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Porto Velho: Trippin' in the Jungle
Ayahuasca
On the way home we stopped off at the local branch of the Santo Daime Church. They too were holding a ceremony that night to honour their ex-chief who had died ten years before. We were invited to attend. How could travel-happy gringos refuse an offer to witness such a cultural event? Especially when it involved ayahuasca.
The ceremony took place in a bright church, all white and with no walls to prove they have nothing to hide. The participants all wore white except for the green sash of the ladies. We sat around the edges of the Ship of Light – as we decided to call the place - while hours of hymns were chanted to the accompaniment of shaking maracas made from cans of dried peas. This may sound more tedious than any other religious ceremony, but not with the help of ayahuasca. Used by Amazonian Indians in their own shamanic ceremonies, the drink is made from fermented vines and barks which together give it hallucinogenic properties. This and the rhythm of the chants and the beats of the beads help to transform the experience into a riot of colours, geometric shapes and even contacts with the spirit world.
I asked for half a glass of the dark green liquid. It was one of the bitterest drinks I’ve ever had. I still finished it though, watched by my friends, the girls on one side, the boys on the other and unable to contact each other. We sat around the outside of the room, enjoying the shapes and the music, drifting away into another world but I never made it as far as the next dimension. Generations of both sexes from twelve to twelvety took full part in the ceremony. The Captain of the Ship of Light and his two main men, combined age of around 200, sat at the front in armchairs looking like they were asleep. It was fascinating to watch them regularly coming back to earth, eyes blazing, legs twitching, looking around at the visitors before taking off again or drinking more. People in their sixties were there to help in case you needed to be sick.
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