Singing to the Plants A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper edition by Stephan V Beyer Religion Spirituality eBooks
Download As PDF : Singing to the Plants A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper edition by Stephan V Beyer Religion Spirituality eBooks 
In the Upper , mestizos are the Spanish-speaking descendants of Hispanic colonizers and the indigenous peoples of the jungle. Some mestizos have migrated to towns and cities, such as Iquitos and Pucallpa; most remain in small villages, their houses perched on stilts on the shores of the rivers that are their primary means of travel. Here in the jungle, they have retained features of the Hispanic tradition, including a folk Catholicism and traditional Hispanic medicine. And they have incorporated much of the religious tradition of the , especially its healing, sorcery, shamanism, and the use of potent plant hallucinogens, including ayahuasca. The result is a uniquely eclectic shamanist culture that continues not only to fascinate outsiders with its brilliant visionary art but also to attract thousands of seekers each year with the promise of visionary experiences of their own.
Ayahuasca shamanism is now part of global culture. The visionary ayahuasca paintings of Pablo Cesar Amaringo are available to a world market in a sumptuous coffee-table book; international ayahuasca tourists exert a profound economic and cultural pull on previously isolated local practitioners; ayahuasca shamanism, once the terrain of anthropologists, is the subject of novels and spiritual memoirs. Ayahuasca shamans perform their healing rituals in Ontario and Wisconsin.
“Singing to the Plants” sets forth, in accessible form, just what this shamanism is about -- what happens at an ayahuasca healing ceremony, how the apprentice shaman forms a spiritual relationship with the healing plant spirits, how sorcerers inflict the harm that the shaman heals, and the ways that plants are used in healing, love magic, and sorcery. The work emphasizes both the uniqueness of this highly eclectic and absorptive shamanism -- plant spirits dressed in surgical scrubs, extraterrestrial doctors speaking computer language -- and its deep roots in shamanist beliefs and practices, both healing and sorcery, common to the Upper . The work seeks to understand this form of shamanism, its relationship to other shamanisms, and its survival in the new global economy, through anthropology, ethnobotany, cognitive psychology, legal history, and personal memoir.
Singing to the Plants A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper edition by Stephan V Beyer Religion Spirituality eBooks
This eloquent compendium presents us with an encompassing anthropological view of the ayahuasca cult as practiced in a certain region of the Peruvian Amazon today, including personal, cultural, regional, religious, ethical, ethno-botanical, medicinal, zoological, botanical, legal and sociological aspects.Stephan Beyer spent many years undergoing a formal shamanic apprenticeship with two main teachers, one male, one female, becoming an adept in the process. In a first, theoretical part of the book, we meet these widely esteemed mentors, learn what healing with the sacred plant medicine involves and what effects it has - what it can do and what it does not do - followed by a general discussion of shamanism and of various kinds of magic. Shamans are performers and have often been called tricksters, talking, cajoling or even bullying us into better organization of self, as the author empathically explains. In the mythical otherworld visited by these healers, adventures are traced, visions followed, spirits encountered, remissions engendered and lost souls retrieved. The Amazonian province of the soul has its own flavor and is peopled by many entities unknown to us. That makes it attractive and repulsive at the same time, a fascinating foundation for inner fermentation.
A second part of the book is dedicated to the actual medicine. Ayahuasca or yagé is commonly a mix of two plants - the vine itself and the small-leaved chacruna (Psychotria viridis) but may contain other ingredients, giving rise to individual potions with special effects. Working with any of these brews makes it imperative to know the plants one is about to consume in order to enjoy their beneficial effects or avoid them where deadly. Like in Chinese or medieval European medicine, we are talking correspondances. Acquiring this knowledge the traditional way - essentially fasting and roughing it - Stephan gradually acquaints himself with many different plants, naming and describing them again for us in his plant and animal Vademecum at the end of the book (Appendices A and B).
Chapter by chapter, the world of the mestizo shaman unfolds: we learn about magical sounds, ways of harming and healing, sucking & blowing doctoring, spirits, magic stones and darts, shamanic herbalism, ending up with an overflowing cup of ingredients to bring to the practice of ayahuasca ingestion and its effects.
