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Ayahuasca: An Ancient Brew for Spiritual Revelations
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic brew of various psychoactive infusions or
decoctions prepared with the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. It is either mixed with
the leaves of dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-containing species of shrubs from the
genus Psychotria or with the leaves of the Justicia pectoralis plant which
doesn't contain DMT. The brew, first described academically in the early 1950s
by Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, who found it employed for
divinatory and healing purposes by the native peoples of Amazonian Peru, is
known by a number of different names.
It has been reported that some effects can be had from consuming the caapi vine
alone, but that DMT-containing plants (such as Psychotria) remain inactive when
drunk as a brew without a source of monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as
B. caapi. How indigenous peoples discovered the synergistic properties of the
plants used in the ayahuasca brew remains unclear. While many indigenous
Amazonian people say they received the instructions directly from plants and
plant spirits, researchers have devised a number of alternative theories to
explain its discovery.
People who have consumed ayahuasca report having spiritual revelations regarding
their purpose on earth, the true nature of the universe as well as deep insight
into how to be the best person they possibly can. This is viewed by many as a
spiritual awakening and what's often described as a rebirth. In addition it is
often reported that individuals can gain access to higher spiritual dimensions
and make contact with various spiritual or extra dimensional beings who can act
as guides or healers.
It's nearly always said that people experience profound positive changes in
their life subsequent to consuming ayahuasca and it is often viewed as one of
the most effective tools of enlightenment.
However, during an ayahuasca experience, people sometimes report nausea, diarrhea, and cold flashes. Additionally, vomiting can follow ayahuasca
ingestion; this purging is considered by many shamans and experienced users of
ayahuasca to be an essential part of the experience as it represents the release
of negative energy and emotions built up over the course of one's life. Further,
the ingestion of ayahuasca can cause significant, but temporary emotional and
psychological distress. There are many reports of miraculous physical as well as
emotional and spiritual healing resulting from the use of ayahuasca. Long-term
negative effects are not known.
For various reasons shamans and experienced users of ayahuasca strongly advise
against consuming ayahuasca when not in the presence of one or several
well-trained shamans. It is believed that one of the core functions of a shaman
is to provide a kind of spiritual protection that keeps negative entities away.
This includes not only spirits but other shamans referred to as brujos who
practice a form of shamanic witchcraft and can enter the space and attempt to
harm people having consumed ayahuasca. Additionally, these brujos often
masquerade as real shamans enticing tourists to drink ayahuasca in their
presence. Real shamans believe one of the purposes for this is to steal ones
energy and or power, which they believe every person has a stockpile of.
It
is believed to be very important for individuals seeking an ayahuasca experience
to find a reputable shaman before hastily drinking with anyone who claims to be
a shaman or offers one ayahuasca. Finally there are a number of substances that
when taken in conjunction with ayahuasca can cause symptoms that range from
intense sickness to even death, in very rare cases. This is due to the MAOI that
is present in the Banisteriopsis Caapi vine. Notably in this category is
anything that has been aged, such as aged cheeses or meats, ripe fruits, and
alcohol. Certain pharmaceutical drugs can cause dangerous reactions when
consumed in relativity with ayahuasca. Any anti-anxiety or antidepressant
medication should strictly be avoided for at least one week before and after an
ayahuasca ceremony. It is recommended that if you are taking any medications
that you consult your doctor well in advance.
 Ayahuasca is known by many names throughout Northern South America and Brazil.
Ayahuasca is the Hispanicized spelling of a word in the Quechua languages, which
are spoken in the Andean states of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia.
Speakers of Quechua languages or of the Aymara language may prefer the spelling
ayawaska. This word refers both to the vine Banisteriopsis caapi, and to the
healing brew prepared from it. In the Quechua languages, aya means "spirit", and
waska means "vine". The word ayahuasca has been variously translated as "vine of
the soul", "vine of the dead", and "spirit vine".
In Brazil, the brew and the vine are informally called either caapi or cip�; the
latter is the Portuguese word for liana (or woody climbing vine). In the Uni�o
do Vegetal of Brazil, an organised spiritual tradition in which people drink
ayahuasca, the brew is prepared exclusively from B. caapi and P. viridis.
