Foreword

Ayahuasca cooking in the jungle: a dense and concentrated earthly brew!!

Photo Credit: Francesco Sammarco

Guests doing the shamanic plant diet in Ashi Meraya will be given upon arrival a personalized calendar of their diet. This calendar will specify the days when the plant teachers concoctions may be taken, the days of break (whenever present) – called descanso, and also the days when the actual Ayahuasca brew may be drunk, as part of a shamanic ritual, in the context of the plant diet shamanic initiation.

Below we have provided a detailed and updated calendar of a typical three months shamanic plant diet as practised by Shipibo shaman Don Alfredo, which is a very important & practical help for those who intend to commit to the plant-based shamanic training. This may give you a more accurate idea of how the shamanic plant diet works, yet it might be subject to change, according to individual circumstances, the type of plants one is dieting with and the length of the diet itself. It might also change, depending on the particular style of the shaman one may be dieting with.

The shamanic diet is a sophisticated and complex process, if you think at all the possible plants combinations that can actually be involved, and when one dwells on the fact that many maestros are altogether illiterate. All this makes one wonder at the meaning of the words “sabiduría” or ”conocimiento” (knowledge), and on how this may be achieved without going to a Western university! This is the “School of Advanced Studies in Amazonian Shamanism”….a parallel university to our own Western institutions, that has its own laws, dynamics, and ways to knowledge. Here plants are the teachers and the “maestros” the traditional guides and the keepers of “la ciencia” (the science).

Basic vocabulary to get familiar with

Brebaje = Plant preparation, in liquid form.
Descanso = Spanish name of the break period given (by the shaman) to the apprentice doing the plant diet.
Dieta = Spanish name of the diet. The traditional plant-based shamanic apprenticeship.
Dietera = The female apprentice who is doing the plant diet.
Dietero = The male apprentice who is doing the plant diet.
Palos maestros = ”Teacher trees” (the Trees one may receive teachings from).
Plantas maestras = ”Teacher plants” (the Plants one may receive teachings from).
Preparado = The actual teacher plants concoction that one takes during a diet.
Prueba de dieta = Spanish name for the ”tester of the shamanic plant diet”.
Soga = Spanish name for ‘vine’ (like ayahuasca, for instance).
Toma/Tomar = Taking the plants of the diet and/or the Ayahuasca, in liquid form.

In the FAQ section below, you may find answers to the most common questions asked re. the dieta:

FAQ: Ayahuasca and the Plant Diet

1) ”Is it possible to take Ayahuasca during the diet?”

YES, that is essential part of the training for the shamanic initiation, even though the number of times one will take part to Ayahuasca ceremonies depend intrinsically from the length of the diet itself, and from the type of diet one is doing (i.e. traditional diet or pre-diet/’prueba de dieta‘). When one engages in the healing diet – however – the answer is ‘may be yes, may be not’, as it very much depends from the condition one is affected from. We DO NOT offer the healing diet in Ashi Meraya, ONLY the SHAMANIC PLANT DIET.

2) ”How many times do I have Ayahuasca sessions whilst doing the Shamanic Plant Diet?”

It depends on the type of diet one is doing and from the shaman with whom one is dieting with. In the traditional plant diet the apprentice (dietero/a) may begin his/her first Ayahuasca session with the shaman, typically only from the tenth day of his/her own apprenticeship. Meanwhile, the shaman will prepare with icaros and other protections the physical and energetic body of the apprentice and only him or her (the shaman) will start to drink from the second night of the first week of diet. Click here to have an idea of how many times – in the context of a detailed calendar for the traditional 3 months shamanic plant diet – one may partake to Ayahuasca sessions.

In the case of the ‘prueba de dieta‘ – that is the tester of the diet, or ‘pre-dieta’ (an introduction to the plant diet proper, which goes from an absolute minimum of two weeks onwards) – one may not take Ayahuasca for the first week of the retreat, especially – but not exclusively – if dieting with strong ‘palos’ (teacher trees). Beginning with the 2nd week of the pre-diet training, one may normally take part to four Ayahuasca sessions each week, as for the Ayahuasca retreat. However, please note that these are guidelines only, and *might* be subject to change, at the discretion of the shaman, and/or according to the degree of experience one may have, to the length of the ‘pre-diet’ and/or to the types of plants and/or ‘palos’ one may be dieting with.

FAQ: Length of the traditional shamanic plant diet

3) ”What is the average length of the traditional shamanic plant diet?”

