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Ayahuasca:

The Magical Brew of Amazonian Shamans

Shipibo shamans: Don Mariano (left) and Don Alfredo (right) during an Ayahuasca ceremony

Photo Credit: Francesco Sammarco

"Happy is he among men upon earth who has seen these mysteries..."

Homeric Hymn to Demeter

There are many local designations for the visionary and healing brew that goes under the common name of Ayahuasca. Yajé' or Yage' (in Colombia), Caapi, Hoasca or Daime (among Brazilian religious adepts), among the Shipibos it's Oni, among the "Amawaka" (Yora) Indians it's Oni xuma, the Ashaninka natives call it Kamarampi, whilst the Jibaros call it Natema. 

In Peru it is generally known as Ayahuasca - simplified Spanish rendering of the Quechua neologism Ayawaska or Ayawaskha. The word can be translated as "Rope-of-the-Soul", "Vine-of-the-Spirit", "Vine-of-the-Ancestor", or "Vine-of-the-Dead". It is - at once - the name given to the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and to the magic, mysterious and visionary concoction which has been used ritually - from immemorial time - by the indigenous people of the Amazon basin, specifically for prophecy, divination, telepathy, shape-shifting, cleansing, diagnosis of an illness, and also for healing. A shaman specialized in the use of Ayahuasca is known in Peru as an Ayahuasquero (or Ayahuascero).

We shall use throughout these pages the word ''ayahuasca'' (in lower cases) to refer to the actual vine specimen-s, and the word ''Ayahuasca'' (in upper cases) when referring to the homonymous brew or concoction prepared by the shamans.

Cooking of the Ayahuasca brew in the Amazon

The Ayahuasca brew - which has powerful consciousness-expanding properties, has strong antihelmintic effects (kills parasites) and is prepared by boiling for several hours (from six-eight to fourteen, depending on where and by whom it is made) the pounded, scraped stems of the Cielo Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) vine, together with the leaves of the Chacruna (Psychotria viridis) green shrub.

At times, many other plant ingredients too are added, the most common of which are usually the black jungle tobacco called Mapacho (Nicotiana tabacum/Nicotiana rustica), the leaves of the shrub Chagropanga (Diplopterys cabrerana), along with few leaves of the powerful Toe' (Brugmansia suavolens) plant.

Chagropanga - also known by the name of Ojo Yajé - and Huambisa (Diplopterys sp.) may be combined with, as as well as being a substitute of, the Chacruna plant in the making of the Ayahuasca drink.

Toe' - i.e. Brugmansia suavolens - a powerful plant additive to the Ayahuasca brew

Toe' - a plant of the Solanaceae family, somehow affiliated to the Datura - has beautiful bell-shaped flowers and is always used very sparingly by indigenous and mestizo shamans (vegetalistas) alike. It's a toxic plant which demands extreme care in preparations. Don Alfredo - being also a Toesero (i.e. a shaman specialized in working with Toe') - only add two leaves of Toe' in the Ayahuasca concoction he prepares, although actual quantities employed may vary from shaman to shaman.

 Ayahuasca cooking in the jungle

Each maestro has his or her own (often jealously and secretly kept) recipe, and hardly exist two which can be considered the same, for ingredients used, and time and way of cooking and preparing the brew. Don Mariano, for instance, interviewed by us on the topic, maintains that Ayahuasca can be prepared also with sugar (!!) or with honey, but that this will make the brew much stronger and more concentrated than normal, will deliver a strong intoxication, and therefore the quantity one would need to drink has to be very very little, almost tiny.

The power of the Ayahuasca medicine emanates from the bubble formations, according to Don Alfredo

The Chemistry

The Banisteriopsis caapi vine is a source of various harmala alkaloids (like harmine, harmaline, and others) once called Telepathine and  Banisterine - and all of which are monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI). The low percentage (0.3% to 1.2%) of harmala alkaloids present in the Banisteriopsis vine is not enough - taken on its own - to trigger psychotropic effects, which may otherwise be slightly experienced with the intake of an higher concentration.

The Psychotria viridis - on the other hand - is a botanical source of  Dimethyltryptamine (known as well as DMT and N,N-dimethyltryptamine), and is found and produced in small quantities also by our own brain.  DMT alone would not work - taken orally - without the intervention of the MAO inhibitors.

The power of the medicine - "el poder de la medicina" - according to Don Alfredo, resides in the bubble formations that are produced - and may be seen - during the brew boiling process.

