousness are universal trademarks. While the origins of religion are not certain, animism and shamanism are known to be the oldest forms of religious belief. The foundations of these systems, which are said to be at least twenty or thirty thousand years old, came about with a belief in souls (Harner 40). While no one can ever be certain of the origins of belief in souls, it may have been a product of dreams, mental illness, hallucinogenic drug use, or experiences with sickness and death. One possible explanation for how humans came to believe in souls relates directly to the effects of certain hallucinogenic drugs on the central nervous system. Macropsia is a visual effect caused by many psychotropic drugs that makes objects appear larger than they actually are. The swelling of particular objects, coupled with the extraordinary altered state of consciousness brought on by the drug, may have inclined users to believe that there was something more to whatever they were seeing. This may have elicited the first belief in a new aspect inherent in all objects - a soul. Animism is the belief that all things have souls, including not only plants, animals, and humans, but also inanimate objects and parts of the natural landscape. Animistic beliefs animate the world and are closely tied to nature. They promote respect for the environment, which is why this type of belief system is typical of hunter-gatherer societies whose livelihoods depend on the plants and animals in the surrounding environments. Viewed through animistic lenses, humans, plants, animals, and other natural phenomena become connected and the boundaries between them are blurred. Plants and animals are believed to be equal to humans, and are often given distinguished roles in myth, cosmology, and spiritual philosophy. Figure 5-3 depicts an interpretation of the organization of the universe by an Amazonian shaman. Nearly every realm is associated with an animal (parrot, frog, vulture) or another natural element such as water, rainbows, wind, the sun, or the moon, and is often based on the particular qualities of the animal or object. As demonstrated by this image, in an animistic system of belief, nature is the central
24 means through which the world and ones place within the world are quantified and understood. This nature based ideology, taken one step further, can develop into shamanism.
Figure 5-3. Amazonian Cosmos Organization
Shamanism, like animism, involves a nature-inspired worldview involving the souls of plants and animals, but it is different in that shamans seek to harness the powers in the spirits of plants and animals to better serve and protect the community. For shaman, the relationships between humans and every aspect of their natural environment are crucial. The spirits of ancestors, plants, and animals are believed to interact with humans on a constant basis, some
25 causing sickness, ill will, or death, while others are credited with supplying food, water, and other blessings of life. It is the job of the shaman to navigate the spirit world in order to achieve a balance and harmony between all realms of existence. For the Yanomami, hallucinogenic experiences are a crucial part of religion and spirituality. However, because Virola-based snuffs are used almost every day, the distinctions between the religious and the secular and the scared and profane can be ambiguous. It seems that the spirit-filled world and very special Virola experience create a nearly completely sacred existence for the Yanomami. When everything has a spirit or a supernatural component, nothing is profane or ordinary. While there are ceremonies where Virola is used to call upon spirits, the use of this drug is for the most part informal. (See Figure 5-4) During harvest ceremonies and other rites of passage, snuffs, called yakoana, are used in a more celebratory manner and are often accompanied by music, dancing, and singing. For our purposes here, however, the use of Virola for shamanistic healing rituals among the Yanomami is the most important.
Figure 5-4. Yanomami Men Using Virola Snuff
In order to become a recognized shaman in the community, one must go through an intense initiation where Virola snuffs are used for many days under the watch of older shamans. During this time, one learns how to see and recognize different spirits, called xapiripe, and how to communicate with each. The honing of spirit communication skills continues throughout the life of a shaman, and each soul-journey reinforces the bond with the spirit world. Soul-journeys are taken primarily when someone in the community is very ill, as the main purpose of shamanism among the Yanomami is to heal. In the event of a sickness among the group, the shaman is first dosed with the hallucinogenic Virola snuff, and rhythmic chanting begins to help him enter a trance state. Once in a trance, the shaman is believed to leave his body and enter the spirit world, ascending to the upper world in the sky or the lower realm underground (Winzeler 208). The shaman must recognize and overtake whichever hostile spirits are
26 responsible for the malady which has perturbed the earthly victim. This is where spirit guardians and the powers of spirit helpers become vital, for the collective power of the shaman and all of his helper spirits is necessary to fight off malevolent spirits. The particular spirits which a shaman calls upon are dependent upon the shaman himself. Each shaman has a power animal which is believed to choose him to complement his individual qualities. A shaman may favor a particular animal or natural element which he becomes aligned with. If the shaman is powerful enough, he can conquer the evil spirit and restore the health of the inflicted person in his community. This type of healing using spirit is found in every shamanistic tradition and is a way to not only communicate with ancestors and the supernatural and help the community, but also a way to interpret the world and cope with the external stresses of everyday life.
