During the time I spent with Don Emilio I participated in se- veral ayahuasca sessions. On a few occasions he organized them at my request, and once he did it only for myself, so that only the two of us took the beverage.
Once Don Emilio has decided to have a session, the news will spread fast in the neighborhood. The date of the session is set, usually several days in advance. 10 to 12 people will participate each time. Last time I was there (in the summer of 1985), Don Emilio charged 2 000 soles (about $1) for the par- ticipation. Sometimes he left to each one to decide the amount of his fee.
na on his l a n d8 5. At dawn the day before ayahuasca is to be prepared, he climbs the tree where the vine grows. He blows smoke several times on the branches to be cut, and addresses the spirit of the plant, explaining that he is in need of its wisdom. The plant has to be at least three or four years old. The stem is stripped of secondary branches and leaves, and cut into pieces of about 30 to 40 cm. He makes bundles of about 30 pieces. Those to be used later are placed under fallen leaves in a shady place so that they are protected from the sun.
Victor, one of his nephews, who lives some 200 meters from Don Emilio's house, picks up about 200 leaves of chacruna (Psy-
chotria viridis), the main additive, which grows naturally
about twenty minutes' walk from his h o m e in the forest
nearby86.
Nowadays Don Emilio rarely prepares the beverage himself. This is usually done by Dona Rosa (aged 60), the sister of his late wife (deceased in December 1983), in a separate place ex-
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Plants found in the jungle are believed to be more potent and are preferred, whenever this is possible. I have often heard conversations in which a vegetalista tells, with great joy, how on such and such an occasion he has found a very old abuelo (granpa) referring to a liana. There are vegetalistas who are very secret concerning the whereabouts of a particular ayahuas-
ca plant, from which they make the beverage on special occa-
sions. I heard similar stories during a short visit to the Co- lonia 5000, in Rio Branco (Brazil), where ayahuasca is taken under the name of Santo Daime (cf. Monteiro 1983). In Pucallpa I was told that somewhere in the upper Urubamba there is one great ayahuasca plant from which cuttings are taken from time to time by Shipibo shamans.
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Dobkin de Rios has insistently written, even in one of her la- test publication (Dobkin de Rios 1984: 178), that in the area of Iquitos and Pucallpa Banisteriopsis rusbyana (now called Di-
plopterys cabrerana Gates) is used as an admixture. She does
not mention where she has deposited voucher specimens or who made the identification of the plants she mentions, or if she collected the plant at all. On only one occasion I have seen this plant used, and it was brought from Rio Santiago, where it is indeed used by several Indian tribes as is also the case among the Siona, Kofan, Ingano, and other tribes of the Colom- bian and Ecuadorian Amazon. In Loreto, Ucayali and Madre de Dios the principal admixture is, in my experience, always Psy-
chotria viridis. Among the Sharanahua of the upper Purus a Psy- chotris sp., under the local name of Kawa is always added to ayahuasca (Rivier & Lindgren 1972: 103) as is the case among
the Cashinahua (Der Marderosian et al. 1970). P. viridis is also used as the admixture plant in Taraucá, in the state of Acre, Brazil (Prance & Prance 1970: 106) and among members of Colonia 5000 and the UDV (Uniao do Vegetal) in Acre and in ci- ties of other areas of Brazil (cf. Monteiro 1983).
clusively devoted to preparing ayahuasca, near the home of Vic- tor, one of her children, or it is prepared by Don Ruperto, Dona Rosa's brother, who lives in a house nearby.
The preparation of the beverage begins at about six in the morning. The stems of one bundle of Banisteriopsis caapi are crushed with a stone or a piece of hard wood. Alternate layers of the liana and the leaves of P. viridis are placed in an alu- minum pot (although Don Emilio told me that ideally an earthen pot should be used, nowadays difficult to obtain). After each layer, Don Emilio blows smoke over the pot. Between 12 and 15 liters of water are added, and the mixture is allowed to boil until it is reduced to about one liter, which is poured into another pot. The operation is repeated seven times, and the ex- tract collected is allowed to boil again until aprox. 500 ml of a syrup-like liquid is left, enough for about 12 doses, which is placed in a bottle and sealed with a cork. The whole process takes 12 hours.