Adherents of Uni�o do Vegetal call this brew hoasca or vegetal. In the Tucanoan
languages it is called yag� or yaj� (both pronounced [ja'he]). The Achuar people
and Shuar people of Ecuador and Peru call it natem, whereas the Sharanahua
peoples of Peru call it shori.
Harmala alkaloids are MAO-inhibiting beta-carbolines. The three most studied
harmala alkaloids in the B. caapi vine are harmine, harmaline and
tetrahydroharmine. Harmine and harmaline are selective and reversible inhibitors
of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), while tetrahydroharmine is a weak serotonin
reuptake inhibitor (SRI). This inhibition of MAO-A allows DMT to diffuse
unmetabolized past the membranes in the stomach and small intestine, and
eventually cross the blood�brain barrier (which, by itself, requires no MAO-A
inhibition) to activate receptor sites in the brain. Without RIMAs or the MAOI
of MAO-A, DMT would be oxidised (and thus rendered biologically inactive) by
monoamine oxidase enzymes in the digestive tract.
Individual polymorphisms in the cytochrome P450-2D6 enzyme affect the ability of
individuals to metabolize harmine. Some natural tolerance to habitual use of
ayahuasca (roughly once weekly) may develop through upregulation of the
serotonergic system. A phase 1 pharmacokinetic study on ayahuasca (as Hoasca)
with 15 volunteers was conducted in 1993, during the Hoasca Project. A review of
the Hoasca Project has been published.
Sections of Banisteriopsis caapi vine are macerated and boiled alone or with
leaves from any of a number of other plants, including Psychotria viridis (chacruna)
or Diplopterys cabrerana (also known as chaliponga). The resulting brew contains
the powerful psychedelic drug DMT and MAO inhibiting harmala alkaloids, which
are necessary to make the DMT orally active.
Brews can also be made with no DMT-containing plants; Psychotria viridis being
substituted by plants such as Justicia pectoralis, Brugmansia, or sacred
tobacco, also known as Mapacho (Nicotiana rustica), or sometimes left out with
no replacement. The potency of this brew varies radically from one batch to the
next, both in potency and psychoactive effect, based mainly on the skill of the
shaman or brewer, as well as other admixtures sometimes added and the intent of
the ceremony. Natural variations in plant alkaloid content and profiles also
affect the final concentration of alkaloids in the brew, and the physical act of
cooking may also serve to modify the alkaloid profile of harmala alkaloids.
Traditional ayahuasca brews are often made with Banisteriopsis caapi as an MAOI,
although Dimethyltryptamine sources and other admixtures vary from region to
region. There are several varieties of caapi, often known as different "colors",
with varying effects, potencies, and uses.
Common admixtures with their associated ceremonial values and spirits:
Ayahuma bark: Dead Head Tree. Provides protection and is used in healing
susto (soul loss from spiritual fright or trauma). Head spirit is a headless
giant.
Capirona bark: Provides cleansing and protection. It is noted for its
smooth bark, white flowers, and hard wood. Head spirits look Caucasian.
Chullachaki Caspi bark (Brysonima christianeae): Provides cleansing to the
physical body. Used to transcend physical body ailments. Head spirits look
Caucasian.
Lopuna Blanca bark: Provides protection. Head spirits take the form of
giants.
Punga Amarilla bark: Yellow Punga. Provides protection. Used to pull or
draw out negative spirits or energies. Head spirit is the yellow anaconda.
 Remo Caspi bark: Oar Tree. Used to move dense or dark energies. Head
spirit is a native warrior.
Wyra (huaira) Caspi bark (Cedrelinga catanaeformis): Air Tree. Used to
create purging, transcend gastro/intestinal ailments, calm the mind, and bring
tranquility. Head spirit looks African.
Shiwawaku bark: Brings purple medicine to the ceremony. Provides healing
and protection.
Camu camu Gigante: Head spirit comes in the form of a large dark skinned
giant. He provides medicine and protection in the form of warding off dark and
demonic spirits.