Guidelines may vary from shaman to shaman, even from within the same ethnic group. Some shamans (the more strictly traditional) do not call a proper shamanic diet anything that is less than three months in length, to begin with. This is – mind you – the minimum period one should engage with, not the maximum, that can otherwise last several years. To become a fully developed shaman, one would normally require a full five years of dieta (including periods of break). The absolute basic is learnt in the first three months, and one can consider himself (or herself) advanced in the apprenticeship after having completed a one year training.

4) ”What is the average length of the shamanic plant diet tester (‘prueba de dieta’)?”

From an absolute minimum of two weeks onwards, and usually anything between two weeks up to eleven weeks.

FAQ: Temporary breaks of the diet & communication with the outside world

In a three months diet (more specifically, from two months up until three months and three weeks), one may only go to town after having completed the first phase of the training. This period – more or less – coincide with the end of the first month and half of drinking the plant concoctions prepared by the shaman. Times may vary from person to person, depending on individual energy, and response times to the shamanic diet. In a six months diet, a dietero/a may go to town only after – or from – the end of the third month of diet. That is, only after having completed the first period of the diet, taking the plant concoctions.

If needed, you may be able to communicate with the outside world using the battery-operated long range cordless phone in Ashi Meraya, in the jungle. You need to come equipped with a “Hola Peru” international phone card, available from most Airports in Peru.

A Typical Three Months Shamanic Plant Diet

Below is a description of how a typical three months/12 weeks (84 days) shamanic plant diet will work, with a calendar of the days you will be taking the plants and the nights you will be having Ayahuasca ceremonies with the shaman. Plants may vary, also (and especially) according to the length of the apprenticeship. In the time frame of a three months shamanic diet you will be dieting with nine different plants (three palos maestros and six plantas maestras), and will take part to Ayahuasca ceremonies, as follows:

Plant Diet – Stage One (Day 01 to 09)

Day 1: Sweat Lodge
Day 2: First toma of Remo caspi
Day 3: Second toma of Remo caspi
Day 4: First toma of Chullachaki caspi
Day 5: Second toma of Chullachaki caspi
Day 6: First toma of Bobinsana
Day 7: Second toma of Bobinsana
Day 8: First toma of Toe’
Day 9: Second toma of Toe’

Ayahuasca Ceremonies – Stage One (Day 10 to 44)

Day 10: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 12: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 14: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 16: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 18: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 20: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 22: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 24: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 26: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 28: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 30: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 32: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 34: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 36: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 38: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 40: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 42: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 44: Ayahuasca ceremony

Plant Diet – Stage Two & Final (Day 45 to 54 )

Day 45: First toma of Huaira caspi plant
Day 46: Second toma of Huaira caspi plant
Day 47: First toma of Ajos sacha
Day 48: Second toma of Ajos sacha
Day 49: First toma of Piñon colorado
Day 50: Second toma of Piñon colorado
Day 51: First toma of Piripiri
Day 52: Second toma of Piripiri
Day 53: First toma of Motelillo
Day 54: Second toma of Motelillo.

The fifth-fourth day will be the last day of taking plant teachers (i.e. this will be the last toma of the plants), and then the shamanic diet will continue taking the Ayahuasca brew, together with the shaman, any other day (except the last):

Ayahuasca ceremonies – Stage Two & Final (Day 55 to 83)

Day 55: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 57: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 59: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 61: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 63: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 65: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 67: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 69: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 71: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 73: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 75: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 77: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 79: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 81: Ayahuasca ceremony
Day 83: Ayahuasca ceremony

Your diet will terminate with a special Ayahuasca ceremony and your retreat will end on the last day of the twelfth week, in the afternoon.

During your shamanic apprenticeship you will get also to learn how to prepare cleansing herbal baths, clay baths and baños de florecimiento (ritual floral baths, to increase luck and prosperity) as well as singing icaros on a plant remedy, and even treat a patient affected by “susto” (fright), among other things.

PLEASE NOTE:

Candidates applying for the traditional shamanic plant diet may be screened for suitability and should ideally – but not necessarily – be able to communicate in Spanish.

We offer a SPANISH-ENGLISH interpreting service, for up to three months in a row, available as an optional extra to guests without Spanish skills…

There are no limitations in terms of freedom of movement/going to town, for the Ayahuasca retreat (even though we invite you to make the most of your retreat time in the jungle!!). However, in line with traditional rules, these limitations may remain in place for guests doing the traditional shamanic plant diet, at the discretion of the shaman.

Whilst almost any genuine pilgrim/wisdom-seeker may take part in our Ayahuasca retreats in Ashi Meraya (please check health compatibility issues), we conversely recommend the traditional Shamanic Plant Diet – which does include Ayahuasca ceremonies as well, but with a different schedule – more to those who have matured a very strong bound with shamanism, have already been successfully exposed to the Ayahuasca experience before, spent time in the jungle, and have ideally (but not necessarily) a good knowledge of the Spanish language, to get by during their apprenticeship.

