E473 #Yague

 E473 #Yague (Banisteriopsis caapi) ·#Ayahuasca, #bejuco de oro, #vino de la muerte.Es una liana o parra gigante del Amazonas^, F malpiguiáceas. con ramas largas y fuertes cuyas hojas son redondas, verdes y puntiagudas. La es grande  con cinco pétalos blancos y rosados, pero florece muy pocas veces , con alcaloides, alucinógena, enteogena

La planta contiene harmina y tetrahidroharmina (THH). Estos alcaloides de la clase beta-carbolina, actúan como inhibidores de la monoamino oxidasa (IMAO), los cuales permiten al componente psicoactivo primario Dimetiltriptamina (DMT) entrar en actividad. El DMT proviene de otras plantas como la psychotria viridis, también conocida como chacruna; la diplopterys cabrerana, conocida como chagropanga o chaliponga.²​ El vástago de la planta de yagé contiene 0.11-0.83% de beta-carbolina con harmina y THH como sus mayores componentes.³​

Se distinguen dos variedades de yagé: mariri caupuri que crece más cerca del Ecuador y el mariri tucunaca que crece en zonas más frías como el sur del Brasil. Ambas variedades pertenecen a la misma especie, aunque tienen diferencias morfológicas y causan diferentes efectos.⁴

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsq_Vxurw4E

Healing rituals

Ayahuasca is made from a combination of two plants: the jagube vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and the chacrona bush (Psychotria viridis). The rituals with the sacred brew take place three times a week during the night and can last until dawn. They are performed in a dedicated space and are guided by a group of shamans. The oldest of them is now 105 years old and, according to community members interviewed for this story, he did not present any symptoms of the disease. In specific cases, the ceremony can take place at the patient’s home.

“In rituals, we make the sick person’s body connect with the mururé tree [Brosimum acutifolium] through singing,” says Edney Samias, referring to an Amazonian tree known for its many medicinal properties. “But when there are several patients at once, we gather up to eight people taking ayahuasca to strengthen their souls.”

The ayahuasca ritual is considered by the Kokama as the most powerful cure, and it is a moment of experience, discovery, visions of the future and the past, and learning about traditions. It is a secret ceremony, with all the secrets transmitted directly from master to disciple.

“My family has always taken ayahuasca, but before the disease came I stopped for three months. I got scared and thought it was better to reach out to white men because they have respirators, medicines, doctors, and could cure. And I forgot that I could cure my family myself,” Samias says. “I regret it. I shouldn’t have believed in the white man’s medicine, nor should I have taken anyone to the hospital.”

According to Glades, the homemade medicine and home treatment have helped her people survive. “Contamination spreads more easily in the hospital. With our own medicine we stay at home. Ancestral medicine is the essence of the cure for us. We can’t wait for a doctor,” she says.

She adds that now is the time to encourage community members to begin cultivating “healing gardens” with medicinal plants like those used to make ayahuasca. “We’re going to teach because there’s a right way to grow and work ayahuasca plants, it’s not random,” Glades says. “Now it’s time to strengthen [the traditions].”

Banner image: Residents of the Kokama village of Boará de Cima set up barriers to bar outsiders who might be infected with the coronavirus. Image courtesy of the Boará de Cima villagers.

This story was first reported by Mongabay’s Brazil team and published here on our Brazil site on July 30, 2020.

https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/favoring-ayahuasca-over-hospitals-indigenous-kokama-see-covid-19-deaths-drop/