Yagé (Ayahuasca)
For many years, indigenous communities have developed a knowledge that has allowed them to maintain a balance of coexistence with themselves and with nature, by achieving a direct channel between the heart of the earth and human consciousness. Plants are part of one of the essential pillars of these communities, through which they have been able to develop processes of knowledge, introspection and healing.
The knowledge of medicinal plants has been transmitted from generation to generation by the ancestors of the different communities, in order to preserve this ancient wisdom and make it accessible to as many people as possible. The taitas, grandparents, elders or shamans who have inherited this profound wisdom are the right people to share its properties and recommend its uses.
Each plant has a particular personality. Some represent the woman or the man, some are of air and others of fire; Some are left in the mouth, others are drunk, some are blown on, and others are absorbed through the skin. Each of these accompanies the journey, since they allow us to think, speak and live the world more fluidly. Plants have energetic properties that when used properly allow us to do work aimed at purifying, healing and balancing the body, mind and spirit.
The coca leaf, tobacco, yopo, and yagé (ayahuasca) are some of the ancestral plants that allow us to work by opening the heart to heal wounds, fears, blockages, beliefs that tie us to the past and thus release attachments. that do not let us evolve. In the middle of the jungle, in a maloca, between songs, prayers and an eternal fire, the plants acquire a whole new meaning.
Yagé (Ayahuasca)
The yagé or ayahuasca is known as the “Liana of the soul”, say the grandparents that it extends to the beginning of time and represents the umbilical cord that links individuals with the past. Therefore, it is considered the sacred plant par excellence for the tribes of Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, throughout the western Amazon.
This is born from a parasitic vine that attaches itself to large trunks or lianas that grow in the jungle and from it the bark is extracted for its psychoactive and purgative effects. They are put to boil with chagropanga leaves and depending on which ones are used the effects vary. As a result, a bitter drink remains which is distributed among those present. The rituals are done in the open field and there is usually a campfire in the middle to invoke protection; the taita prays and sings.
This plant claims to have an effect on all spheres of man. In a physical way, it acts as a purge producing vomiting and diarrhea, seeking a body cleansing. In the same way, the trance or drunkenness effect called chuma occurs. Mentally, it brings a challenge to the conscience and, in turn, awakens the subconscious, as it brings back memories, enlivens moments and reveals truths. In the spiritual it creates hallucinations and images called pints, which are the revelations of the plant. What happens to the subject is that it multiplies into corporeities, personalities, deities, plants and identities coexisting in it.
The grandparents affirm that yagé sees everything and knows everything, so in ayahuasca ceremonies one knows oneself, the conscience begins to speak and the soul is freed from the body so that the true being comes out. They also say that ayahuasca examines our intentions, in this way, it has an intimate relationship with each yagé taker and expresses himself in a perfect and mysterious way. The yagé experience does not produce the same effects for all participants because it is an individual experience. Some just vomit and have no visions, others say it is a before and after. Anecdotes abound of what yagé has accomplished in their lives.
