How can I find the real shamans in Mexico

[Come on pilgrim]

I have now been travelling for long time, and as a dream I ended up in Mexico, now for a hunt on both the mushrooms and the Peyote.


Any one excperienced enough who can answer where to go and what to do, to join the people of the jungle...


Best,


Eivind

[indjuwandjuwa]

Go either to to the state of Oaxaca or Monte Rey. Oaxaca is not really a good place to travel allone I hear. Oaxaca is the place for fungi or Salvia) Ask around when your in a village where the majorityu of people are of indiginous decendance. Do the same in MonteRey for Peyote shamans. For peyote things are a little more direct. Look for Huichol or Tarahumara. Simply let them know what you interests are. And if you can come allong with them.


It is always better to buy things at the local markets that they appreciate. Like food & tobacco , alcohol,. clothing or candy for the kids.

[Come on pilgrim]

Thank you kindly for your answer. I am now heading for the north, to the desert, after meeting a lot of old hippies on the way. I hope for a good result. I will, on my way try to get in touch with either Huichol or Tarahumara... I dont know how things will be, as I take my travels day by day - but I am sure I will hunt that Peyote untill the day I day (here in Mexico).

[dove]

I went hiking deep into the Copper Canyon (Barranca Del Cobre) deepest canyon on earth, in Mexico in 1992and stayed the night with an authentic Tarahumara indian family. These people have been in the canyon for 20,000 years! It was totally cool, almost mystical, however, no one ever offered us any peyote , etc. We just smoked weed that we brought and stayed polite with them. I had wished to try some peyote but obviously the natives normally won't talk about it. And I was too scared to ask them.

[dove]

I dont think Oaxacan backcountryis a safe place to go these days unless you re really, reallycareful. You might not return in one piece! But if you do go there, I ve learned from experience in Colombia, Jamaica and Mexico = Respect the natives as you would natural gas and you ll get along good - in other words be a "good boy gringo" like I was!

[Come on pilgrim]

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Yeah well thanx pal..
I have just arrived Oaxaca, and I will be on my way to the mysterious desert(s) after a while. Keep on riding those horses to the north...
If it´s meant to be, I will get my best trip ever within the next two weeks.. See ya there - Howdy partner</TD></TR>
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[sands of time]

As far as I know, most shamans are not to willing to share with outsiders. They hold these sacraments in the highests regaurds and they feel they should only be used by the strong and spiritual minded... That means no to most people. I am 1/4 native american but in no way would I be offered a payote experience unless I spent a considerable amount of time with the tribe.

[indjuwandjuwa]

cant really speak for mexico - but in ecuador it is really easy to get in touch with people thatdoAyahuasca ceremonies. Most of them are happy to share the sacred brew. Same thing with San Pedro in Ecuador.


I went especially to gather info and possibly even bring back Dyplopteries Cabrerana (unsucesfull) I did manage to bring back two freshCaapi stems, and have plenty growing now.


In ecuador it was very easy to get in touch with serious spiritual (indiginous and non indiginous) practitioners, happy to share their knowledge.


For 1 of the indiginous healers,I had to arrange a trip through a tour operator. $$ but well worth the trip.


I stayed at his place, vomited and shit my guts out half the night and was invited to do the same the next day. The family was very happy to have me(I am shure that anyone forgein)around. They were extremely hospitable. I do speak spanish , so that helped heaps,.... but they mostly spoke only Qechua, so communication was through the guide ( which did speak a little quechua)





the jungle is awesome and I only saw a micro fraction of it!


I am sure that there areshamans inMEXthat would love to share their knowledge.

[Eirias]

It seems that the traditional healers that use entheogenic
plants (and/or fungi) are a little more receptive to performing
initations/ceremonies for $$ in South America than in Mexico, however I
have heard of mushroom ceremonies being done for $$ in Oaxaca in the
past few years (~2001). One must travel to Hualta de Jimenez in
Oaxaca, the small Mazatec town where the famous curandera Maria Sabrina
lived, to find those who will perform the hongos ketesh
ceremonies. It's apparently so isolated in the mountains that
over 60% of the people don't even speak Spanish, only their native
Nahuatl.

In partucular with Peyote, since it is so sacred and also an
endangered species (and plus it takes forever to grow just one single useable "button"), it's going to be a
bit less obvious as to how one goes about participating in a
traditional ceremony. Occasionally in the US, people with tribal
backgrounds, whom are either members of the Peyote-using Native
American Church (or who have close friends/relatives who are) will invite
non-Native American friends to participate in certain Peyote
rituals. This is strictly by invitation only, and is much
different than the way Peyote is approached by the native peoples of
northern Mexico, and is not a "curing" ceremony like with ayahuasca or
the sacred mushrooms where the shaman's divining "service" can be "purchased".

Interestingly, in Gabon in equatorial west Africa, one can be
initiated into the Bwiti cult by participating in an Iboga (Tabernanthe
iboga) ceremony for a fee. It's apparently much more accessable
than other traditonal sacred plant rituals, particularly those in the
New World, possibly because 1) Bwiti is similar to Buddhism in that
anyone from any cultural background can become a member (a "Baanzi")
and there is no taboo about Whites participating, and B) African entheogens such as Iboga never
went through the 1960's counter-culture novelty fascination that
happened with mysterious, traditionally-used plant psychedelics in the
New World.

Particularly in Mexico, the 1960's saw a slew of
"hippie/beatnik" thrillseeker types travelling to remote areas of the
countryside in search of traditional psychedelics like psilocybin,
Peyote, and to a lesser extent the South American entheogens like
ayahuasca and yopo. This sudden bombardment of such vast
populations of heady, "turned-on" scruffy gringo foreigners (which
included such famous 60's musical icons as the Beatles and Donovan) was
in fact so intense and overwhelming for the otherwise rather isolated
locals of the small Mexican villages, that many of them began to blame
the curers and shamans for the new social mess and turned against them,
even arresting Maria Sabrina a few times and burning her house
down. So you can see how this unfortunate clash of cultures a few
decades ago has made for the present secrecy and obscurity of the
shamans and their sacred plants, as well as the reluctance on their
part to introduce any foreigner "gringos" to the sacred medicines.

You may have a slight advantage being from Scandinavia rather
than the US (Americans sometimes tend to be
socioeconomic/culturally-ignorant and often presumptuously rude
travellers for some reason), but if you're not Latino or Native American
and are in fact White (as most folks of Nordic descent are), the
colour of your skin will still be somewhat of a limiting factor.
Be humble, sincere, patient, culturally-literate, sensitive to
the socio-economic situation of the "Third World", careful with whom
you discuss such taboo matters, and keep your heart spiritually open,
and perhaps just maybe you will find your sacred entheogens.

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Edited by: Eirias

[freddy1]

Dear pilgrim,


If you truly want to learn from the teachers, you should consider making Mexico your home. That means living there for an extended period. Learning the language. Communication is everything. Being in the right place at the right time. Learning the dos and don'ts. Knowing how to handle yourself in all situations. Making friends. Staying out of trouble. Staying away from the federales. Allowing spirit to teach you and guide you. All shamans have their own belief system, their own culture, indigenous group, and limitations. Learn to go beyond others' limitations, with time and experience. Make your own path, with time. Become your own guide, with the help of the teachers (the entheogens themselves). Takes a lot of patience, and faith. Not a quick-fix path. More a way of life, really. Peace baby