Tamamuri: Head spirit looks like an old Asian warrior with a long white
wispy beard. He carries a staff and manages thousands of spirits to protect the
ceremony and send away energies that are purged from the participants.
Uchu Sanango: Head of the sanango plants. Provides power, strength, and
protection. Head doctor spirit is a grandfather with a long, gray-white beard.
Huacapurana: Giant tree of the Amazon with very hard bark. Its head
spirits come in the form of Amazonian giants and provide a strong grounding
presence in the ceremony.
Ayahuasca is used largely as a religious sacrament. Users of ayahuasca in
non-traditional contexts often align themselves with the philosophies and
cosmologies associated with ayahuasca shamanism, as practiced among indigenous
peoples like the Urarina of Peruvian Amazonia. While non-native users know of
the spiritual applications of ayahuasca, a less well-known traditional usage
focuses on the medicinal properties of ayahuasca. When used for its medicinal
purposes ayahuasca affects the human consciousness for less than six hours,
beginning half an hour after consumption, and peaking after two hours. Ayahuasca
also has cardiovascular effects, moderately increasing both heart rate and
diastolic blood pressure. In some cases, individuals experience significant
psychological stress during the experience. It is for this reason that extreme
caution should be taken with those who may be at risk of heart disease.
The psychedelic effects of ayahuasca include visual and auditory stimulation,
the mixing of sensory modalities, and psychological introspection that may lead
to great elation, fear, or illumination. Its purgative properties are important
(known as la purga or "the purge"). The intense vomiting and occasional diarrhea
it induces can clear the body of worms and other tropical parasites, and harmala
alkaloids themselves have been shown to be anthelmintic Thus, this action is
twofold; a direct action on the parasites by these harmala alkaloids
(particularly harmine in ayahuasca) works to kill the parasites, and parasites
are expelled through the increased intestinal motility that is caused by these
alkaloids.
Dietary taboos are often associated with the use of ayahuasca. In the
rainforest, these tend towards the purification of one's self � abstaining from
spicy and heavily-seasoned foods, excess fat, salt, caffeine, acidic foods (such
as citrus) and sex before, after, or during a ceremony. A diet low in foods
containing tyramine has been recommended, as the speculative interaction of
tyramine and MAOIs could lead to a hypertensive crisis. However, evidence
indicates that harmala alkaloids act only on MAO-A, in a reversible way similar
to moclobemide (an antidepressant that does not require dietary restrictions).
Dietary restrictions are not used by the highly urban Brazilian ayahuasca church
Uni�o do Vegetal, suggesting the risk is much lower than perceived, and probably
non-existent.
In some areas, it is even said that the chakruna or chaliponga admixtures are
added only to make the brew taste sweeter. This is a strong indicator of the
often wildly divergent intentions and cultural differences between the native
ayahuasca-using cultures and psychedelics enthusiasts in other countries.
A visitor who wishes to become a "dietero" or "dietera", that is, a male or
female apprentice-shaman learning the way of the teacher plants, undergoes a
rigorous initiation. This can involve spending up to a year or more in the
jungle. This initiation challenges and trains the initiate through extreme
circumstances involving a special diet and numerous different plant medicines to
complement the ayahuasca, the lack of western food and conveniences, the harsh
environmental conditions of heavy rains, storms, intense heat, insects, and
venomous animals. The initiate is also tested for their unwavering commitment to
ayahuasca and the shaman who oversees the training.
Around the end of the 1990s, ayahuasca use spread to Europe. The first ayahuasca
'Churches', affiliated with the Brazilian Santo Daime, were established in the
Netherlands. A legal case was filed against two of the Church's leaders, Hans
Bogers (one of the original founders of the Dutch Santo Daime community) and
Geraldine Fijneman (the head of the Amsterdam Santo Daime community). Bogers and
Fijneman were charged with distributing a controlled substance (DMT); however,
the prosecution was unable to prove that the use of ayahuasca by members of the
Santo Daime constituted a sufficient threat to public health and order that it
warranted denying their rights to religious freedom under ECHR Article 9. The
2001 verdict of the Amsterdam district court is an important precedent. Since
then groups that are not affiliated to the Santo Daime have used ayahuasca, and
a number of different 'styles' have been developed, such as the non-religious
approach developed by Daniel Waterman in 2001, popularly termed Ayahuasca Open
Style (AOS).