27 Chapter 6
Peyote (Lophophora williamsii)
Taxonomy Kingdom: Plantae Division: Angiospermae (flowering plants) Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales Family: Cactaceae (cactus family) Genus: Lophophora Species: williamsii
“But the man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out.”
- Aldous Huxley
28 Geographical Description The peyote cactus is found primarily throughout southwestern Texas and north central Mexico. Like all cacti, peyote thrives in dry and sunny conditions, especially those of the Chihuahuan Desert region, which is bordered on both sides by the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental mountain ranges. Lophophora wiliamsii is usually found at higher elevations and often in sandy soil near limestone, which provides the basic pH soil conditions the plant enjoys.
Figure 6-1. Map of Peyote Distribution and Home of the Huichol
29 The shaded area in Figure 6-1 represents the distribution of peyote throughout the southern United States and northern Mexico. The large black star represents the traditional homelands of the Huichol Indians, commonly called “the peyote tribe” of Mexico, who embark on an annual pilgrimage to collect peyote. The black arrow roughly represents the direction and distance traveled by the Huichol during their annual peyote pilgrimage.
Physical Description Pictured in Figure 6-2, the peyote cactus is small, spineless, grayish-green, and has one or more dome shaped crowns. The crown of the plant is called a button, which is the psychoactive part of the plant. These buttons are commonly referred to as ‘mescal buttons’ because of the high concentrations of the psychoactive alkaloid mescaline found in them. Peyote is a very hardy plant and can endure in almost any conditions, but humid environments are required initially for the plant to germinate. L. williamsii is extremely slow growing and it can take up to thirty years to mature and flower in the wild. When mature, the cactus blooms from March to September, and light pink flowers sprout from the center of the crown of the plant.
Figure 6-2. The Peyote Cactus
30 Chemical Description The active psychoactive ingredient found in peyote is the alkaloid mescaline. The discovery of mescaline was made in 1897 by a German pharmacologist named Arthur Heffter. Heffters isolation of mescaline was the first natural hallucinogenic substance to ever be isolated (Anderson 138). There over fifty-five other alkaloids present in the peyote plant, but only mescaline has been shown to produce the effects associated with peyote ingestion. Mescaline comprises only about 1% of the dried peyote plant, which is why several buttons are considered one dose.
History Discovery Peyote and its use among indigenous peoples was first discovered by the Spanish conquistadores who arrived in Mexico in the sixteenth century. The use of peyote in religion was firmly established by the time of the Spanish Conquest and has persisted despite Spanish and other European attempts at Christianization. Specifically, the use of peyote in Huichol culture was first documented by anthropologist Carl Lumholtz in the early twentieth century. Peyote has also been found at the archaeological excavations in Texas and northern Mexico. Some samples have been dated to almost six thousand years ago, making peyote the oldest known New World hallucinogenic used for religious purposes. The early discovery of peyote and its popularity among Native American Indians has made peyote one of the most well known and most studied plant drugs on the planet.
Harvest and Preparation Because peyote is slow growing and is harvested at such a high volume, many techniques have arisen to help with propagation. While peyote can reproduce sexually via their flowers and can be grown from seeds, traditional users and growers commonly use grafting and regenerative means to procure peyote. Grafting involves cutting off a part of the peyote plant and inserting it into a slit of another faster growing plant where it will continue to grow. This process often triples or quadruples the rate at which the plant grows (Anderson 179). Another means of harvesting peyote involves cutting the buttons of the plant off at a precise distance above the roots. If this is done correctly, the cut roots will callus and then eventually produce more buttons. This method is used by the Huichol Indians because it is the easiest way to ensure an annual supply of peyote for
31 their religious ceremonies. Despite these relatively new methods of peyote harvesting, however, L. williamsii is still considered an endangered species. Preparation for the ingestion of peyote can vary. The Huichol, for instance, simply eat the fresh peyote after it has been harvested. Another common preparation involves drying the buttons, then cutting them up or grinding them into a powder for immediate or future use. Others boil the buttons in water and create a psychotropic tea. Unlike many other plant drugs, such as the kava plant and Virola tree which require certain preparations in order to obtain maximum results, no preparation of peyote is known to cause more or less of the desired effects (Ratsch 328).
