LOVE AAAGIC VINE <* the SOUL

rs with an Amazonian Shaman

Howard G. Charing S> Peter Cloudsley

talk to Javier Arevalo about Peruvian

Shamanism

Ayahuasca can be cons idered a gateway to another reality, a reality w h i c h co-exists w i t h our physical w o r l d . From this other reality an experience of the totality of inter-connectedness can be personally experienced.

Ayahuasca is also k n o w n as La Purga {the Purge) due t o i t ' s p o w e r f u l physical clearing effect, but its effects are more than just a physical clearing of the toxins in the body, it also facilitates an energetic clearing of personal history as well . There is much discrepancy between shamans concerning the question of vomit ing while under the effect of Ayahuasca. Some say it is necessary for the body to r i d itself of whatever is necessary and that i f they are not sick they might get i l l . Others say i f you vomit you w i l l not have such g o o d v i s i o n and o n no account should a shaman vomit.

It is never to be taken lightly and o n l y u n d e r the superv i s ion o f a shaman w h o is w e l l versed i n the ways of the plant.

The m e d i c i n e is made f r o m a m i x t u r e o f the ayahuasca v i n e (Banisteriopsis Caapi) and the leaf of the Chacruna plant (Psychotria Viridis). The vine contains harmala a n d h a r m a l i n e a m o n g o t h e r a lka lo ids , and the leaf conta ins vision inducing alkaloids.

As with all natural medicines, it is a mixture of many alkaloids that makes t h e i r u n i q u e p r o p e r t i e s . For example, Peyote, the cactus used by the North Native Americans, is said to contain 32 active alkaloids, so when one of those alkaloids, mescaline (LSD) is synthesised in a laboratory, contrary to p o p u l a r o p i n i o n , the result is not at all the same.

Ayahuasca is a name derived from t w o Quechua w o r d s : ay a means spirit , ancestor, deceased person, and huasca means vine or rope , hence it is known as vine of the dead or vine of the soul. It plays a central role i n the spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the Indigenous and Mestizo (mixed blood) peoples o f the u p p e r A m a z o n , O r i n o c o p la ins and the Pacific coast o f Colombia and Ecuador.

The plants are collected from the rainforest i n a sacred way and it is said that a shaman can f ind plentiful sources of the vine by listening for

After being virtually ignored by the West for centuries, there has, recently been a huge surge of interest in Ayahuasca. There is a belief that it is a kind of medicine for our times, giving hope to people with incurable diseases like cancer and

HIV, as well as inspiring answers to the big ecological problems of modern civilisation.

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the drumbeat that emanates f r o m them. The mixture is prepared by cutting the vines to cookable lengths, scraping a n d c l e a n i n g t h e m , pounding them into a pulp , a n d t h e n a d d i n g the chacruna leaves. The mixture is t h e n b o i l e d f o r a b o u t t w e l v e h o u r s u n t i l i t is a thick brown l iquid.

THE SPIRIT OF AYAHUASCA The spirit of Ayahuasca can be contacted when a person dr inks the brew under the g u i d a n c e o f a s k i l l e d shaman. There is a chance to l e a r n and t r u s t the p l a n t . There is also the question as to whether the plant trusts us, because it can be abused a n d used f o r g e t t i n g the w r o n g k i n d o f p e r s o n a l power . W i t h o u t i n t e n t i o n , v i s i o n , p r e p a r a t i o n , and a shaman, i t is a d r u g n o t a healing medicine.

I n the A m a z o n i a n w o r l d Ayahuasca, like all plants, is seen as having a spirit which is angelic but also has h u m a n e m o t i o n s l i k e jealousy, vengefulness, wroth etc.

When i t is being prepared, the shaman has to watch over it at all the time to prevent harmful spirits being i n t r o d u c e d . The f ire needs tending regularly t h r o u g h o u t the

t en hours c o n c o c t i o n and the shaman should fast or be on a special diet during this time. It is said that the spirit of Ayahuasca is very jealous and that i f the rules of its p r e p a r a t i o n are n o t respected it is resentful.