Shipibo shaman Don Mariano pounding Ayahuasca vine cuts

The Brew: Plant Alchemy of the Amazon Basin

Of all identified species of  Banisteriopsis in the entire Amazon basin, the most common one used by the shamans and vegetalistas in Peru, is the Cielo ayahuasca variety, believed to induce heavenly visions (cielo means "heaven" in Spanish). It also goes under the name of Ayahuasca amarilla ("yellow ayahuasca", in Spanish). There is also an immense variety of recipes for the preparation of the brew, which have the purpose of enhancing the experience of  taking the Ayahuasca, boosting the mareacion (status of inebriation and intoxication following the drinking of the brew), in either length or quality/intensity, or both. Specifically, the Chagropanga (Diplopterys cabrerana), used more widely in the Colombian Amazon - is a powerful source of 5-MeO-DMT.

         Chacruna leaves layer                                      Pounded ayahuasca vine cuts layer

The essential ingredients of the brew in the Peruvian Amazon remain the ayahuasca vine and the leaves of the chacruna shrub.

The Ayahuasca brew - as prepared by Shipibo maestro Chono Tsoma, in Onanyan Shobo - contains these two essential ingredients, with the addition of Toe', Mapacho (black jungle tobacco) and Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) leaves. Chagropanga and Huambisa may also be added at times as a substitute for - or in addition to-  the the Chacruna,  to enhance the potency of the brew.

Shipibo shaman Don Mariano - being the very cautious and traditional maestro he is - maintains that using too many plant additives in the making of the concoction may not be the correct thing to do, as one would first need to properly diet with each and every one of these other plants, instead than taking them directly through the Ayahuasca brew without previous preparation. Doing otherwise - i.e. taking the shortcut of adding too many plants without "knowing" them first through a proper dieta - could only make the potential side effects of the brew stronger, and may only increase the mareacion (intoxication). Don Mariano contends that there is no intrinsic advantage in using other plants for the making of the brew, without having gone through a proper apprenticeship first, via the shamanic plant diet. However, in special cases, the brew can be made adding Sacha piña (Aechmea sp.) and Azucar huayo (Hymenaea sp.), among other plants.

    Don Alfredo attending the preparation of the Ayahuasca medicine

A beverage prepared with the Ayahuasca vine cuts alone wouldn't normally produce visions (just purging), and the same would happen if one was to take a concoction prepared with the chacruna plant on its own.  By means of an apparent very simple process - which reveals, however, at close range examination, an utterly sophisticated research and knowledge on side of the indigenous people who made first this discovery - the two plants prepared together work wonderfully in synergy and each one maximize the benefit of the other.

Ayahuasca and chacruna work synergetically not only on the biochemical plane - making possible the assimilation of the alkaloids otherwise attacked by the enzymes present in our digestive system - they are also believed to be, respectively, a "grandfather" and a "grandmother" plant spirit.

One may be blessed by wonderful visions and/or amazing revelations, without ever having hoped to see or know anything, whilst others yet may see nothing at all. Nothing is granted with Ayahuasca. Many factors - visible and invisible, ranging from one's own attitude, psycho-physical conditions and sensitivity, to the respect of the dietary prescriptions, to climatic conditions, to the icaros sang by the shamans, to changes in the electromagnetic field and even the moon, to quote a few - may contribute  in different degrees to the depth of the visionary experience given by the Ayahuasca medicine.

The Ayahuasca concoction almost ready, before being filtered

Ayahuasca & Medical Precautions: Click here

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 Ayahuasca brew being filtered

The Ayahuasca Diet

The avoiding of sexual intercourse and any form of sexual activity - from three days before, until three to five days after each Ayahuasca ceremony is of paramount importance, especially in light to preserve one's "distilled" sexual energy during the challenging, magical encounter with the Ayahuasca spirit.

Don Mariano - interviewed by us on this matter - maintained a rather "provocative" position: "la ayahuasca no se dieta antes, si no despues", that is: the Ayahuasca medicine is not to be dieted before [taking it], but after!

Equally important is refraining from pork meat and derivates (ham, bacon, prosciutto, pepperoni, salami, etc), for 15 days before your first ceremony, until at least 15 days after your last ceremony. You need to arrive at the ceremony in the most possible energetically pure conditions, in order to benefit the most from this experience.