Effects By far the most characteristic effect of peyote intoxication is the brightly colored, kaleidoscopic hallucinations typical of all mescaline ingestion. Hallucinations begin about thirty minutes to an hour after ingestion and are usually geometric in nature and get more complex during the duration of the experience. Common hallucinations involve honeycombs, lattices, tunnels, funnels, and spiral-like images which are usually symmetrical and repeating. (See Figure 6-3) Other effects of the peyote plant are similar to LSD and are described to be experienced in two stages. The first stage is called ‘the hangover before the intoxication’ because it involves many negative effects such as vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and sweating which can last several hours (Anderson 83). The second phase is much more agreeable and is characterized by a feeling of euphoria and elation. In this phase, psychological effects can include illusions of grandeur, contemplative moods, heightened senses, a perceived loss or lack of time, and a distortion of the senses called synesthesia, where the stimulation of one sense results in the sensation in another sense. Synesthesia, a mixing of the senses, might cause one to immediately see or think of a certain color after hearing a certain sound. Physiological effects can include dilated pupils, occasional tremors, muscle twitching, and incoordination. The effects of peyote have been documented by many others after becoming popular in the United States in the 1960’s. Most notably, Aldous Huxley published his experiences while under the effects of mescaline in his book The Doors of Perception. Through the testimonies of Huxley, Leary, and others, the infective nature of the effects of peyote and other hallucinogenic drugs has incited the spread of these drugs from traditional Huichol culture to nearly all of North America.
32
Figure 6-3. Types of Hallucinations
Users The number of Native American Indians who still use peyote for religious rites is quite large despite the fact that its use had been discouraged over the course of history and made illegal in many places. The oldest peyote traditions are found in Mexico among the Cora, Tarahumara, and Huichol cultures. I will focus on the religious use of the peyote cactus of the Huichol because they have been the subject of the majority of ethnographic studies on traditional peyote use, and because it was these people that influenced others to adopt peyotism, which eventually spread throughout most of the rest of North America.
33 The Huichol today number about 20,000 and live in the western Sierra Madre Occidental mountains near the Pacific Coast of Mexico (Davis 323). They are a farming people known for their beautiful artwork. The Huichol executed a deliberate isolation in the face of the Spanish Conquest, and have thus retained their traditional culture in a way not many groups have been able to do. It is the intact peyote-influenced religious and societal traditions of the Huichol which make them such an interesting case study in the discussion of the religious uses of peyote.
Ingestion For the Huichol, peyote is nearly always eaten raw during the peyote pilgrimage. Upon locating the peyote cactus, five pilgrims circle around the plant. The number five is a sacred number in Huichol culture and represents the five-pointed deer and the five sacred colors of maize. The cactus is then cut off just above the root and cut into five pieces. Offerings are put in a ritual fire in exchange for the taking of the peyote. During this ritual fire, according to the book Peyote: The Divine Cactus, “the pilgrims pass fresh portions of peyote which they touch to their foreheads, eyes, throats, and hearts before placing it in their mouths and eating it” (Anderson 18). Anywhere from four to thirty bitter-tasting buttons can be consumed in one sitting, and during the pilgrimage, dosing is done every night for up to three nights.
Religious Use As with the Yanomami Indians of Amazonia, the Huichol Indians of Mexico also have a shamanistic religious tradition. In both regions, hallucinogenic drug use is a fundamental ritual, but while the Yanomami use Virola as a supplementary tool to access the spirit world, for the Huichols, the spiritual world is actually in part based on the peyote cactus itself. Huichol Indian spirituality is oriented around a symbol complex called the deer-maize- peyote trinity. This complex infiltrates every aspect of Huichol life, creating an incredibly spiritual existence by obscuring the delineation between the sacred and profane, a similar phenomenon as is found among the Yanomami. The three units that comprise the basis of Huichol symbolism have been extracted from the environment and represent the three most important things for survival. They are interrelated in a very complex way. While in one sense peyote, maize, and deer are believed to be one in the same, peyote and maize are often described as having originated from the forehead or antler of a deer, and peyote is thought to have been the original ear of maize. These concepts are mutually reinforcing and bound to nature. Edward
34 Anderson, the author of Peyote: The Divine Cactus believes that the “sacred peyote-deer-corn trinity represents the main stages of unrecorded Huichol history, with the peyote and deer symbolizing their hunting-gathering period, and the maize the more recent agricultural stage” (Anderson 15). Peyote, deer and maize symbols are also frequently found in the famously rich and beautiful yarn and bead art of the Huichol people. One such yarn painting containing all three of these important elements is shown in Figure 6-4 below. Overall, these three items create the foundation upon which Huichol art, history, spirituality, and ritual is based.
