Ancient Songs and Green Magic
A Search for What Is Real in the Amazon Jungle of Peru
by David P. Crews___
I
realized that I was now in the presence of the Spirit of the vine, Mother
Ayahuasca herself.
She never spoke to me in words. Her expression was one of contained joy,
waiting to share something with me.
She widened her expressive eyes, like an inquiry, and then she showed me
something.
It
was a coin.
This
is
a condensed journal from my personal experiences in the Peruvian Amazon in
2006. I had traveled to the greatest forest on Earth to partake in the sacramental
use of a shamanic “Teacher Plant” – the highly psychoactive
and complex brew known as Ayahuasca, the “Vine of the
Soul.” This “tea” from a specific plant mixture has been
used for thousands of years for healing and visioning purposes by the indigenous
peoples of the Amazon basin from Brazil, to Columbia and Ecuador, and especially
in Peru.
Although extremely powerful, and notoriously difficult, unpleasant, and challenging
to work with (including a horrific taste and powerful purging), Ayahuasca
is a safe way to see incredible beauty and encounter mystical realms and spiritual
entities that are otherwise difficult for Western people to experience. For
me, it was a journey to see for myself what I might make of such realms, visions,
and entities – to try to determine What Is Real and what might be simply
illusion or masterful creativity.
Working
with Ayahuasca is an adventure of the body and spirit. For me, it was an INTENSE
set of experiences – one that challenged my physical body through difficult
diets, strong physical exertions, and often, extremely uncomfortable conditions.
___ – But that was the easy part.
It challenged my mind and spirit on levels that can only be described as
awesome and unexplainable.
We worked with a master shaman - a healer named Don Rober, and we had the excellent guidance and teaching of our host, Howard Lawler, also a shaman, who is revitalizing many of the other ancient shamanistic traditions of South America.
Shamanism is the oldest spiritual practice of humankind. The essence of shamanism is personal, direct experience and expression – not relying on anyone’s testimony or doctrines about spiritual or mystical encounters.
In
1951, Carl Jung wrote:
"In psychology, one possesses nothing unless one has experienced it in
reality. Hence, a purely intellectual insight is not enough, because one knows
only the words and not the substance of the thing from the inside."
Ayahuasca is the world’s most direct and powerful form of shamanic experience, and I had been desiring and planning to work with it for almost a decade. Now, at last, I had come to Iquitos, Peru, in the heart of the great selva or jungle. My hosts for this trip were to prove impeccable in their set and setting and in the preparation and the personnel for this great adventure of the soul.
I was picked up at my hotel in Iquitos, Peru for the journey to the SpiritQuest lodge and my work with Ayahuasca. After a noisy ride in a motorcycle “rickshaw” taxi through the busy streets of the jungle city here in the heart of the Amazon, we arrived at the dock and boarded a small motor launch for the rest of the trip up the river.
We went up the Rio Nanay a bit, then turned up the Rio Momon and passed other boats and some barges made of tied logs. We docked at the retreat a few miles upriver.
Howard Lawler is our guide, mentor, translator, and facilitator for the “SpiritQuest – Listening to the Plants” spiritual retreat. Originally from the U.S. and now Peruvian, he conducts shamanic retreats with the support of his wife, Reyna, his two children, and a great staff who cook, serve, act as boat captains, and are aides during the Ayahuasca ceremonies. Howard had picked up the other participants at the airport this morning and everyone was gathered in the lodge’s dining room.
Later, we would meet Don Rober, our shaman, who is from the ancient Lamista tradition. He is 61 years old and began his shamanic studies when he was eight. He is a banco Ayahuascero, or highest quality authentic Ayahuasca shaman who’s main work is healing for the local communities and to provide guidance and shamanic leadership to select groups of interested outsiders, like ours.
Howard turned to me as I came in and said, "Hi, I'm Howard, and I have a monkey on my back." Indeed, he did! This was Rufus, the lodge's pet monkey, who's always mooching or just grabbing food and plopping from one lap to another or crawling on our backs or shoulders. Howard introduced me to the rest of the group as we were all eating a breakfast snack of fresh jungle fruits and fruit juices. A very good start to our Ayahuasca diet.
Then, we all went to check out our accomodations in a longhouse row of bungalow rooms. Not bad – a bed (actually two, but I have a room to myself), and a small toilet and sink with running water (pumped up from the river below the lodge). No electricity, of course – only kerosene lanterns at night.
We had a nice lunch of fish, beans, rice, and fruit. Much better food than I was expecting considering our dietary restrictions (No pork, sugar, salt, spices, or fermented foods, etc.). I began to get to know the 15 other group members. It is an eclectic group from many places including Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and the US. It seems to be a great group to work with and we began to bond well. Two men have brought their 16 year old daughters to work with Ayahuasca for their first time.
Afterwards, Don Rober came in with his helpers to bring in the Ayahuasca vine and Chacruna and other admixture leaves along with the cooking pots. They also set up an anvil log to hammer the caapi or Ayahuasca vine. We all helped to prepare the Ayahuasca materials by either shredding the leaves by hand or pounding the Ayahuasca vine to shreds to go in the pots. It was hard work, but very good to work with the plants that will work with us. This was also a good bonding exercise for the group.
Howard came over to talk with me for a while. He is interested in the promotion and preservation of traditional Peruvian shamanism and the authentic use of Ayahuasca.
After nightfall, dinner by kerosene lantern was next, with fish and fruit. The refrescos drinks are great: half fruit juice and half water. I had a nice long discussion with two of the other participants, then it was off to bed. The wooden walkways are lit by orange oil lamps and our rooms with kerosene lanterns. It looked like a scene from the Survivor TV show, but this camp is for real, and our challenges will be for real, as well.
Ayahuasca vine -
ready to be pounded into shreds to add to the cooking pots.
The vine contains Harmine, Harmaline, and Tetrahydroharmine.
The shamans refer to it as the "power" in the brew.
Chacruna
and Chagraponga - admixture leaves that contain the powerful vision producing
element, DMT
(NN Dimethyltryptamine).
The shamans call these plants, the "light".
the Ayahuasca "kitchen".
What is Ayahuasca?
All photos and text ©2006 David P. Crews. All rights reserved.