Food to Avoid

Avoid altogether - for at least 12 hours before the Ayahuasca ceremony -  any food containing stimulants, caffeine, spices, chilli, fats, oil, salt and sugar. And please refrain from having any fermented stuff like Soya sauce/Tamari, Soya beans paste/curd (like miso or tofu), beer, vermouth wine, aged/mouldy cheese (cheddar, parmesan, Swiss cheese, blue cheese), yeast and all other food which is a potential source of tyramine, like mature avocados, eggplants, figs, grapes, pineapples, plums, raisins, prunes, broad beans, fava beans, lentils, peanuts, dried milk, sour cream, yoghurt, buttermilk, chocolate, Vegemite and sauerkraut. Taking foods containing tyramine in conjunction with monoamine oxidase inhibitors, can trigger hypertensive crisis and migraines.

We recommend to fast on the day of taking Ayahuasca, or else, to only have a light breakfast and a very light lunch, and - by all means - no dinner. It will be also much beneficial to drink plenty of water, on the day of drinking the purge, up until one hour before the ceremony begins. However, no water must be drunk during the Ayahuasca ceremony: doing so will only make the side effects of the medicine last longer, with no visionary effects. Remember that whatever food you may take on the day of the ceremony, will most certainly come out of your body via the "lower" or "upper" ways, after drinking the medicine.

 Ethnobotanical Garden Circuit in Onanyan Shobo

The Ayahuasca Journey

The "Shamanistic" v. "Psychonautic" Perspective

We support and fully embrace the traditional "shamanistic" view on Ayahuasca and plant spirit medicine, over and above the ''psychonautic" perspective which  lacks (in our humble view) the discipline, solidity and depth that a proper, traditional shamanic training and initiation in the jungle - with respected elder shamans as guides - would be able to offer one. The degree of depth of this experience will always be intrinsically dependent on your own tuning with the shamans' and the plant teachers' world, with intent, humbleness, respect and dedication.

Neither the Ayahuasca nor the Shamanic Plant Diet retreats have anything to do with a psychedelic adventure, and less so with an escape from the "reality" of our worldly affairs. To the contrary, these experiences are meant to consciously transform and enlighten people, for them to discover their inner nature, their position in the planet, to shed off what is not anymore necessary in their lives. We take Ayahuasca with the spirit of trappers in search of our lost self.  Paradoxically, to invert the proportions of what we may perceive as real today, there are some Amerindian tribes who repute the world to be truly real only when one drinks Ayahuasca. We tune-in very much with this vision. As much as we value your personal evolution, development and healing over and above the mere sensorial experience of "hallucinations", and to a certain extent, even over and above the "visions" you may receive.

There is too much emphasis in our Western world on to the "psychedelic aspect" of the Ayahuasca experience, with little or virtually no attention to the healing itself, or else - to the visions and/or revelations, which are often in tune with the mysterious realms of prophecy and divination that may be accessed when taking the Ayahuasca medicine. These may all happen simultaneously or else, as separate, distinct events. Traditionally, the most important thing in an Ayahuasca session is mainly for the shaman to have revelatory visions on the status of the participant in need of healing, whilst the mere "psychedelic" experience itself is confined to a realm of absolute non-importance for the subject receiving healing. 

We distinguish between visions and hallucinations. The first belonging to an orderly - however inexplicable - realm of knowledge one can receive teachings from, the second - conversely - being a disordered, confused, chaotic visual and/or perceptual experience of little to no intrinsic value to the one who experience it.  With "visions" - we reiterate - we mean structured, meaningful, mysterious, organic - even though at times  unphantomable - fully cogent, clear, revelatory (but not necessarily  only visual) experiences (which could have a value of their own, or else, be combined with other subtle perceptive means), versus a disordered, potentially meaningless and purely recreational witnessing of colours, spatial forms, and/or free-floating geometric patterns more in tune with anarchic "states of hallucinations".

Most people, but not everybody, may receive visions as such - especially (but not exclusively) the first times one is taking Ayahuasca. Some people are naturally more tuned with the unknown and more sensitive than others - especially women - and may be exposed more rapidly to the Ayahuasca "visionary mysteries". Others will need a longer period, or even many different cycles of encounters with the "Vine of the Soul", before anything at all can be experienced/revealed. Healing - medicine willing, in one form or another - will come to all, regardless of visions, when we approach the plant teachers, and their guardians, the shamans, with humility and respect.

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