Don Emilio often complains that in spite of his indications, the beverage is not always properly prepared by Dona Rosa or Don Ruperto. In 1984 Don Emilio paid 10 000 soles for the pre- paration. Considering that about twelve doses are prepared, and that each participant usually pays between 1000 and 2000 soles for taking ayahuasca, it is obvious that no financial reasons are behind these ceremonies.
The ceremony usually takes place at about 9 to 10 in the eve-
ning. Moonless nights are preferred87. People get together even
one or two hours earlier. Before the ceremony Don Emilio usually tells stories, often of a piquante character, or ques- tions the participants about the whereabouts of their neigh- bours and family. The house is lit by kerosene lamps, which Don Emilio himself has made out of deodorant tin cans. When the time comes, Don Emilio carefully covers the whole floor with empty sacks. The people sit on the floor or on a big bench that runs along one of the walls forming an imaginary circle around Don Emilio.
The ritual paraphernalia used during the ayahuasca ceremonies has only a few elements. They are placed in front of the place Don Emilio is going to occupy during the ceremony. The essen- tial ritual instrument is the schacapa, a rattle made of the leaves of a Gramineae (Pariana sp.), which is used for accompa- nying some of the icaros, and which is sometimes shaken all over the body of each participant for "cleansing" them of ill- ness and evil spirits. The other elements, besides the bottle or pot containing the ayahuasca brew, are usually a bottle of
camphor crystals suspended in alcohol, several mapacho cigaret-
8 7
Don Emilio says, however, that on some occasions he took the beverage out-of-doors with his teacher during moonlit nights If the beverage is well prepared, then the landscape seems to be very beautiful. Everything looks as if it were made of gold, and the trees seem to acquire beautiful and brilliant colours.
tes to be smoked during the ceremony, and a small bottle of
perfumer88, If one of the persons present gets frightened by
hallucinations, the smell of the perfume helps to calm him down. He also places there a flashlight and some pages of newspaper to be used as toilet paper in case of diarrhoea.
When the vegetalista is going to evoke the spirits of some patients, their pictures or names and addresses may also be present among the objects the shaman places in front of him during the ceremony. There is no special shamanic costume or cap. The vegetalistas use their normal clothes during both healing sessions and ayahuasca ceremonies. Don Emilio usually puts a kerchief around his neck, but when I questioned him about the meaning of this item, he simply told me that he uses it for cleansing his face in case he vomits.
Don Emilio invariably begins the ceremony with the following prayer, which may have a few variations, as I have been able to observe during ceremonies carried out in various years:
"Divine Christ, Celestial Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth. With Your permission we are going to take this plant that You have put on Earth. We, Your earthly children, have discovered it, and we use it as a remedy in order to understand our bodies and the problems we might have among us. Father, let no evil spirit enter this circle. If any of those bad spirits come, throw them into the dark, squeeze them down with the Black Stone. The four angels will take care of the circle. Father, in this circle of Yours there is no jealousy, revenge, witchcraft, nothing evil. Everything is according to Your laws. We cure ailing people as best we can. We obey Your command, Father."
Immediately afterwards he recites the Credo, exactly as in Catholic catechism. Thereafter there is the following invoca- tion to the Virgin Mary:
Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, miraculous Vir- gin, cover us with Your blessed mantle. Do not let any evil object enter this circle of Yours. Make the four guardian angels cast it away. Take care of us, powerful Virgin Mary."
Don Emilio then takes the ayahuasca bottle, uncorks it, blows smoke on the bottle, and addresses the spirit of ayahuasca in these terms:
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The most common perfume used, both as an element in ayahuasca paraphernalia and in ritual baths and other love preparations, is the commercially ubiquitous Tabú trademark, which along with
agua florida (a lightly colored scented water) is also used
among curanderos of other areas, for instance practitioners using the San P e d r o cactus in coastal Peru (cf. Sharon 1978:37).
"Grandfather, let us see beautiful visions. Let us see good things. Let the doctors come, so that we c a n ask t h e m a b o u t o u r p r o b l e m s , a b o u t our illnesses."
Sometimes he asks the spirit of ayahuasca to convey specific visions to some of the people present. On the tapes I made du- ring ceremonies Don Emilio sometimes asked the spirit of aya-
huasca to make a patient see the person who caused his magic
illness. He asked a person to see his future, or to envision a certain bird, for example a humming bird, or to see the roots of the trees from below, to see how they absorb nourishment, etc.
