Ayahuasca, shamanism, and curanderismo in the Andes

Written by Steve Mizrach

INTRODUCTION

The term ayahuasca comes from the Quechua, meaning literally "the vine of souls," although it is also called "the visionary vine" or the "vine of death." The folk term refers to the botanical species of liana known as Banisteriopsis Caapi , which is also known as Yage among the Indians of Brazil. For simple ease of writing, I will generally refer to it as Yage throughout the paper. Yage is used in conjunction with several other psychoactive compounds in Andean ceremony, including tobacco, epena or yopo snuff (made from psychotria viridis), and coca. It contains several neurally active alkaloids, of which perhaps the most significant are the beta-carbolines (MAO inhibitors), and the most important of those being harmine and harmaline. When the caapi vine is used (as it often is) in conjunction with another subspecies of banisteriopsis, whose active compound is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the synergistic effect creates a powerful psychedelic experience in the user. (Villoldo 1990.)

Due to the activity of Western ethnobotanists, chemists, and anthropologists in the late 20th century, the Western world has become quite interested in yage. William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg were convinced it might hold the cure "junky" addiction to "hard drugs" like heroin. (Burroughs 1963.) Research scientists were so impressed with the plant's ability to heighten mental sensitivity that they were sure it conferred extrasensory perceptions, and dubbed it telepathine. The experience that the Yage plant confers on Western users is so similar to accounts of the Near-Death Experience (NDE) (as noted by would-be shamans such as Alberto Villoldo, Michael Harner, and Terrence McKenna) that some are sure it's practically a gateway to the spirit world. Many psychotherapists (like Claudio Naranjo) still working on the somewhat verboten practice of using psychedelics in therapy still experiment with Yage, claiming that it produces the catharsis necessary for some dramatic cures of alcoholism and neurosis. (Naranjo 1974.)

Yage is used throughout the Amazon, particularly in Brazil and Colombia, in addition to Peru. In this paper, I am of course focusing primarily on its usage among indigenous Andean tribes such as the Cashinahua , and particularly on its use in healing and divination rituals. Much has already been written about the use of Yage in Peruvian curanderismo , especially the sort of pseudo-New Age-spiritual tourist cults that seem to have grown around its use in urban areas. In this paper, I am trying to argue three significant points that have not been paid much attention to in the study of Peruvian shamanism. One, that ayahuasca trance is often accompanied by a critical acoustic component involving the use of rattles and whistles. Two, that the shamanic trance may make use of the peculiar lines that line the Peruvian sierra (the ceques ) which link together its many sacred places (huacas.) Third, that yage use is part of an important cosmological culture-complex involving a fascinating ethnoastronomy on the part of its users. And also that the way in which Yage healing is performed has been changing in urban areas.

Shamanism, one of the perennial fascinations of anthropology, may represent one of the most archaic forms of religious consciousness on the planet. Mircea Eliade calls it an "archaic technique of ecstasy" and suggests that in most cultures, the shaman serves multiple roles, the most important perhaps being his mediation between the temporal and spiritual realms. (Eliade 1964.) R. Gordon Wasson thinks that American shamanism, and perhaps other forms, derives from a Siberian-Altaic circumpolar culture-complex that developed around Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric/Soma) mushroom use some 100,000 years ago, and which spread with Asiatic migrants across the Bering strait. (Wasson 1986.) In almost every culture, the shaman is thought to be able in his visionary state to climb the 'world pillar' of the 'world navel' (omphalos ) which links the underworld, middle world, and the heavenly realm of the Polestar. To some, the shaman is merely a schizophrenic, psychotic individual indulged by other members of his tribe; to New Age romantics, he is the figure of the "wounded healer," a mystical guru par excellence.

In Peru, I would argue, shamanism primarily revolves around healing (curanderismo ) and that today, it has Indian and mestizo practicioners (one of the most famous in the lattery catgeory being Eduardo Calderon.) Much, though not all, of the ceremony involves the use of Yage, and today such rituals can be found in urban, montane, and jungle areas. Not surprisingly, the content of Yage visions in the Andean context is strongly influenced by the cultural set and setting. Users of Yage frequently report hallucinations of jaguars, the souls of the ancestors, and out-of-body type experiences. It is important to realize that the particular kind of Altered State of Consciousness (ASC) created by Yage use is affected by other concomittants, and thus researchers may not fully understand the Peruvian shamanic experience without taking those into account. However, we also need to look, to some degree, at what is happening with Yage at a basic neurological level.

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Thanks to Steve Mizrach for permission to print this article