Figure 6-4. Traditional Huichol Yarn Painting Depicting the Deer-Maize-Peyote Trinity
Besides the symbol complex, the Huichols worship a number of deities that are all personified objects found in nature. Most are assigned some sort of kinship term such as mother, father, or brother. Grandfather Fire is the central deity and was the first shaman of the Huichol people. Deer, peyote, maize, and other staple foods are seen as gifts from the gods, and
35 ceremonies must be conducted before every harvest to thank them. There are many other Huichol ceremonies as well. Some are done to ensure enough rain for crops to grow, others for each of the four seasons. The most famous Huichol ceremonies, however, are those associated with the peyote pilgrimage. The peyote pilgrimage is done every year in October when dozens of Huichol pilgrims of all ages trek nearly three hundred miles to their ancestral homelands near the village of Real de Catorce in south central Mexico. This pilgrimage is done by the Huichol to “ensure adequate rains, good crops, health, and happiness for themselves and the others within the tribe” and to collect enough peyote to use for the year (Anderson 16).
Figure 6-5. Huichol Shaman in Traditional Dress
Before setting out on their journey, every pilgrim goes through a purification ritual and prayers and sacrifices are offered into a ritual fire symbolizing the power and will of Grandfather Fire. Setting off with lighted candles, the pilgrims carry gourds full of water and tobacco and sacks to be filled with peyote. During the pilgrimage, sexual abstinence and fasting are mandated. Upon reaching the destination called Wirikuta, the land where peyote grows, and locating the first
36 peyote cactus, symbolic arrows are shot in a circle around the plant and pilgrims assemble around the plant. The cactus is cut up and ingested immediately, followed by a ritual fire ceremony involving offerings, prayers, dancing, and singing. This cycle of locating plants, eating them, and gathering around a ritual fire to celebrate and rejoice in the peyote harvest is repeated for up to three days. After this, pilgrims gather up all of the peyote they have collected and head home, participating in a ritual deer hunt on the way to ensure enough rains for the next season’s crop harvest. As you can see, there is a delicate web of meaning and ritual connected to the sacred peyote-deer-maize symbol complex found in Huichol beliefs. All three aspects are necessary to secure and protect the others and ensure good health and harmony for the community. The peyote pilgrimage especially incorporates all three pillars in a unique and important way. While the shaman is not the only one who eats the peyote buttons, he provides the chants and invocations necessary to communicate with the many Huichol gods, especially Grandfather Fire, and leads the peyote pilgrimage and accompanying ceremonies. In Vanuatu, Mexico, the Amazon Basin, and around the world, psychoactive plants are anything but mundane. They supply visions and ecstatic experiences that cannot be attained in any other way. They are often the foundations of religious culture and determine relationships and rituals throughout the world. The Huichol ‘peyote cult’ provides one of the best examples of this idea. Theirs is one culture which is completely oriented around and dependent upon hallucinations and the effects of one special psychoactive cactus.