We will be nevertheless more than happy to provide you with an interpreter Spanish-English, to help you out during your retreat (being it Ayahuasca or Shamanic Plant Diet Apprenticeship), as and wen required!!

The term “diet” is the literal translation of the Spanish word “dieta”, which refers to the shamanic training as it is practiced in the Peruvian Amazon (see the traditional plant diet in Ashi Meraya).

Shaman’s apprentice collecting the bark of the teacher tree Chullachaki

Photo Courtesy: Stephen Witte

Guests who wish to deepen their experiential understanding of Amazonian shamanism and are prepared to commit themselves in a disciplined – yet very friendly, comfortable and welcoming – traditional setting, may also engage in the proper shamanic training and initiation with the plant teachers diet.

Freshly collected scraped bark of the Chullachaki tree

Photo Courtesy: Stephen Witte

The traditional shamanic plant diet – which is, essentially, the shamanic initiation the Amazonian way – is better suited to those who have been previously exposed to the Ayahuasca experience in the jungle and who preferably speak Spanish. We are happy to offer short “testers” of shamanic plant diet – from just 2 weeks onwards – to those who have a specific interest in experiencing Amazonian shamanism, but cannot altogether commit to the lengths of the traditional shamanic apprenticeship/initiation with plant teachers (which would require – aside from strong commitment and flexibility – at least 3 months, to start with).

There is no difference of price for taking part to the Ayahuasca retreat or to the shamanic plant diet.

Ayahusca Retreat or Plant Diet?

Why the plant diet?

This is done, in the Peruvian Amazon, to become a shaman, a maestro. The concept of plants as teachers is of paramount importance in Amazonian shamanism. The actual dietary restrictions imposed by the “diet” are only an aspect – a conditio sine qua non - albeit an important one, of the training. The other reason why traditionally one may be required to do “la dieta” is healing, physical and emotional healing. These are the two essential – and parallel – avenues at the core of the experience with the plants: shamanic apprenticeship and healing. Anthropologist Luis Eduardo Luna thus reassumes this concept:

“The plants which are used as plant-teachers have a double function. They may be used as medicinal plants for various illnesses, or as plant-teachers if they are used under the special conditions of diet and segregation.” (*)

The traditional apprenticeship

It is important to stress that the traditional apprenticeship may be a long commitment, that would require normally a minimum of three months of “plant diet”, in the jungle. Icaros – the magical songs that the plant spirits teach to the apprentice – may be received at the end of an even longer period of diet, which may last up to six months. Thus, for a full and complete shamanic apprenticeship, done the traditional way, one should consider a plant diet between three and six months, up to one year and more. There are indigenous and mestizo (i.e. mixed blood or acculturated) shamans who routinely advance their knowledge, retiring ”al monte” (that is, in pristine, isolated jungle areas), and doing the plant diet, at any stage of their training, whether novices or expert vegetalistas, young or old. Since in Amazonian shamanism the plant is the teacher, the larger the number of plants one diets with, and the longer the diet, the more advanced and comprehensive one’s knowledge becomes.

In any case, no matter what your main drive is, curiosity shouldn’t be at the core of your motivations for doing the shamanic apprenticeship!! Serious motivation and an “unbending intent”, yes! A deep magnetic attraction and love for plants and the rainforest, an inner resonance with the shamanic path and/or a specific need for healing, should be at the core of your desire to engage with the plant teachers diet.

Photo Credit: Stephen Witte

The intrinsic value of the plant diet retreat as a inner and sacred journey in the wilderness

Alongside the two main traditional avenues of healing and shamanic apprenticeship, we may envisage a third opening worth to explore for the plant diet retreat: an inner and sacred journey in the wilderness. In the proliferation of shamanic journeys openings in the modern world, the “teacher plants diet” is a unique experience that may offer you a revolutionary potential of deep transformation and perceptual shift, of a different understanding of the world and of yourself. The teacher plants open the gates of perception, but in order for that to happen one’s intentions should be pure and strong, as preliminary condition of success. The settings where this may take place are unusual ones.