After the invocations, Don Emilio begins to serve the brew in a small bowl made of a calabash. About 50 ml of ayahuasca is given to those that take the beverage. Although both men and women are present at the ceremony, usually more men than women
w i l l take the b e v e r a g e8 9. Women often say that they get
frightened by the visions. However, they often accompany their husbands to the sessions but do not take ayahuasca. The dosage may vary a little, according to the person. Women and people who take the beverage for the first time usually get a little less. Often each of the participants blows a little smoke on the bowl, and says a silent prayer. After the last person has taken the beverage, Don Emilio orders all the kerosene lamps to be blown out, except the one iluminating the altar with an image of Jesus on the Cross and two sculptures of San Martin de Porres.
For twenty to thirty minutes people remain in the dark awai- ting the hallucinations. When Don Emilio begins to feel the effect he starts shaking his schacapa and whistling an icaro in order to increase the effects of the visions (icaro para llamar
mareación (see icaro 1 in appendix 3). From time to time he
will ask some of the participants whether they are mareados (have hallucinations), but without enquiring what they see.
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Among some Indian tribes only men take ayahuasca. For instance among the Sharanahua and Culina (Rivier & Lindgren 1972:102), women are not allowed to take the drug, since it is supposed to hurt them. Among the Colorado and Secoya, women may also take the b e v e r a g e , but relatively seldom they do so (Naranjo 1983:181, 187). According to Bellier (1986) among the Maikuna, a Western Tukano group of the Peruvian Amazon, yagé is a mascu- line plant to be taken by men only. Women do not take yagé "due to inhibition rather than prohibition". However, the same author affirms, young women may take the beverage with the per- mission of the shaman so as not to ruin the effect of their husband's shamanic apprenticeship. Postmenopausal women take the beverage freely.
In the communities of Acre, Brazil, where Santo Daime (ayahuas-
ca) is taken as a sacrament, men, women and even children and
From time to time people will leave the house in order to vomit or defecate. They won't talk. Everybody is silently having his visions. At intervals that I have calculated between 40 minutes and an hour, no icaros are sung, and for a few minu- tes there might be small talks, brief comments on the beauty of ayahuasca visions, and even jokes. But when the hallucina- tions, which come in waves, again affect the participants, the chants begin again. Don Emilio encourages those who know icaros to sing. If there are other vegetalistas invited to participate in the session, each will sing his icaros without any attempt of coordinating the different melodies. In the peak minutes of each hallucinatory wave the voices rise, sometimes several
schacapas (rattles) are shaken simultaneously, and the scene is
really remarkable for anybody who happens to be witnessing it.
Vegetalistas often call their patients, one by one, blow
smoke over them to expelí the bad spirits and illnesses from their bodies. If Don Emilio has clients seeking his assistance in emotional problems, they are also are called one by one. As the session occurs in total darkness, I do not know the details of the procedures. Don Emilio has allowed me to take photos with a flash, something that I have done very seldom, for obvious reasons. In one of the photos I took a young man was holding the photo of his beloved against his chest, while Don Emilio was blowing smoke on top of his head. Having a photo, or even just the name and address of a person on a piece of paper is believed to be enough to influence the spirit of the person. When the effects of the brew fade out, sporadic talks and commentaries again emerge. Some of the patients and partici- pants return to their homes. Others lie down on the floor, smoke a mapacho cigarette or tell stories until they all fall sleep. When the morning comes, there is often an exhilarated and relaxed atmosphere.
In the sessions conducted by Don José there is no invocation to Jesus and Mary. He sings several icaros on the ayahuasca, and invokes his ayaruna (from Quechua aya = dead people, spi- rits, and runa = people), asking them to bring upon him power- ful icaros to heal his patients. He then calls his defenders:
Huairamanta arkana, llaktamanta arkana, yakumanda arkana and meolinamanta arkana (cf.4.2.), which will form a circle around
the place where ayahuasca is taken, so that nothing evil can penetrate. The difference between Don Emilio's healing sessions and those of Don José is that the latter engages in long dia- logues with the spirits of vegetalistas living in the under- water world, who are, in fact, believed to do the curing. Otherwise, the essential elements are the same.