A fundamental principle of healing w i t h Ayahuasca is the visions it facilitates. I t is the visions of the doctoring spirit of Ayahuasca which tells the shaman what is w r o n g w i t h their patient, what medicine they n e e d , o r w h o has caused the illness or malaise.

TALKING WITH JAVIER AREVALO

We watched the shaman Javier Arevalo preparing the brew. His wife washed and shredded the Ayahuasca, and after it had boiled for a while, Javier lit a large mapacho (hand rol led jungle tobacco cigar) and blew

smoke over the top of the concoction. The two of us were invited to do this as wel l . When we did this we felt a blast of hot steam and vapour from the boiling Ayahuasca in our faces.

"A fundamental principle of healins with Ayahuasca is the visions it facilitates. It is the visions of the doctoring spirit of Ayahuasca which tells the shaman what is wrong with their patient, what medicine they need, or who has caused the illness or malaise,"

During our visits w i t h h i m we had many discussions on the role of the Amazonian shaman and the use of Ayahuasca. Javier comes from Nuevo Progreso, a c o m m u n i t y of 50 families on the Rio Napo river in Peru. Several generations of his family before h i m have been shamans and already at the age of 17, he k n e w this would be his future.

However i t was not until he was 20 w h e n his father died from a virote (a poisoned dart in the spiritual world) sent by a jealous

brujo, (sorcerer) that he felt compelled to f o l l o w the arduous five-year apprenticeship to be a shaman.

We asked Javier what the role of a shaman was? He told us that a shaman learns everything about the rainforest and uses that knowledge to heal his people since they do not have money for Western style doctors. Shamans also use Ayahuasca to discover i n visions, which plants w i l l be effective for which illnesses.

"As the spirits, or plant doctors who tell us are pure, they are made happy when we are too, so a shaman must diet

in order to attract them. That means they should not eat salt, sugar or alcohol, and they should abstain from sex".

He cont inued: "Every plant has a spirit, the shaman goes into the forest as part of his apprenticeship and spends two years taking plants and roots. He takes Ayahuasca too and the spirit tells him what it cures. Then the shaman tries another plant, each time remembering which ailment is cured by what.

If you can't dominate the spirits of the jungle you are nobody, instead of curing they run away or take no notice of you. Spirits are like angels. God withstood 40 days of hunger and temptation by the devil and was resurrected. That's what we have to do too.

You learn all this in the wilderness. The spirits there are the angels of each plant to which you add your w i l l to heal the client. This is the wi l l of Christ".

We had heard stories about h o w Ayahuasca can sometimes cure HIV, and we asked Javier about his o w n experiences of treating people.

" I h a d a p a t i e n t w h o was H I V positive and had been i n hospital a fortnight. His mother said to me that he was really bad, his stomach h u r t and he was shitting constantly.

So I said w h y d o n ' t y o u take Ayahuasca. Tf i t ' l l cure me I ' l l try i t ' he said. That night we drank and after he felt a bit better, his fever had lowered. He needed to go less o f t e n to the toilet. He wanted to take it again and after three times he was better and when tested, proved HIV negative.

I H i

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"During a session a Senorita came to me in my vision and said, 'you must also learn what love is/ What is love?' I asked her. You love me and both of us feel attraction/ she replied. Who was the Senorita? She was a mermaid, that's how I can tell you that mermaids exist. She told me how to prepare Pusanga, and she chanted to me and taught me the chant I know today."

We asked Javier a b o u t h o w he started off his shamanic training w i t h a desire for revenge and asked h im how he put that down and became a healer?

"My grandfather saw that my heart was bitter and he told me that it would not get me anywhere. My heart was still hard and wanted to k i l l . Bit by bi t through taking the very plants that I had intended to use for revenge, the spirits told me it was wrong to ki l l and my heart softened."

MIXING A LITTLE LOVE MAGIC We asked h i m about h o w he sees the ethical questions concerning Pusanga, a magic used to attract a lover. The magic takes away the person's w i l l and we explained to h i m that i n the West this was seen as a bad thing.

Javier l a u g h e d a n d said: " I f i t h a p p e n e d t o me, a n d let 's say I originally found her unpleasant and she d i d it to marry me I ' d be outraged! It would be awful if I only discovered after having children and making a home wi th her! But would I ever know? I would be hopelessly i n love wi th her." "And," he added, "everyone wants women!"