The “don Juan” of Carlos Castaneda spoke of “stopping the world”, of practicing the art of “not doing”, to interrupt the flux of habits and consolidated ideas that we have about the world, very much a like a Daoist “not doing”. An “interruption” of the world as we know it, that is – an interruption of the normal way of living and relating with the world – is what Saints, Sages, Yogis and Prophets of all ages did, retiring in the wilderness to find themselves and open to the Spirit, cultivating their inner essence away from the worldly seductions of civilization. Even Huang-Ti, the mythical Yellow Emperor who ruled the four corners of the world, took refuge for several months on a mountain, to find his true self! Fasting, celibacy and isolation in the wilderness were the conditions where revelations took place and illuminations were received, for thousands of years, worldwide. Without going too far in cultural parallels, think at Jesus and his forty days spent alone in the desert!

Set aside shamanic apprenticeship and healing – for which long commitments are required – the intrinsic value of the plant diet is that of an inner journey of self-discovery, of a vision quest in the amazing environment of the Amazon Rainforest. This is one aspect of the plant diet: a retreat in the wilderness in search of the inner self. This value is intrinsic to the experience, and may paradoxically be even independent from the actual shamanic training side – which is and remain, however – the main reason for which one should be doing it. You will learn about the plants, the way the shamans of the Amazon do! Worth to take note of, there are shamans who diet the plants throughout their entire life!!

The “Green Man”!!!
Photo Courtesy: Stephen Witte

The diet with plant teachers

Teacher plants (plantas maestras) may be “dieted” in the form of a special preparation made by the shaman who makes a beverage with water and the scraped roots, barks or other parts of teacher plants, trees or vines, for the apprentice (dietero, if male, or dietera, if female) to drink over a set up period, in conditions of celibacy and physical isolation in the jungle. The brew may either be obtained by scraping parts of the fresh plant and leaving them into water for some time, or else, using the so called bañomaria method. In either case the shaman may whistle or sing his icaros to the medicina (the tea that the dietero/a will drink, prepared by the shaman). Dieteros (or dieteras) on the other hand, will sing the icaros of the plant they are dieting with, to their plant medicine.

As it should have been clear by now, the dieta is of course something more, much more complex, magic and mysterious than a simple “diet”. Along with the implicit food restrictions – no salt, sugar, spices, oils, fats, alcohol, stimulants, pork meat (and, according to the purpose of the diet and to the maestro), a pre-condition without which the proper outcome would not be guaranteed – there are other specific conditions to respect, among which two are very much important: celibacy and and certain degree of physical seclusion.

The altered state of consciousness – which is the configuration needed to access the plant spirit world – is therefore achieved by a series of restrictions, whilst being alone in the forest with the shaman. That is the traditional way. During the period of the apprenticeship (dieta) the candidate must also refrain from entering in contact with menstruating women (including having his/her clothes touched/washed by, or having his/her food prepared by a lady in this condition). Traditionally, it is only the shaman who should attend the apprentice during the time of his/her own diet, and only the shaman should take care to bring (or even prepare) the food for the apprentice. There are different traditions, set-ups and ways to see menstruating women and the dieta, and almost any maestro has his or her own views on the topic. Female apprentices are – of course – most welcome in Ashi Meraya. Shipibo shaman Don Rosendo even maintained that women learn plant-based shamanism more quickly than men, as the spirits of the plants teachers enter and settle inside them more easily.

One important thing that many shamans vegetalistas have stressed as being the most vital aspect of the dieta training is “dietar la mujer”, that is, refraining from sexual activity. Main reason being that teacher plant spirits are said to be very jealous of human sexuality. So, as sign of respect for them, one must enforce this precept whilst doing the diet. Also remember the words of Carlos Castaneda’s don Juan: “warriors who adventure in the unknown must be tight with their sexual energy”. Plant spirits are jealous and energy must be preserved to engage in encounters with the unknown!

Pounding Ayahuasca vine cuts!!

Photo Courtesy: Steve Witte

What’s the main difference between the plant-teachers diet and a normal Ayahuasca retreat?

The difference between the “plant diet” and a normal retreat is the special settings and conditions where the first takes place, in the Amazon Rainforest, where the shamanic teachings are received under the guidance of the shaman, whilst fasting, observing special dietary restrictions and been in a relatively more wild and undisturbed reserved area of the centre. The main difference is in the intensity and the unicity of the experience. The plant diet has a potential of transformation of one’s life that the normal retreat may not have!

Guests enrolling for the shamanic apprenticeship should not interact with visitors and may not enter in physical contact with them (e.g. must avoid kisses, hand-shaking, hugs, etc.) to avoid unbalancing energies. They will usually help the shaman in the curación, i.e. during the Ayahuasca healing sessions. Guests doing the plant diet may be required to smoke (although not necessarily to inhale) Mapacho – organic jungle tobacco – as part of their apprenticeship.