As anyone acquainted with the medicine will readily confirm, drinking it usually leads to a thorough purge in the form of vomiting and/or diarrhea. That actually sounds worse than it is, since one is wretched with a noble aim in mind. To get well it is necessary to clean out the old and make room for the new. The mareación produced by the "vine of the spirit", i.e. the mental and physical state it induces, may be compared to the effects of the two most popular natural entheogens of the Americas, peyote and San Pedro, except stronger. As usual, dosage is of vital importance.
Part III discusses the history and ritual context of ayahuasca use, taking us into the deep jungle. When exactly it all began, we do not know but it seems safe to assume that the indigenous tribes were familiar with the practice millennia before it reached the white man or even the man of mixed blood. In fact, it took the rubber boom of the late 19th century to bring these ritual healing ceremonies to the fore in order to produce the cults of Santo Daimé, Barquinha or the more individualized healing sessions of the mestizos living on the river banks of the no longer virgin forests. Unfortunately, the shamanic tradition as still encountered not too long ago seems to be disappearing. Like in many other cultures, the young do not want to take upon themselves the hardships of learning the old way, and many consider the healing practices of their elders as outdated. Money rules instead.
This brings us to the present (Part IV), with ayahuasca tourists trampling herd-like along the old river paths in hope of finding a way out of their mental malaise and back home. Some are in serious physical trouble and, just like their local counterparts, could not be helped or healed by Western medicine. That's the lure. Is this globalized stream of well-intentioned Westerners making things better or worse by being there? And what does the law say, for that matter? The author takes a thorough look at the legal situation of ayahuasca and wonders what the future will bring. Fortunately, he is a reporter more than an advocate, making his dense book a captivating read. Not to mention the admiration one feels in the presence of such vast knowledge! And: this would not be a scholarly work if it didn't reveal its sources and give us an index as a beacon for recognition and return.
Susanne G. Seiler
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Singing to the Plants A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper edition by Stephan V Beyer Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews
The rampant mythologizing of Ayahuasca no longer serves the work. This book brings perspective to Ayaville. Like a good shamanic brew all the ingredients are well balanced. There is science, humor, relevant ruminations on "la madrecita," magia, and lots of good faith toward Mestizo Shamanism. Mr. Beyer has provided an outstanding contribution to the field of ayahuasca lit. Shamanism, in my view, is now an evolving wisdom culture and Singing to the Plants is a melodious icaro in itself to the cause. Buen trabajo, hombre.
This is an informative & well written read on the topic of Ayahuasca in general and Peruvian/Mestizo shamanism in particular. I was more interested in the second half of the book which addressed Ayahuasca in a larger context, but that it just a matter of preference. I just an not interested in diving too deep into the brujeria aspect of the shamanic experience...although it is a strong force that shapes their tradition. Regardless, this is an essential book to have in your library if you're interested in understanding this powerful plant medicine.
I whole-heartedly recommend this book for people who are interested in ian mestizo shamanism or any kind of spiritual healing. If you are an experienced ayahuasca drinker this book will help you put context around your experiences. If you are just curious, this book is a trustworthy source of genuine information and will tantalize your curiosity even more.
Based on my personal experiences, I can say the information in this book is genuine and authentic. The book does not make wild claims about the efficacy or appropriateness of shamanic treatment but does meticulously document the techniques and philosophy of mestizo shamanism.
But this book is of interest to a much broader audience than people who are interested in just ayahuasca or just mestizo healing or even just shamanism. This book contains some extremely well-thought-out discussions about the nature of health and illness, the meaning of 'healing,' the nature of 'spirit,' the basis of good and evil in human relationships, and so much more. The background of these discussions is classically shamanic, but the ideas and analyses apply to any serious healing practice.
The one criticism I have of this book is that it is a little too objective. In addressing topics like shamanism, it is easy to focus too much on one's personal subjective experience and devolve into simple story-telling. It's also easy to write in a lazy stream of consciousness (consider Pinchbeck). Beyers does neither. But this book tells us too little about why the author felt a need to write this book.
