Drug Use in Shamanistic Cultures COGS 174 Ghoncheh

Drug Use in Shamanistic Cultures COGS 174 Ghoncheh Ayazi Rebecca Nassimi Buzz Bloomfield Sami Michishita Feb. 25 th, 2010

What is a Shaman? • Shaman can have various roles – Healer – Spirit Guide – Interpreter • The status of a Shaman in society can vary. Some people are designated Shaman while others are ordinary citizens with Shaman powers. • A Shaman will often consume a drug (entheogen) to enter a trance to communicate with the spirits or better understand the world. • Shaman have expert understanding of their culture and their surrounding environment. Their cultural knowledge of rituals and practices helps preserve tradition.

Entheogen • An entheogen is a drug used for religious or ritual purposes. It is often consumed by the Shaman and those seeking his aid. • Examples of entheogens: – Iboga by the Bwiti tribe in Africa – Mescaline by the Aztecs in South America – Peyote by the Native Americans in North America – Amanita Muscaria by Siberian Tribes in Siberia

Shamans in Siberia • Birthplace of Shamanism • Ordinary people • Amanita Muscaria

Amanita Muscaria • Amanita Muscaria • Native to the Northern Hemisphere • Active Ingredients – Ibotenic Acid – Muscimol • NT Receptors – GABAa – NMDA Glutamate Agonist • Effects – Hallucinations – Sweating – Tremors • Varying Quality – Not distributed evenly throughout the mushroom (Cap > Base) • Potentially dangerous

Muscimol • • Product of decarboxlyation of Ibotenic Acid Hippocampus, Cerebellum, Cerebral Cortex Full GABA Agonist Responsible for Hallucinogenic effect

Other Uses of Amanita Muscaria • • Legal Dangerous Early Pesticide (Milk) Vikings – Berserker Rage?

Aztec Use of Entheogens

The Florentine Codex • 12 books written 1540 -1585 by Aztec natives under the supervision of Spanish missionaries • Catalogues specifics of everyday Aztec life • Extensive records of Aztecs using a plethora of plants for supernatural and everyday purposes • Titles of Priest or Healer were obtainable by any person of noble descent

Plant Species and their Respective Uses • Ololiúqui (Christmas Vine) • Seeds contain LSA, a precursor to LSD • Used by priests to communicate with the gods • Tlitliltzin (Beach Moonflower) • Contains alkaloids with mild hallucinogenic effects • Used to induce a trance and communicate with the dead for the purpose of divination • Peyotl (Peyote) • Administered to warriors by shaman before battle as protection • Pipiltzintli (possibly Salvia Divinorum) • Applied as a poultice • Boiled in water and ingested to reduce fatigue

The God Mushroom • Aztec name: Teonanacatl • Psilocybin mushroom • Eating these mushrooms granted gifts from the Mushroom God • Clairvoyance • Relief from fever and gout • Used very extensively • “Whenever there was singing and dancing, mushrooms were to be eaten” – Florentine Codex • Cult of the Mushroom still exists today in Central America

Use During Sacrificial Feasts • Human sacrifices given in honor of Quetzalcoatl • Feathered serpent god, creator of mankind • Eaten with honey and chocolate for 4 days • Attendees would feast on day 1, then eat only Teonanacatl for the remaining 3 days. • On the 4 th day, nobles would choose a slave to sacrifice • Slave would be displayed in front of entire settlement • Chest cut open, heart removed and eaten • Noble would keep the slave’s head for the rest of his life

Pharmacological Violence? • A common symptom of extremely high psilocybin doses is dysphoria (unpleasant, anxious, irritable and aggressive mood), and vivid hallucinations. • Florentine Codex documents that many would see Quetzalcoatl while on trips, and be absolutely terrified • “He who eats many of these mushrooms sees many things which make him afraid…he flees, hangs himself, or hurls himself from a cliff”- Florentine Codex • Would these sacrifices occur without the influence of psilocybin mushrooms?

Additional Influence of Mushrooms • The Florentine Codex catalogues over 20 species of mushrooms eaten as a staple by the Aztecs • Many of these species are highly neurotoxic • Cooking and preparation reduces neurotoxicity, but not always in its entirety • How much of Aztec religion was derived from extremely high doses of a huge variety of drugs? Mictlantecuhtli, ruler of the underworld. Also something you’d see on a bad trip.

PEYOTE “Lophophora Williamsii”

HISTORY • Small, spineless cactus naturally growing from Rio Grande to Chihuahuan Desert, usually in warm climate • Entheogen • Very slow growing – up to 30 years to reach flowering stage! • Considered “endangered”

HUICHOL – “Wixáritari” • Indigenous group of western central Mexico • Deities: Trinity of Corn, Blue Deer, Peyote, and the Eagle. • They fought for a long time to avoid Catholic influences by Spanish settlers. - Rejected priests

Huichol practices • Paint faces with icons, wear embroidered clothes to invoke the presence of ancestors • During the dry season, the ceremony included the “Peyote Dance” • Brother Blue Deer transforms to Peyote, Mother Peyote shot by bows and arrows at dawn • Ceremonial officer pilgrimage • 5 year term

Native Americans • Native American Church = peyotism (Orig. in Oklahoma) • Apache people spread it up to what is U. S. area from the south • Peyotism is an integration of Catholism with their own shamanistic religion • Weekend rituals from Saturday night 8 pm to Sunday morning breakfast

Pharmacology • Crowns sliced off and dried to form mescal buttons • These buttons are usually chewed and swallowed. (or boiled and drank as tea) • About 30% of total alkaloid content is mescaline – Plus 50 -60 other alkaloids • So much variation that the ED 50, LD 50, potency are all unknown – Season, age, etc.