Javier did not seem to see a problem, i t was a massive c u l t u r a l d i v i d e we could not cross. It seems his people feel free the way they are and can have sex using magical means of attraction.

O n an earlier occasion w h e n Javier asked the group we were travelling w i t h what they really wanted i n their lives, many people gave cosmic and spiritual sounding answers and were quite mute when he spoke about Pusanga.

After a w h i l e many a d m i t t e d they wanted love, apparently behind their

desire to put the wor ld to right, resolve planetary issues, and speak to the flowers. It was as though it were not alright to wish for love.

We mused, maybe i f people i n o u r culture had more love we wouldn't be so worried about the cosmos, maybe it was because people don't have enough of it that they saw problems everywhere around.

We speculated i t w o u l d be better i f people got what they wanted because that way we wouldn ' t be so destructive: d r i v i n g fast cars, t r y i n g t o sort o u t psychological issues and having fancy p r o f e s s i o n s . We w o u l d need less material goods. Javier agreed: "These t h o u g h t s tangle u p t h e i r l ives. Love solves problems."

Javier had some Pusanga to prepare for a client. Normally a shaman prepares it away f r o m other people , so we fel t very privileged to be invited to participate in the preparation.

"First of a l l , " he t o l d us. "you must purify your hands w i t h l ime, lemon or grapefruit juice, to get r i d of the salt, condiments and sweat which interferes."

T h e n each o f us p o u r e d t w o l i t t l e bottles of Tabu, into a larger bottle. One of these bottles w o u l d be for men the other for w o m e n . Tabu is a per fume used s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r th i s p u r p o s e . Powdered plants l ined the bottoms of each of the larger bottles. After this we b r o k e u p some p l a n t r o o t s b e f o r e adding them to the mixture.

Javier t o l d us they were Motelillo, Macoquinha, axidMashoshillo which looks a

bit like a string of sausages. He exp la ined that

Mashoshillo made money grow and transform itself i n t o n e w resources, projects and contacts.

T h e n we a d d e d Mocura leaves w h i c h have a nice fragrance for w h e n y o u a p p l y the result ing Pusanga i t to yourself.

Polvo de la buseta, a p o w d e r o b t a i n e d by g r i n d i n g u p a p l a n t whose leaves resemble a female g e n i t a l was a d d e d n e x t , t h e n Congonita, a plant w i t h l i t t le r o u n d leaves and l o n g stalks w h i c h becomes tangled w i t h itself. "This is h o w the

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couples becomes i n v o l v e d w i t h each other," explained Javier. "Your partner w i l l never leave you."

We asked Javier i f he could tell us what the Pusanga actually did?

"When you pour it onto your skin it begins to penetrate your spirit , and the spirit is what gives you the force to p u l l the people. The spirit is what pulls.

When I was apprenticed to my grandfather, he told me to practice w i t h the Pusanga t o g a i n experience. I began by preparing the medicine without any particular i n t e n t i o n , but d u r i n g a session a Senorita came to me i n my vision and said, ' y ° u must also learn what love is.' 'What is love?' I asked her. 'You love me and both of us feel attraction,' she replied.

Who was the Senorita? She was a mermaid, that's how I can tell you that mermaids exist. She t o l d me h o w to prepare Pusanga, and she chanted to me and taught me the chant I k n o w today. She sang very sadly, and said that 's h o w y o u r p a r t n e r w i l l come to you, very sad, JM she said.

There was a f i e s t a o n e n i g h t i n t h e pueblo because it was s o m e o n e ' s birthday and I was i n v i t e d a n d I p u t o n my clothes and t o o k a l i t t l e bot t le o f Pusanga i n m y p o c k e t . I was d a n c i n g w i t h a l l the girls and I saw a g i r l w h o was very arrogant and w o u l d not let me get near.

She had long finger nails. She said she wouldn't dance with me because I was unattractive. 'Go and f i n d a cholaV (lower class Indian) she said virtually insulting me, and it hurt my heart. ' I f you don't dance wi th me, t o m o r r o w y o u ' l l sleep w i t h me, ' I said, and I went to the toilet to have a pee and rubbed myself wi th Pusanga, down my front, my arms and hands.

