History of psychoactive plants: enthogens

Question 1

enthogens

Answer 1

psychoactive substances used in a religious or shamanistic context

• most obtained from plant material
• played a central role in many societies, structuring belief systems, hopes, values and lives.
• the physical/chemical effects + with cultural experiences and expectations
• used to manipulate and control supernatural entities to communicate with supernatural beings and realms, or simply to look inside oneself
• used around the world
• page 5

Question 2

aztec of mexico

Answer 2

four major groups of hallucinogens: peyotl (peyote cactus
teonanacatl, tolache and ololiuqui
-used ritualistically and ceremoniously to communicate with the supernatural to prophesize the future and to determine the perpetrators of criminal or antisocial acts
-primarily in war-related rituals, in human sacrificial ceremonies, and in religious activities

Question 3

inca of peru

Answer 3

-sacred plants
-most important species coca - stimulant and seen as a living manifestation of divinity
used to alleviated hunger and symptoms of sickness and altitude and used to improve memory and to divine the future
-two hallucinogenic plants were also used: datura and yopo

Question 4

mestizos of amazon basin

Answer 4

ayahuasca (actually two closely related vine species: banisteriopsis caapi and B. inebrians)
taken most often as a mixture of banisteriopsis spp. and chacruna, psychotria viridis
-to treat the mentaly ill, to prophesize the future, in healing sessions to determine illnesses and remedies and in tribal rituals

Question 5

native ppls of south west north america

Answer 5

peyote cactus
thornapple- member of tomato fam that contains hallucinogenic alkaloid scoplamine
-mescal bean
a leguminous shrub whose seeds are poisonous and hallucinogenic
tobacco

Question 6

aboriginals of australia

Answer 6

-not well understood bc they don’t share with non-believers
-various types of native tobaccos (mildly hallucinogenic effects)
-pituri-most important and powerful entheogen (member of the tomato family
corkwood and some other solanceous species (contain the powerful hallucinogenic alkaloid scopolamine)

Question 7

highlander of new guinea

Answer 7

-hallucinogenic mushrooms to resolve tension and confilict
nonda- all mushrooms,
mushroom madness- occasional periods of social order breakdown during which women become delirious and men terrorize their own and surrounding villages
-social customs and mass dysteria are more important than chemical inebriation in accounting for mushroom madness
-nonda have limited or no physiological/hallucinogenic activity

Question 8

equatorial west africa

Answer 8

iboga-relieve fatigue and as a hunting aid

• bwiti religious revitalization movement-centered around the ritualistic use of iboga- the movement stresses social cohesion, solidarity and security.
• ingestion is thought to allow one to see a superior divinity known as the Bwiti, to communicate with ancestors, and to visit supernatural realms of the dead, cult-like ceremony that unfortunately has been somewhat eroded and compromised in recent years by westerners looking for a unique high

Question 9

indian subcontinent

Answer 9

marijuana- divine nectar

• bestow supernatural powers and a sense of well being -were first mentioned in the zend avesta
• ceremonial entheogen
• sacred plant by certain faiths
• deep meditation and a heightened sense of awareness
• ritualistic and medicinal plant
• species in the solanaceous genus datura
• used as a medicinal plant and hallucinogen

Question 10

reindeer herdsmen of siberia

Answer 10

• fly agaric mushroom- to induce altered states of consciousness
• poisonous in large doses but also powerfully hallucinogenic
• facilitate communication with supernatural entities, to divine the future and to obtain answers to difficult questions
• diagnose causes of illness and for general enjoyment

Question 11

ancient greece

Answer 11

eleusis-for cult worship of demeter- associated with nature and cultivation of cereal crops
-the divine gift of grain- few chosen individuals were granted passage through the portals of eleusis
initiates to the mysteries were said to undergo supreme physical-mystical experiences that included sensations of trembling and powerful hallucinations
-many grains can be infested with fungal ergot- mysteries of elusis may be explained by the controlled ingestion of LSD-like hallucinogenic ergot alkaloids

Question 12

Medieval europe

Answer 12

three solanaceous species were important in medieval folklore and witchcraft: henbane, belladonna, and mandrake.
powerful hallucinogen scopolamine induces a state of oblivious delirium characterized by a sensation of flying, perceptions of feats of prophecy, and transport to far-away places
-common ingredients in the potions and ointments of witches in medieval europe, suggesting that symptoms of witchcraft may have been induced by scopolamine intoxication