Cielo Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) vine leaves

Photo Credit: Francesco Sammarco

Ayahuasca and Tobacco: Two Important Plant Teachers

The spirits of the Ayahuasca and Tobacco plants are believed to be – by all the vegetalistas of the Peruvian Amazon – closely related. The use of tobacco is really a must for all dieteros: like all over South America, Mapacho (Nicotiana Tabacum, Nicotiana Rustica) – either cultivated, or in its most potent wild form – is considered a sacred plant with the power to cleanse, purify and protect one from negative energies and malevolent spirits. Not by chance, at the beginning of each ceremony, the Ayahuasca brew is soplada (e.g. is blown smoke on), with a mapacho cigarro (i.e. a cigarette made with jungle tobacco), to tame and guide in a benevolent way the indomitable spirit of the Ayahuasca medicine. The blowing of mapacho smoke over a patient’s body (top of the head, back, chest, hands and feet) is a consolidated practice during every healing session and during all Ayahuasca ceremonies.

Mapacho (Nicotiana Sp.) bundles

Photo Credit: Francesco Sammarco

Anthropologist Luna thus report on the importance of the use of tobacco among the vegetalistas of the Peruvian Amazon:

“Although I emphasized [..] the use and role of ayahuasca, it is important to realize that this plant is one among others which belong to the category of the plant teachers. Tobacco, one of them, is in a way more important than ayahuasca, because it is considered to be a mediator between the vegetalista and other plant spirits. Sin el tabaco no se puede usar ningun vegetal (without tobacco no other plant can be used), says Don Emilio. Tobacco purifies the body and expels the illness. [...] Tobacco is also the food of spirits [...] Mastering the use of tobacco, either smoked, or ingested orally or through the nostrils, is part of the shamanic initiation [...]. Tobacco is always present at ayahuasca sessions.” (*)

Luna, L. E. Vegetalismo – Shamanism Among the Mestizo Population of the Peruvian Amazon – Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis – 27, 1986:159.

Initiation into Shamanic Plant Medicine

Photo Credit: Francesco Sammarco

Restrictions of the Plant Diet

Total sexual abstinence is required during the dieta (beginning from at least fifteen days before until thirty days after the completion of the training), as well as maintaining a good degree of isolation. Guests doing the shamanic dieta shouldn’t expose themselves neither to direct sunlight nor to the rain (to avoid problems of sensitivity to humidity), and should avoid contact with strong smells (like perfumes and deodorants, exception made for those perfumes which have a specific shamanic use). Also, the diet may not be interrupted/curtailed, and one must fully commit to the period chosen for his/her apprenticeship.

Food restrictions in the Plant Diet as practiced in Ashi Meraya

The usual food restrictions apply: very little to no salt, very little to no sugar, no vinegar, little to no sweets, no spices or chilli, no fats, little to no oil, little to no seasoning, no canned food, no stimulants, no alcohol, no red meat (from farmed animals), and strictly no pork.

Food allowed in the Plant Diet

We have relaxed a bit the strict food restrictions on the plant diet, to make it more flexible and accessible to potential candidates who may not need to enter into the hardships of the traditional Amazonian training to follow the path of the shaman. Yet, some food from the list below – as specified – may require the final approval of the maestro you will be dieting with, so please ultimately check directly with him. When having food not otherwise allowed, the shaman may need to sing special icaros to the dietero/a to grant a status of energetic/spiritual protection and purification.

Different shamans have different styles and degrees of acceptance as for what food might or might not be allowed during the dieta:

. fish (the best is the Boquichico)
. free range chicken
. free range eggs
. green plantains (roasted, grilled or boiled)
. green bananas (roasted, grilled or boiled)
. apples (subject to the shaman’s approval)
. rice
. potatoes (subject to the shaman’s approval)
. spaghetti/noodles
. broccoli (subject to the shaman’s approval)
. onions
. garlic
. carrots (subject to the shaman’s approval)
. game (subject to the shaman’s approval)
. white or wholemeal bread
. beans
. oat
. lemongrass (hierba luisa) tea
. chamomile tea

All food has to be almost unseasoned. Fish and meat will be served either roasted, grilled or boiled. Fish may be served also smoked. According to these indications, you may therefore expect to be served vegetable soups, ‘pescado a la Shipiba’ (roasted fish wrapped in a leaf), meat soups (game, chicken) with yucca, fish soup with green plantains, among other dishes.

NOTE: You may NOT take part to any of the tours/excursions (either optional and/or included) offered as part of the Ayahuasca retreat.

