 |
History
shamanism
 Ayahuasca (Santo
Daime)
spiritual leadership
Master Irineu (1930-1971)
Pd. Sebastião (1971-1990)
Pd. Alfredo (1990-present)
|
 |
Ayahuasca (Santo Daime)
 Ayahuasca
is an entheogenic tea originating from the Amazonian forest.
For thousands of years, ayahuasca has been used by the native
people of the forest in both religious ceremonies as shamanistic
and therapeutic practices. The brown colored and bitter tasting
tea is known under many names: yagé, nepe, kabi, natema,
hoasca, daime, and ayahuasca. This last name comes from the
Quechua language of the ancient Incas, and means 'vine of the
soul'.
Entheogen
Ayahuasca is in the entheogen family. An 'entheogen' is a substance
that takes one closer to God and other divine beings. Other
known entheogens are peyote, San Pedro, some mushrooms and certain
African plants like the Iboga root. All are power plants known
by shamans and spiritual leaders to hold vital, healthy information
and to open the doorway to the spiritual world. These plants
have been revealing themselves for thousands of years. Entheogens,
traditionally used as spiritual food, in the context of ritual,
serve to create a shift in consciousness that opens up access
to the Divine.
Healing
For many, the initial motivation to drink the tea is the desire
for healing. Through the ayahuasca and the mediums that know
how to work with its energy, people have been healed from drug
addiction, cancer, emotional trauma and other serious ailments.
A more common kind of healing is a purifying or cleansing of
old thoughts and behavior patterns that are not for the highest
good and do not serve a person anymore. Sometimes, this cleansing
is accompanied by a physical purging where the individual vomits
or 'throws out' the beverage. This phenomenon also indicates
that the human body will only accept the quantity of ayahuasca
that it can use.
Jagube & Rainha
Ayahuasca is made by combining the vine of the 'Jagube' (Banisteriopsis
Caapi) with the leaves of the shrub called 'Rainha' (Psychotria
Viridis). Both ingredients are being cooked together for several
hours, in order to release their active substances to the tea.
While the leaf of the Rainha naturally contains the psycho-active
substance DMT (dimethyltriptamine), the vine of the Jagube contains
MAOI (harmine, harmaline), which together produce the known
spiritual effects. The Jagube is considered by shamans to be
the 'spirit' of the tea, the guide through the experience.
Revelation
The story goes, that during the time of the Spanish invasion
of Peru from 1532 to 1534, the Inca prince Hayauasca took this
knowledge with him to the Amazonian rainforest, and diffused
it among the many indian tribes. It was only much later, with
the ongoing urbanisation in Brazil, that the beverage reached
civilization again. So it happened that, at the beginning of
the twentieth century, a tall and strong rubber tapper from
African origin called Raimundo
Irineu Serra got befriended with Peruvian shamans, who introduced
him to this beverage called ayahuasca.
|
|
South-America (1532-1910)
The story goes, that at the time of the Spanish invasion of
Peru, the Inca prince Hayauasca took his sacred beverage with
him into the rainforest, and diffused the knowledge among the
many indian tribes.
Ayahuasca Visions
|
'Ayahuasca
Visions' is a collection of paintings by native
medicine man Pablo Amaringo, interpreted by anthropologist
Luís Eduardo Luna. Amaringo paints the detailed
visions he experienced under the influence of ayahuasca.
In his paintings one meets the living spirits of beneficial
as well as the ancient and wise guardians of esoteric
knowledge. |
Forest of Visions
Part biography, part document of spiritual wisdom, 'Forest
of Visions' is a fascinating story that satisfies on many
levels. Author Alex Polari de Alverga spent years as a political
prisoner during military rule in Brazil. He recounts his spiritual
transformation after release under the tutelage of Padrinho
Sebastião, one of the founders of the Santo Daime
religion. |
|
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=link}
){kind=link}