Then I went back to dance w i t h her and she said 'what's the matter w i t h y o u damn it? You k n o w y o u can't touch me!' She got nasty and wanted to hit me at that moment so I left the fiesta to avoid problems and went home.

The nex t day I w e n t i n t o the forest and h i d for three days. O n the forth day I came out and people told me 'Senorita Suzana is looking for you' .

'Why is she looking for me i f she hates me and threw me out of the fiesta?' They repl ied 'No, she has been r o u n d every h a l f an h o u r asking after you. '

When she caught up w i t h me she said 'Javier, forgive me for insulting you i n the fiesta.' I said 'No, you are very arrogant and I don ' t want to t a l k t o y o u . ' I w e n t h o m e a n d wouldn' t open the door. She waited outs ide my house c r y i n g a l l the w h i l e I s lept . I k n e w i t was the Pusanga that was working.

The next n i g h t I said to

h e r , ' y o u w a n t

I t o be w i t h

me?' 'Yes, f rom the depth of m y hear t . ' I

r e p l i e d ' b u t y o u

are pretty and I am ugly!' 'No,

I w a n t to be wi th you. '

That night we made l o v e a n d she d i d n ' t w a n t to go back to her

* home any-more. I went again into the forest and she f o l l o w e d me. I w e n t to bathe i n the river and she jumped i n too to play w i t h me. I laughed because I knew it was the love spell.

She became my girlfriend for six months. Later when the love passed and the Pusanga weakened , she w e n t back as t h o u g h the w h o l e t h i n g had been a dream. I asked myself 'how did I actually live wi th this girl?"

"My grandfather saw that my heart was

bitter and he told me that it would not get

me anywhere. My heart was still hard and wanted to kill

Bit by bit through taking the very plants

that I had intended to use for revenge, the spirits told me

it was wrong to kill and my heart

softened /'

H o w a r d G. Charing is a partner i n Eagle's Wing Centre for Contemporary Shamanism. His in i t ia t ion in to the w o r l d of Shamanism was sudden, which was caused by a serious accident (a lift crash) which resulted i n severe injuries and a near-death experience. After many months of physical pain and disability, he had a transformational experience which started h i m o n the path to healing.

Peter C l o u d s l e y has b e e n r e s e a r c h i n g Peruvian fiesta music since 1980. He has bui l t u p a documented archive of traditional music and interviews, and has collected for the British Museum. Throughout this time he has travelled extensively i n Lat in America, especially Peru, studying the wealth of music and diversity of popular religions. Peter has taught courses at the City Lit and elsewhere ( o n music a n d p o p u l a r c u l t u r e i n L a t i n A m e r i c a ) a n d speaks f l u e n t Spanish & Portuguese .

Eagle's Wing founded by Leo Rutherford i n 1983 is to help people connect their inner and outer worlds, to br ing dreams f rom the w o r l d of Spirit into Matter, and thus enjoy a creative and f r u i t f u l l i fe - to dance t h e i r dreams awake.

D e t a i l s o f Eagle 's W i n g p r o g r a m m e s , w o r k s h o p s , journeys to meet i n d i g e n o u s shamans . For more i n f o r m a t i o n see w w w . s h a m a n i s m . c o . u k or call or write BCM Box 7475, London WC1 3XX Tel: (01435) 810233

PHOTOS: Page 13 - top : H o w a r d and Javier Arevalo. B o t t o m : p r e p e a r i n g a n d b e r e w i n g t h e ayahuasca. page 14 t o p : B l o w i n g tobacco s m o k e o n t h e b r e w . D r a w i n g o f Banisteriopsis Caapi. Bot tom : The brew Page 15 - top : .Some of the plants used to make a Pusanga. D r a w i n g o f p s y c h o t r i a p s y c h o t r i a e f o l i a . B o t t o m Javier a n d his assistant. Page 16 : H o w a r d , Javier and his eldest son. Page 17 : T r a d i t i o n a l p a i n t e d ayahuasca brewing pot f r o m a tribe o n the upper. Orinoco River.

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