What you may do

• Read, listen to – or play – (appropriate, contemplative) music (acoustic instruments only, respecting the peace of other people).
• Write, rest, sleep, dream, have visions, meditate.
• Take Ayahuasca together with the shaman (according to your tailor-made calendar)
• Learn how to conduct Ayahuasca ceremonies – helping the shaman during the rituals.
• Smoke mapacho (black jungle tobacco) and Toe’ (under the guidance of the shaman, during the allocated nights for the ritual).
• Walk around the ethnobotanical garden circuit (always remembering that the diet is more about not-doing rather than doing much or over-doing!!).
• Chill out in the dieteros area.

With the shamanic diet one will be in tune with the Plant Spirit’s subtle world, and become more sensitive to the plants’ energies. Part of the teaching – the “theoretical” part – happen in dreaming and through visions, when the spirit of the plants, the ”genios de las plantas maestras”, come and reveal things to the apprentice-shaman.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Although we have provided below – for informative and research purposes only – a “calendar” of the plants that a candidate shaman may be dieting with, following the traditional dieta for a whole year, for technical-logistic reasons, at the present we shall only be able to accept – subject to previous screening – dieteros for up to a maximum time of 24 weeks. Longer periods may be agreed on, only for those with extensive previous experience and who speaks Spanish. Upon successful completion of this first phase of training, you may then re-book for a further period, at another time, from a minimum of 2 weeks onwards.

Calendar of the Plant Diet

Not all plants may be dieted for the same length of time, as each one of them has different qualities, properties and various degree of potency. Therefore a specific minimum and maximum assigned time must be observed during the dieta. Some plants may be dieted for long periods, like the Piñon Blanco and the Piñon Colorado, others not, but each plant will demand a gradual approach, along the coordinates indicated by the shaman in the calendar below.

For instance, you may diet with the plant Piñon Colorado, from 2 weeks up to 25 weeks, but may not diet (unless you have already dieted this plant previously, or unless you are doing a diet tester) at the beginning with the powerful Toe’ (Brugmansia suaveolens, also known as Floripondio, a very strong psychotropic plant) which may usually be dieted from the sixth month (26th week) of the dieta. Again, please remember that each shaman will have his/her own calendar which may adhere with more or less flexibility to the one offered below. Moena Alcanfor (Ocotea sp.), another palo maestro, may be dieted only from the sixth month (26th week) of the diet, and for a maximum period of one year (which would mean, effectively, to engage in a diet of a maximum of eighteen months. Whilst the Lupuna blanca (Ceiba sp.) tree, may dieted only beginning from the ninth month (39th week) of the dieta.

Other palos maestros, like the Chiric sanango (Brunfelsia grandiflora) – another sacred plant often used by Amazonian shamans and curanderos as favourite admixture to the ayahuasca brew, for special initiations and for bad luck – may be dieted as well for a long time, but this time from just the 4th week of the dieta, up until the 52nd week. That is, for a full eleven months.

Requirements of the Plant Diet

During the entire period of the diet – whether done with plantas, sogas or palos, and for whatever length this may be – every dietero/a is absolutely required to maintain celibacy. A period of segregation in the selva should be observed whilst you will always be under the guidance and tutelage of the shaman. Regardless of that, the apprentice/candidate may be helping the shaman in preparing the ritual herbal/floral baths for other people attending the retreat and also during all ayahuasca ceremonies.

It is not possible to break the shamanic diet, as this training requires a rigorous type of traditional apprenticeship. The timing when one might temporarily suspend his/her training with the plants, i.e. the temporary diet suspensions (“descansos”), when allowed by the shaman will be given to the dietero/a, as a specific, individual, personalized calendar showing the days of the dieta, with the plants one will be dieting with, the periods of “descanso” and the days when ayahuasca may be drunk. In a one-month shamanic plant diet, for instance, it won’t be normally be possible for a dietero/a to go to town. In a three months plant diet, this may be done usually only at the end of the diet. In a one year plant diet apprenticeship, for at least the first three – to six – months of the dieta. In certain circumstances, assessed only by the shaman, if one is proceeding very well with the training, and his/her shamanic apprenticeship with the plants is going fast and well, then the maestro may decide that one is ready for an earlier, temporary suspension of the dieta.

Click here to see the calendar of the shamanic plant diet, where you shall be able to find more detailed info on how the plant diet and ayahuasca work synergistically together.

List of Plant Teachers one may diet with

The following is a progressive list of the plant teachers (plantas, sogas and palos) that may be dieted in Ashi Meraya, under the guidance of the shaman, and within the frame of time indicated. One may usually choose to diet with any of these plants, subject to availability, and within the time category they fell in. Please note that – no matter how hyper-specific the info here provided effectively is, the type of the plants you may diet with, and the time allocated to each diet with a specific plant, may still vary from shaman to shaman. Therefore everything said here should be taken as a broad idea of how the shamanic diet training may gradually evolve, rather than a clear-cut of how it will be in your specific case.