Mescaline • Primary active ingredient of peyote • Half life: ~6 hours but some studies suggest that it is not metabolized at all before excretion – Can be excreted as carboxylic acid form of mescaline = result of MAO degradation • Binds to serotonin receptors as partial agonist • Can build cross-tolerance to LSD

Effects of Peyote Positive: – Feelings of insight/access to spiritual ideation – kaleidoscope vision of bright colors – euphoria – increase energy and tactile sensation – dreamy feelings – feeling of hope Negative: – – – – changes restlessness/insomnia unusual body sensations Nausea shortness of breath changes in body temp. inhibition of sex drive paranoia, fear, etc…

PEYOTE TODAY • Schedule I – Illegal to sell and possess peyote – Native American Church and members are exempt from registration – Manufacturers/distributers to NA Church are required to obtain registration annually. • Law varies state to state – CALIFORNIA? • Still used as medicine to treat alcoholism, drug abuse or other social ills

Last thoughts… • Why is it Schedule 1 if we have no scientific proof of its addictiveness, especially since there’s evidence of medical uses? • Notice a pattern in western influence invasion over these ethnic cultures? – Huichol vs. Spanish Catholics – Native Americans vs. federal government

Iboga and the Bwiti

What is Bwiti? • A West Central African religion - Gabon • The name of the people who practice Bwiti • A syncretistic religion composed of animism, ancestor worship, and Christianity

Iboga • Hallucinogenic rootbark of Tabernathe iboga • Taken by the Bwiti to produce psychoactive effects • Psychoactive substance in iboga: ibogaine • Bark can be pulverized, swallowed, chewed, or taken as a pill

Pharmacology • A “dirty” drug – acts on multiple NT systems: 5 -HT, DA, GABA • Primarily taken orally • Low doses for therapeutic effects, high for psychedelic effects • Iboga substance tastes like “sawdust mixed with battery acid” • Ibogaine is 1 out of 12 alkaloids in iboga Oral onset: 45 min-3 hrs

Iboga use among the Bwiti • 2 main uses: – Small doses used as a stimulant, 3 -5 mg/kg – High doses (>10 mg) used for Bwiti initiation rituals • Bwiti “rebirth” ceremony used required of teenagers for group membership

Effects and Problems + Dreamlike visual hallucinations last 3 -4 hours + Most intense period may last 24 hours or more + Lingering effects 1 -2 days after -Ataxia, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting -Heart arrhythmia resulting in 1/300 deaths -Neurotoxic at high doses

Therapeutic Applications • Reduction or elimination of addiction to opiates, etc. • “Ibogaine scene” quadrupled in the last 5 years – Ibogaine clinics • Therapeutic effects may last up to 3 months – Depot binding, ibogaine metabolized slowly • Diminishes morphine and cocaine self-administration in rats • Blocks DA release

Something to consider… • Ibogaine is a Schedule I drug in the U. S. (1967) • Unavailable to the majority of addicts worldwide • But, it has proven therapeutic effects for treating opioid, methamphetamine, nicotine, and alcohol addictions • If in good hands and used in a clinical setting, ibogaine can be a lifesaver

Works Cited • Ibogaine Therapy: A 'Vast, Uncontrolled Experiment’. Brian Vastag. Science, New Series, Vol. 308, No. 5720 (Apr. 15, 2005), pp. 345 -346 • Tabernanthe iboga: An African Narcotic Plant of Social Importance. Harrison G. Pope, Jr. Economic Botany, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun. , 1969), pp. 174 -184 • Addiction Alleviator? : Hallucinogen's Popularity Grows. Brian Vastag. Science News, Vol. 173, No. 1 (Jan. 5, 2008), p. 6

Works Cited cont’d • http: //peyote. org/ • http: //www. erowid. org/plants/peyote. shtml • http: //www. neuroinf. pl/Members/neurofizjo/ Article. 2010 -03 -17. 0423/get. File • http: //wixarika. mediapark. net/en/assets/pdf/TH EHUICHOl-Wixarika. pdf • http: //www. nativeamericanchurch. net/Native_A merican_Church/NATIVE_AMERICAN_CHURCH. ht ml

Works Cited cont’d • Albert Hoffman, “Teonanacatl and Ololiuqui, two ancient drugs of Mexico. ” Bulletin on Narcotics, Issue 1, 1971. • Elferink, Jan G. R. , Flores, Jose A. , Kaplan Charles D. “The use of Plants and Other Natural Products for Malevolent Practices Among the Aztecs and Their Successors. ” Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl Volume 24, 1994. • Mike Hughes, “Teonanacatl: The Secret History of Magic Mushrooms. ” 30 September, 2010. • Sagahun, Bernardino. Historia general de las cosas de Nueva Espana. 1590.

Works Cited cont’d • Amanita Muscaria and Siberia – Nyberg, H. (1992). "Religious use of hallucinogenic fungi: A comparison between Siberian and Mesoamerican Cultures“ • Muscimol – S. R. Snodgrass (1978). "Use of 3 H-muscimol for GABA receptor studies". • Berserker Rage – Ödman S. (1784) “An attempt to Explain the Berserkraging of Ancient Nordic Warriors through Natural History” • Early Pesticide Use – Clusius C. (1601). "Genus XII of the pernicious mushrooms".