37 Chapter 7
Discussion When psychoactive drugs are adopted by a group of people, the implications can be vast both within and outside of a religious context. All three psychoactive drugs I have discussed have secular uses. All are used medicinally in some capacity, whether directly or indirectly. Kava is used to treat many medical issues from skin diseases to chills to headaches, even to provoke abortions (Lebot 113). Virola is also used to treat skin diseases, and peyote has been used as enemas to treat fevers, sliced to treat sunstroke or headaches, and as an antidote for scorpion stings (Ratsch 333). All three have also been known to be used therapeutically to relieve psychological stress. While many medicinal uses of psychoactive are a product of folk medicine traditions, some of the healing effects have been verified by science. The chemical components of kava have analgesic numbing effects, bactericidal properties that can be harnessed to treat infections, and diuretic effects that can help with gonorrhea. The Virola tree has been shown to have antifungal properties useful for infections. Peyote is reportedly a very effective respiratory stimulant that can help with breathing difficulties, and can be useful as an antispasmodic (to calm spasms). One pair of doctors concluded after testing that “In addition to the uses mentioned, we would suggest the advisability of the use of mescal buttons as an antispasmodic in other conditions in which this class of remedies is indicated, such as hysterical manifestations, spasmodic asthma, convulsions” (Anderson 113). This particular example and other tests done with psychoactive drugs indicate that although the use of psychoactive plant drugs is often restricted legally and morally, many of them have legitimate medicinal uses. Outside the medical sphere, psychotropic plants are also sometimes used in a secular way to achieve different ends. For example, kava is commonly given as a gift to promote good will in many varied types of situations, and Virola is used by many South American Indian tribes as an arrow poison. These and other non-religious uses of plant drugs are common; however, these types of drugs which produce altered states of consciousness always seem to find their way into religion and spirituality. As discussed earlier, some attribute the origins of religion and the belief in souls to visions and mental states induced by drugs. The fact is that the drug experience is by definition extra-ordinary. It takes one to places unreachable and unfathomable under normal circumstances. Hallucinations add yet another fantastic element, allowing drug users to see and hear things never thought possible and motivating them to become actively involved in their otherworldly
38 experience. Some, myself included, would say that man is innately apprehensive and yet curious about the mysterious. As a species, it seems we have always been trying to categorize and make sense of everything, and those things which we cannot figure out enchant and taunt us. Hallucinogenic drug experiences open the mind and provide opportunities to understand and come to terms with unanswerable questions. In this way, drugs can serve a very important function by helping one cope with the unrest generated by the unknown and uncontrollable. Those who have not experienced the altered states of consciousness, moods, and feelings associated with psychedelic drugs may be reluctant to admit the importance of drugs in providing religious inspiration, but keep in mind that much of the Hebrew Bible and all of the Quran came as a result of auditory and visual revelations from God (Paper 36). While drug use, especially hallucinogenic drug use, is often looked upon as immoral and dangerous, it is important not to judge drug use, especially within the context of religion. For the most part the taboos against drugs are socially implemented but are not always justified. The majority of commonly used psychotropic plant drugs are not physically or mentally dangerous or addictive when used properly and there is nothing inherently wrong with using drugs. In fact, I would argue the exact opposite, that controlled hallucinogenic drug use is a very natural action that usually yields favorable results within individuals, communities, and religion. I am not saying that all drugs are good, because not all are. Some plant drugs are lethal and many synthetic drugs are extremely addictive and have severe deleterious effects on the mind and body, but drugs proven safe over time, such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin mushrooms, can truly enhance the human experience if used with care. As evidenced by my discussion of peyote, kava, and virola, I am not alone in my thinking.
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“Vanuatu.” The World Factbook. CIA, 2010. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nh.html>. Vitebksy, Piers. The Shaman. London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 1995. Print. Winzeler, Robert L. Anthropology and Religion. Lanhan: Altamira Press, 2008. Print. 41 ACADEMIC VITAE Rachel Hanson Current Address 818 Old Boalsburg Road # 2 State College, PA 16801 Permanent Address 623 Picket Way West Chester, PA 19382 Email [email protected] Thesis Title An Anthropological Look at How the Environment and the Use of Select Psychoactive Plants Influence Indigenous Religious Beliefs in the New World Thesis Adviser Dr. Timothy Ryan Education Pennsylvania State University (Fall 2007 – Spring 2010) State College, PA Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology Minor in Religious Studies Honors in Anthropology and Religious Studies University of Vermont (Fall 2006 – Spring 2007) Burlington, VT Work Experience Red Lobster (October 2008 – May 2010) State College, PA Server Nittany Lion Inn (August 2008 - November 2008) State College, PA Server Scholastic Distinctions Schreyer Honors College (Fall 2008 – Spring 2010) Pennsylvania State University Dean’s List (Fall 2007 – Spring 2010) Jane E. Cooper Campus Honors Program (Fall 2007 – Spring 2008) Roberts & Rieder Scholarship (Spring 2009) Activities PSU Anthropology Club (Fall 2008 – Spring 2009) UVM University Concert Choir (Spring 2007) UVM Catamount Dance Team (Fall 2006 – Spring 2007) Founder of Nightwatch UVM’s First Astronomy Club (September 2006)