Each maestro/a has his/her own different style of working with the plants, his/her own predilections, and his/her own approach to knowledge. It’s impossible to categorize in fixed schemes something like the shamanic plant diet initiation, which has such a broad spectrum of individual approaches, virtually changing from shaman to shaman, even within the same ethnic group:

Ajos Sacha

< 1 Month Diet (2-3 Weeks)

Plants (Plantas)

Ajos Sacha (Mansoa alliacea; Luna 1999:12): used also for ritual baths (baños de florecimiento) to attract good luck in love or business.

Piñon Blanco (Jatropha curcas)

Piñon Negro or Piñon Colorado (Jatropha gossypifolia; “used as defence against evil sorcerers”, Luna 1999:136)

Sacha Mango, Sacha Mangua (Grias peruviana; an edible fruit: Duke & Vasquez 1994:82)

Yahuar Piripiri (Eleutherine bulbosa; Luna 1999:54)

Vines (Sogas)

Motelo Sacha (Unidentified)

Tambor Huasca (Unidentified)

Uña de Gato de Siete Capas (Uncaria tomentosa? Duke & Vasquez 1994:172)

Trees (Palos)

Bellaco Caspi (Himantanthus sucuuba, “used in the extraction of the magic dart or virote”; Luna 1986:67)

Medicines

Comejen (The diet with this medicine is traditionally thought to be useful in cases of healing from gastro-intestinal conditions – including intestinal or stomach cancer – ulcers, and other internal wounds).

Miel de Abeja (Honey)

Piñon Colorado

1 Month < 3 Months Diet (4 to 11 weeks)

Plants (Plantas)

Cambio de renaco (Unidentified)

Huacra renaco (Unidentified)

Piñon Blanco (Jatropha curcas)

Piñon Negro, or Piñon Colorado (Jatropha gossypifolia)

Renaquilla con hojas anchas (literally: “Renaquilla with wide leaves”; Unidentified; see note below)

Renaquilla con hojas lanuda (literally: “Renaquilla with woolly leaves”; Unidentified; see note below)

Sacha Mango (Grias peruviana)

Trees (Palos)

Abuelo renaco (Ficus sp.?)

Chiric sanango (Brunfelsia grandiflora; Luna 1999:72; a shrubby tree)

Renaquilla hoja menuda (literally: “Renaquilla with small leaves”; Unidentified; see note below)

Renaquilla hoja larga (literally: “Renaquilla with large leaves”; Unidentified; see note below)

Shihuahuaco (Dipteryx sp.; Luna 1999:68)

3 Months < 6 Months Diet (12 to 25 weeks)

Plants (Plantas)

Cambio de renaco (Unidentified)

Huacra renaco (Unidentified)

Renaquilla con hojas lanuda (Unidentified)

Renaquilla con hojas anchas (Unidentified)

Piñon Blanco (Jatropha curcas)

Piñon Negro, Piñon Colorado (Jatropha gossypifolia)

Sacha Mango (Grias peruviana)

Trees (Palos)

Abuelo renaco (Ficus sp.?)

Chiric sanango (Brunfelsia grandiflora)

Chuchuhuasha, Chuchuhuasa (Heisteria pallida; Duke & Vasquez 1994:85)

Renaquilla hoja menuda (Unidentified)

Renaquilla hoja larga (Unidentified)

Ayahùman

6 Months < 9 Months Diet (26-38 Weeks)

Plants (Plantas)

Camalonga (Thevetia peruviana; Duke & Vasquez 1994:170)

Toe’ (Brugmansia suavolensis; Duke & Vasquez 1994:33)

Trees (Palos)

Ayahùma, Ayahùman (Couropita guianensis; Luna 1999:112). The “cannon-ball tree“.

Chiric sanango (Brunfelsia grandiflora)

Chuchuhuasha, Chuchuhuasa (Heisteria pallida)

Chullachaki caspi (Remijia Peruviana, Duke & Vasquez 1994:149; Brysonima christianeae, Luna 1999:13)

Huaira caspi (Nealchornea yapurensis, Duke & Vasquez 1994:122; Carpotroce grandiflora, Luna 1999:108)

Moena Alcanfor (Ocotea sp., Duke & Vasquez 1994:124)

Uchu sanango (Tabernaemontana maxima, Duke & Vasquez 1994:164)

Lupuna blanca

9 Months < 12Months Diet (39-51 Weeks)

Plants (Plantas)

Camalonga (Thevetia peruviana)

Toe’ (Brugmansia suavolensis)

Trees (Palos)

Ayahùma, Ayahùman (Couropita guianensis; Luna 1999:112). The “cannon-ball tree“.