In modern Europe and North America, ayahuasca analogues are often prepared using
non-traditional plants which contain the same alkaloids. For example, seeds of
the Syrian rue plant can be used as a substitute for the ayahuasca vine, and the
DMT-rich Mimosa hostilis is used in place of chakruna. Australia has several
indigenous plants which are popular among modern ayahuasqueros there, such as
various DMT-rich species of Acacia.
The name 'ayahuasca' specifically refers to a botanical decoction that contains
Banisteriopsis caapi. A synthetic version, known as pharmahuasca is a
combination of an appropriate MAOI and typically DMT. In this usage, the DMT is
generally considered the main psychoactive active ingredient, while the MAOI
merely preserves the psychoactivity of orally ingested DMT, which would
otherwise be destroyed in the gut before it could be absorbed in the body. Thus,
ayahuasqueros and most others working with the brew maintain that the B. caapi
vine is the defining ingredient, and that this beverage is not ayahuasca unless
B. caapi is in the brew. The vine is considered to be the "spirit" of ayahuasca,
the gatekeeper and guide to the other worldly realms.
 Charles Grob directed the first major study of the effects of ayahuasca on
humans with the Hoasca Project in 1993."The Hoasca Project", maps.org The
project studied members of the Uni�o do Vegetal (UDV) church in Brazil who use
hoasca as a sacrament. The Institute of Medical Psychology at the University
Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany has set up a Research Department Ayahuasca /
Santo Daime, which in May 2008 held a 3-day conference under the title The
globalization of Ayahuasca � An Amazonian psychoactive and its users. There are
also the investigations of the human pharmacology of ayahuasca done by Jordi
Riba and the work of Rafael G. dos Santos
Internationally, DMT is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic
Substances. The Commentary on the Convention on Psychotropic Substances notes,
however, that the plants containing it are not subject to international control:
The cultivation of plants from which psychotropic substances are obtained is not
controlled by the Vienna Convention. . . . Neither the crown (fruit, mescal
button) of the Peyote cactus nor the roots of the plant Mimosa hostilis nor
Psilocybe mushrooms themselves are included in Schedule 1, but only their
respective principles, mescaline, DMT and psilocin.
A fax from the Secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board to the
Netherlands Ministry of Public Health sent in 2001 goes on to state that
"Consequently, preparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including
ayahuasca, are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to
any of the articles of the 1971 Convention."
The legal status in the United States of DMT-containing plants is somewhat
questionable. Ayahuasca plants and preparations are legal, as they contain no
scheduled chemicals. However, brews made using DMT containing plants are illegal
since DMT is a Schedule I drug. That said, some people are challenging this,
using arguments similar to those used by peyotist religious sects, such as the
Native American Church. A court case allowing the Uni�o do Vegetal to import and
use the tea for religious purposes in the United States, Gonzales v. O Centro
Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on
November 1, 2005; the decision, released February 21, 2006, allows the UDV to
use the tea in its ceremonies pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
In a similar case an Ashland, Oregon based Santo Daime church sued for their
right to import and consume ayahuasca tea. In March 2009, U.S. District Court
Judge Panner ruled in favor of the Santo Daime, acknowledging its protection
from prosecution under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Religious use in Brazil was legalized after two official inquiries into the tea
in the mid-1980s, which concluded that ayahuasca is not a recreational drug and
has valid spiritual uses. In France, Santo Daime won a court case allowing them
to use the tea in early 2005; however, they were not allowed an exception for
religious purposes, but rather for the simple reason that they did not perform
chemical extractions to end up with pure DMT and harmala and the plants used
were not scheduled. Four months after the court victory, the common ingredients
of ayahuasca as well as harmala were declared stup�fiants, or narcotic schedule
I substances, making the tea and its ingredients illegal to use or possess.
Additional resource:
Dated 19 September 2013
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