DOSE:

oral

Ayahuasca

(tea)

[From E. Jean Langdon's 'Yage among the Siona: Cultural Patterns in Visions']

'First a big screaming fire came burning the whole world. The fire came and then Jaguar Mother came to me and said to me, 'You are going to die forever grandson. Why did you drink yage? .. What kind of person are you poor child, for drinking the yage and dying?' Then she began crying...

...I saw the yage people all pretty and gold. They are like people, like us. They came to me singing. The youths came down singing their songs, 'to you little parrot [means novice shaman] the visions have been ugly, and you have suffered and cried. But now you have left [your body] and now you will cry no more, for when you drink yage, you will see us here. When you arrive to us, you will no longer think of crying. '

Langdon writes: It is said by all Siona that a man must be very strong to drink yage and become a shaman. Thus, facing an intense fear of death is the test he must pass through to prove he has the strength.. ..It could be suggested that only the men of strong egos or personalities became master shamans, for the weaker characters perhaps could not withstand the constant ingestion of yage that is necessary for a shaman. ... The yage experience is treated with great respect. It is taken only under certain conditions when a master shaman is present to lead the visions and help those who may encounter trouble.

Exp Year: 1974	ExpID: 1776
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 13, 1995	Views: 5,557
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Ayahuasca (8) : Unknown Context (20), General (1)