Chiric sanango (Brunfelsia grandiflora)

Chullachaki caspi (Remijia Peruviana, Duke & Vasquez 1994:149; Brysonima christianeae, Luna 1999:13)

Huaira caspi (Nealchornea yapurensis)

Lupuna blanca (Ceiba pentadra, Duke & Vasquez 1994:48)

Moena Alcanfor (Ocotea sp.)

Shihuahuaco (Dipteryx sp.)

Uchu sanango (Tabernaemontana maxima)

Lupuna blanca

12 Months+ Diet (52 Weeks & over)

Plants (Plantas)

Camalonga (Thevetia peruviana)

Toe’ (Brugmansia suavolensis)

Trees (Palos)

Ayahùma, Ayahùman (Couropita guianensis; Luna 1999:112). The “cannon-ball tree“.

Chiric sanango (Brunfelsia grandiflora)

Chullachaki caspi (Remijia Peruviana, Duke & Vasquez 1994:149; Brysonima christianeae, Luna 1999:13)

Huaira caspi (Nealchornea yapurensis)

Lupuna blanca (Ceiba pentadra)

Moena Alcanfor (Ocotea sp.)

Shihuahuaco (Dipteryx sp.)

Uchu sanango (Tabernaemontana maxima)

Notes

Renaquilla: To the general vernacular name of Renaquilla correspond – according to Duke & Vasquez (1994:83) – the “Clusia rosea” plant. Shipibo maestro Rosendo Marin Lopez, however, distinguished seven different classes of Renaquilla which we were not able to identify. Specifically: Renaquilla con hojas anchas (bush), Renaquilla hoja menuda (tree), Renaquilla hoja larga (tree), Renaquilla con hojas lanuda (bush), Cambio de renaco (bush), Huacra renaco (bush) and Abuelo renaco (tree). The definition “Abuelo” amid the vegetalistas of the Peruvian Amazon refers to the senior status of a teacher plant, and means literally, “Grandfather”.

Anthropologist Luis Eduardo Luna identifies the Renaquilla as belonging to the Ficus sp. (Luna 1999: 54). He also adds that “Its spirit is a Shipibo woman. If those who ingest this plant diet correctly, this Shipibo woman will come to them in their dreams and teach them how to heal with this plant.” (Luna, Ibidem).

Ayahùman: Also known in Peru with the nickname of “cabeza de muerto” (dead person’s head), for the shape of its fruits (see picture above). Reputed especially valuable in protecting one from brujeria (evil sorcery). The fruits are also used by some vegetalistas as “magical” antidote to forms of chickens’ plague.

DUKE, James Alan, VASQUEZ, Rodolfo, Amazonian Ethnobotanical Dictionary, CRC Press, 1994

Luna, L.E. & Amaringo P., Ayahuasca Visions, The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman, Berkeley 1999

Luna, L.E., Vegetalismo. Shamanism among the Mestizo Population of the Peruvian Amazon, Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis, Stockholm Studies in Comparative Religion 27, Stockholm 1986

The Ritual of Spiritual Purification is an ancestral, special and exclusive practice which is now offered as a standard to all retreat participants staying for at least two weeks or longer.

This ceremony (ONLY performed in Ashi Meraya, among all other shamanic retreat centres in the region) has been practiced by the Shipibo Merayas (Bancos) since immemorial time, as the name itself suggests, for spiritual purification. The ritual takes place in the afternoon and is described below.

Ancestral purification ritual supervised by the shaman

Photo Courtesy: Stephen Witte

The shaman blows jungle tobacco smoke on his patient or apprentice, whilst moving around him/her, whispering special soft icaros, accompanied by the sound of rattles and rain stick. Afterwards, the participant has his/her forefront rubbed with shamanic perfumes prepared with teacher plants or trees (rainforest flowers, Remocaspi, Chullachaki caspi, or Ayahuasca, among others).

In virtue of the fact that one is required ”to diet” to be exposed to this ritual, and being the prescribed diet of at least two weeks in length, usually, only guests staying two weeks or longer may be able to take part to this ritual. Within the mainframe of a fortnight Ayahuasca retreat, one may be exposed to the Spiritual Purification ritual on an average of seven times during his or her staying. Read more on the origins of this ritual.

Using the Remocaspi perfume in the purification ritual

Photo Courtesy: Stephen Witte