fects. Usually there are visual hallucinations in color. In excessive doses, the drug brings on nightmarish visions and a feeling of reckless abandon. Consciousness is usually not lost, nor is there impairment of the use of arms and legs. In fact, dancing is a major part of the ayahuasca ceremony in many tribes. The intoxication ends in a deep sleep and vivid dreams.The ceremonial uses of ayahuasca are of major importance in the lives of South American Indians. In eastern Peru, medicine men take the drug to diagnose and treat diseases. In Colombia and Brazil, the drug is used in religious ceremonies that are rooted in mythology. In the famous Yurupari ceremony of the Tukanoan Indians of Amazonian Columbia, a ceremony that initiates adolescent boys into manhood, the drug is given to strengthen those who must undergo the severely painful ordeal that forms a part of the rite.The intoxication of ayahuasca or caapi among these Indians is thought to represent a return to the origin of all things: the user “sees” tribal gods and the creation of the universe and of man and the animals. This experience convinces the Indians of the reality of their religious beliefs, because they have “seen” everything that underlies them. To them, everyday life is unreal, and what caapi/ayahuasca brings them is the true reality. Peyote is a cactus that grows in rocky deserts. It is the most spectacular hallucinogenic plant of the New World. Peyote is also one of the earliest known plants used by the Aztecs. Peyote is a small, fleshy, spineless cactus with little crowns that sprout from it. These crowns are cut off and sun dried to be eaten. Spanish chroniclers described the use of peyote by the Aztecs. One reported that those who ate it saw frightful visions and remained drunk for two or three days. He stated that the Aztecs ate the plant to give then courage to fight and not feel fear, nor hunger, nor thirst. The Azte...