For example, there is a wonderful passage in the book in which a man comes to Beyer's curandero teacher for healing of severe abdominal distress. At the end of the passage, Beyer asks himself the question whether he believed the curandero could cure an acute appendicitis. Beyer doesn't answer that question and doesn't tell us what eventually happened to the man. I'm sure Beyer did this intentionally He wants us to think and answer the questions on our own. On one hand, that's one of the good things about this book. On the other, it would be dramatic to hear more personal, subjective parts of the story.
This eloquent compendium presents us with an encompassing anthropological view of the ayahuasca cult as practiced in a certain region of the Peruvian today, including personal, cultural, regional, religious, ethical, ethno-botanical, medicinal, zoological, botanical, legal and sociological aspects.
Stephan Beyer spent many years undergoing a formal shamanic apprenticeship with two main teachers, one male, one female, becoming an adept in the process. In a first, theoretical part of the book, we meet these widely esteemed mentors, learn what healing with the sacred plant medicine involves and what effects it has - what it can do and what it does not do - followed by a general discussion of shamanism and of various kinds of magic. Shamans are performers and have often been called tricksters, talking, cajoling or even bullying us into better organization of self, as the author empathically explains. In the mythical otherworld visited by these healers, adventures are traced, visions followed, spirits encountered, remissions engendered and lost souls retrieved. The ian province of the soul has its own flavor and is peopled by many entities unknown to us. That makes it attractive and repulsive at the same time, a fascinating foundation for inner fermentation.
A second part of the book is dedicated to the actual medicine. Ayahuasca or yagé is commonly a mix of two plants - the vine itself and the small-leaved chacruna (Psychotria viridis) but may contain other ingredients, giving rise to individual potions with special effects. Working with any of these brews makes it imperative to know the plants one is about to consume in order to enjoy their beneficial effects or avoid them where deadly. Like in Chinese or medieval European medicine, we are talking correspondances. Acquiring this knowledge the traditional way - essentially fasting and roughing it - Stephan gradually acquaints himself with many different plants, naming and describing them again for us in his plant and animal Vademecum at the end of the book (Appendices A and B).
Chapter by chapter, the world of the mestizo shaman unfolds we learn about magical sounds, ways of harming and healing, sucking & blowing doctoring, spirits, magic stones and darts, shamanic herbalism, ending up with an overflowing cup of ingredients to bring to the practice of ayahuasca ingestion and its effects.
As anyone acquainted with the medicine will readily confirm, drinking it usually leads to a thorough purge in the form of vomiting and/or diarrhea. That actually sounds worse than it is, since one is wretched with a noble aim in mind. To get well it is necessary to clean out the old and make room for the new. The mareación produced by the "vine of the spirit", i.e. the mental and physical state it induces, may be compared to the effects of the two most popular natural entheogens of the Americas, peyote and San Pedro, except stronger. As usual, dosage is of vital importance.
Part III discusses the history and ritual context of ayahuasca use, taking us into the deep jungle. When exactly it all began, we do not know but it seems safe to assume that the indigenous tribes were familiar with the practice millennia before it reached the white man or even the man of mixed blood. In fact, it took the rubber boom of the late 19th century to bring these ritual healing ceremonies to the fore in order to produce the cults of Santo Daimé, Barquinha or the more individualized healing sessions of the mestizos living on the river banks of the no longer virgin forests. Unfortunately, the shamanic tradition as still encountered not too long ago seems to be disappearing. Like in many other cultures, the young do not want to take upon themselves the hardships of learning the old way, and many consider the healing practices of their elders as outdated. Money rules instead.
This brings us to the present (Part IV), with ayahuasca tourists trampling herd-like along the old river paths in hope of finding a way out of their mental malaise and back home. Some are in serious physical trouble and, just like their local counterparts, could not be helped or healed by Western medicine. That's the lure. Is this globalized stream of well-intentioned Westerners making things better or worse by being there? And what does the law say, for that matter? The author takes a thorough look at the legal situation of ayahuasca and wonders what the future will bring. Fortunately, he is a reporter more than an advocate, making his dense book a captivating read. Not to mention the admiration one feels in the presence of such vast knowledge! And this would not be a scholarly work if it didn't reveal its sources and give us an index as a beacon for recognition and return.
Susanne G. Seiler
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