An old man in a suit, a well-known faith healer, is ready to pass on his knowledge to his daughter. He extends his right hand to the girl’s face and runs his fingers up and down, from her hair to her forehead and chin, in a gesture of blessing that at the same time pushes her back.
It is the farewell of someone who is ready to leave in peace. As soon as the hand leaves the woman’s face, the man’s body begins to crumble into sand. A strong wind blows, which scatters the grains everywhere.
The scene, half seen and half dreamed, was the central message of six hours of work with ayahuasca at Instituto Nhanderu. This religious social action in the Cracolândia region, founded by Adriano de Camargo and Tuca Fontes, uses so-called forest medicines in rituals that welcome drug addicts.
The ayahuasca that Saturday night was strong, it was not even necessary to accept a second consecration (dose) to start the trip that had its trepidations there, but always in peace. More precisely, one of the ayahuacas brought from Acre by Adriano from Noke Kuin villages (Katukina), where he travels frequently.
The São Paulo neoshaman gave the blogger an allegedly weaker drink, served in an agate mug. The tea was dark and looked reddish, with an intense, vegetable flavor. It took three sips to exhaust the liquid between bitter and sour.
About an hour earlier, he had consecrated apurinã snuff, one of several types available at Nhanderu. Blown into the right nostril with a tipi (hollow wooden artifact), it triggered an intense sensation in the skull, as if an expansive filling, and in the chest, in a vibration that the psychonaut usually calls a thrill.
The blow inflicted by snuff on the mind and body, at first, has something unpleasant, due to the physical intensity and the surprise that comes with it. It is well understood why psychoactive vegetables are called power plants. So much power that the beginner declines to receive the powder in the left nostril.
The initial shock gradually dissipates and gives way to lightness and well-being, slight euphoria, clarity of thought. It is not an alteration of consciousness, and in this sense it is very different from psychedelics themselves.
Even sharpening the mind, snuff does it in a passive way, so to speak, opening it to what comes from the body and from outside. There was no outcrop of emotional content, biographical events or dream scenes like the one described above. One can describe the experience, at least that initiation on Saturday, as more corporeal, physiological and perceptual than psychic.
In this sense, it has more to do with the effect of ketamine (ketamine), which I had experienced days before. It was also via the nasal route, aspirated in a metal straw after measuring the dose of 50 mg on a precision scale. The impact is quick, certainly much faster than that of DMT (dimethyltryptamine) in ingested ayahuasca, but not explosive like that of snuff.
However, there is a marked dissociation between thought and body. Looking at the hands and arms, you can tell who they belong to, but the feeling is also that they might not be yours. Almost indifference.
Ketamine is, after all, a powerful anesthetic. One of those present described her with a gigantic dentist’s anesthesia. The companion noted, however, that at least there was no loss of motor control, at the dose snorted, although the prostration was complete.
It had “buried”, as another put it, referring to the expression “K-hole” (ketamine hole) used by recreational users of the drug. It is often used in the nightclub scene for dancing, taking advantage of a curious perceptual distortion.
Listening to music, one has the impression of hearing each chord, instrument or voice separately, without losing the notion that they are simultaneous. A sync break, but not total. You can imagine that body movements work, with pleasure, as a reconstruction of the musical flow. But this reflection does not have the power to get the prostrate off the couch.
Back to Nhanderu and to the richest experience of ayahuasca: well before the half hour expected, the strength of the tea arrived bringing, at first, a sharp auditory acuity. Lying on the mattress and sheltered in the blanket, he listened to the loud music, clearly distinguishing each sound, but without fragmentation.
Then came memories of a specific period of adolescence, vacations in Ubatuba with his first girlfriend. Sightseeing on the small aluminum speedboat, the unthinkable freedom of three young people aged 14 or 15 to travel between beaches and islands. Only good thing.
Then began the psychedelic visual session. Lots of light and color, a succession of geometric figures, fractals, prismatic transparencies, spectral decompositions projected on the screen of closed eyes. All beautiful, but with the perceptual superficiality that would not deserve the name of mirações.
From flutes and the murmur of running water, the songs migrate to indigenous compositions, songs by shamans and shamans with strong percussion, which takes on disturbing overtones. The journey becomes an exercise in resilience, like someone who bumps into a bumpy road and has to keep his head firmly on his neck.
A little nausea creeps in, you have to sit down and pick up the bucket set aside for the occasional vomit, which doesn’t come. The urge to urinate is strong, and the 20-step walk to the bathroom proves to be painful, it only happens with the help of two men. The pressure drops, cold sweat breaks out and soaks the shirt.
A dose of salt under the tongue returns the usual heaviness to the head after a few minutes. Enough to return to the comfort of a mattress, blanket and pillow. Wakefulness and lucid dreams came and went in waves, lulling the refreshed psychonaut.
Around, several participants vomited and spit in the buckets, after new doses of tea and snuff. Others smoked a pipe, and at least one dripped blood in his eyes. So much activity was not enough to bother, but it reinforced the impression that some people turn almost imploringly to the medicines of the forest.
The rest of the ayahuasca’s strength cools down slowly, to the rhythm of the Guarani songs sung by the young Tukumbo on the guitar. Verses that sound like mantras are repeated: “Nhanderu tenonde, Nhanderu tenonde” (the greatest creator). Then came joyous, danceable songs like “Losing My Relion” (REM) and “Oque É, Oque É?” (Gonzaguinha): “It’s life / It’s beautiful / And it’s beautiful”.
Around 5 am, Adriano asks everyone to straighten up, but not everyone sat down right away. A round of sharing followed, with the maraca and the word passing from one to one. Almost everyone spoke, many thanks and some life stories, pain and overcoming drug addiction like alcohol and crack.
I introduced myself saying that, before being a journalist, I was a son, brother, husband, father and grandfather, and I couldn’t say more (that’s all it took to earn the nickname “family director”, with lots of laughter). It was the summary extracted from the vision of the healer in a suit who says goodbye to his daughter: turning to dust may not seem distressing, when you are sure to leave good things in the world with your offspring.
A vegan soup was served, accompanied by snacks not so much brought by the visitors. The recommendation, for those leaving, was to order the Uber and wait for the car to arrive before going down to the ground floor of the commercial building. Despite the clear day, it was still Cracolândia around.
On those sidewalks he had lived for F. years, until seven months ago. Now he has a job and is happy for the first time in his life, at age 42. He attributes the new phase to Nhanderu and forest medicines.
The reporter concludes, from his own experience, that ayahuasca and reception contributed more to his rescue than snuff. From the psychic angle, visions, symbols, scenes and memories seem to offer more raw material for integration than physical and perceptual alterations, however crude and explosive they may be. But who am I to say?
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To learn more about the history and new developments of science in this area, including in Brazil, look for my book “Psiconautas – Travels with Brazilian Psychedelic Science”.
Be sure to also see the reports from the series A Ressurreição da Jurema:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrissima/2022/07/reporter-conta-experiencia-de-inalar-dmt-psicodelico-em-teste-contra-depressao.shtml
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ilustrissima/2022/07/da-caatinga-ao-laboratorio-cientistas-investigam-efeito-antidepressivo-de-psicodelico.shtml
It is always worth remembering that psychedelics are still experimental therapies and certainly do not constitute a panacea for all mental disorders, nor should they be self-medicated. Talk to your therapist or doctor before venturing into the area.
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
