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Guided by the Moon, Shamanism and the ritual use of ayahuasca in the Santo Daime of Brazil.
Excerpts from, Guided by the Moon, by Edward MacRae
Chapter 6
From the Solitary "Vegetalistas" to the "Collective Shamanism" of the Santo Daime
Shamanism, also called "pajelança" in Brazil, is the most important Amerindian religious
institution preserved by the Amazonian mestizo. In spite of having adopted Christian prayers,
placing Catholic saints in place of familiar spirits, side by side with supernatural water and
forest spiritual beings, shamanism is still of the least modified Indian cultural legacies (1).
In the Shamanism practiced by the Santo Daime cult adepts it is possible to detect
innumerable traces of Indian and "caboclo" (mestizo) traditions.
As already mentioned, the man, sometimes referred to as Don Crescêncio, to whom
Mestre Irineu's initiation to the use of ayahuasca is attributed , was probably a vegetalista, very
similar to the ones studied by Luna and Dobkin de Rios. In this comparison, Mestre Irineu is
similar to the more urbanized shamans, who maintain in their beliefs and practices an Indian
influence coexisting with elements of Roman Catholic, Spiritualistic, Esoteric and African
traditions. The very title of "Mestre", given him by his followers and also used by members of
another Brazilian ayahuasca-using sect, the União do Vegetal, reminds one of the Spanish
"Maestro" used by the Peruvian ayahuasqueros.
The reports of Mestre Irineu's initiation show the basic elements present in the
shamanic tradition, specially his solitary retreat to the forest, where he followed a series of
rigorous dietary and other behavioral ritual prescriptions. Although the period normally
attributed to his isolation in the woods is short (only eight days, vis-à-vis a minimum of six
months, for the "vegetalistas" studied) one must remember how, as a rubber-tapper, it was part
of his routine to spend long periods alone in the jungle. And in spite of his first experiences with
the brew having been in the end of the 1910's or the beginning of the 1920's, it was only in the
30's that he felt himself ready to perform works in public, and subsequently develop his doctrine.
Therefore it might be justified to suppose that his initiation extended itself for many years and
that, in the 20's, he had spent other periods of retirement in the woods, learning the secrets of
the brew he named Daime.
To the Amazon "caboclo", the forest and the rivers are the domains of a great variety of
evil spiritual beings, the "anhangás". There are also guardian spirits that protect certain animals
, plants, mountains and rivers. They are generally conceived as feminine spirits, called
"mothers", that must be propitiated in various ways by hunters, fishermen, or others who for one
reason or another wander through their domains. They have their place in the caboclo's
religiosity but, though they might be occasionally propitiated they are not worshipped. Worship
is reserved to saints conceived as providers of the means of attaining well-being, good crops,
good health, etc..
With regard to "teacher plants", it is their "mothers" who are the real holders of the
wisdom passed down to those who know how to use them. One of the main plants that have
"mothers" is the ayahuasca. Therefore, when having visions where a "lady", the "Queen of the
Forest" came to deliver her teachings, Mestre Irineu was keeping himself strictly within the
traditions of the "ayahuasquero" shamans. As a "caboclo" strongly influenced by Western and
Christian traditions, he does not perceive her as Indian spiritual being but as the great Catholic
archetype of motherhood, Our Lady of the Conception, widely revered in the region. This way,
the pagan tradition of Indian origin could be incorporated to the cult of the Catholic saints,
becoming legitimate and socially acceptable.
The adoption of the double armed cross of Caravaca, under the name of "Cruzeiro",
mandatory in all Daime "works", is another important symbolic support for the Christianization of
the ancient "ayahuasquero" traditions. This version of the cross of Christ, though not very
common in Catholic ceremonies, was already well-known to the people in the Amazon. In all of
Latin America it is usually associated to magic and Esoterism, due to the use practitioners of
such arts, make of the compendium of prayers that carries the name and has its image
stamped on the cover.
the good from the bad "vegetalistas". There is no place in a doctrine revealed by the Virgin
Mother for the use of magic poison arrows or "virotes" and other types of sorcery used by the
"vegetalistas". Maybe as a result of this christianization, the Daime shamanic work has lost
many of its bellicose characteristics necessary for engaging evil spirits or witches in battle. In
their place, more diffuse and generalized ideals of the "struggle of Good against Evil", relief pain
etc., were adopted. The daimista's protection was more dependent on his moral rectitude and
on his obedience to rules of good conduct than on a defensive armor, like the "arkana" of the
"vegetalistas".
The virotes and the magic phlegm "yachay" used by "vegetalistas" to protect them or to
withdraw evil from the patients' body, are conceived as being made of the same substance,
simultaneously material and spiritual. The spiritual substance can also be the ritual knowledge
which gives spiritual strength or the spirit itself. So, the generic term for shaman is "yachak", in
quechua, meaning " owner of a yachay" (2). With christianization , this complex and morally
ambivalent conception of being "the owner of a spirit" seems to have been substituted by the
concept of holy beings, like the Virgin Mother, the Celestial Father, Jesus Christ and other
divine members of the Celestial Court. It is they who are requested for the power, firmness,
light, wisdom and love, which the "daimista" needs in order to perform his works.
It would be unwise at this distance in time , to try to guess the reason or intentions
behind certain aspects of the doctrine as taught by Mestre Irineu. Its inspired nature makes this
especially difficult, and it is not our intention to suggest that it might have been the result of
conscious planning to achieve certain material advantages. It is more probable that the doctrine
was merely a result of Mestre Irineu's life experience and of his religious sensibility. The support
he occasionally received from influential politicians, shows how well adapted his teachings were
to his social milieu. But one must be careful not to overestimate such support, remembering
that, on occasion, he and his followers were the target of official persecution.
Although the Daime works keep within the traditional shamanic parameters, one should
take into consideration the remarks made by Couto, that, here, one is dealing with what he calls
"collective shamanism". The command of the works is held by more experienced shamans, but
the shamanic activity is not, exclusively in the hands of a few initiates and all participants are
considered apprentice shamans and even potential shamans. Taking part in the rituals is a way
of learning the art, and it is thought that any of the participants of the ritual may display
shamanic powers which are considered to be latent in human nature (3).
Maybe this democratic aspect of Daime, which allows all who are interested to have
access to its secrets, is the reason for the attraction it has been exerting on a new generation of
followers which is quite different from the inhabitants of the outskirts of the town of Rio Branco ,
where the first Daime churches sprang up. According to the anthropologist Luiz Eduardo
Soares, since 1988 the Rio de Janeiro research center Institute de Etudes da Religion ( Institute
for Religious Studies) has been carrying out research under his coordination on what is being
called the "new religious consciousness". This new consciousness has shown itself to be
important from a social and cultural point of view, since it questions the direction taken by
modern culture, in general and that of Brazilian society, in particular (4).
Summarizing his description of the phenomenon, one might say it involves members of
the urban middle class, individuals with a high degree of learning who identify with the typical
modern ethical and political ideals, and who consider themselves as being "liberated",
"libertarians", "open" and critical of traditional values ,especially of the "repressive burden" of
religious traditions. These individuals, which may be considered to be examples of the modern
individualistic lay model, have been showing themselves increasingly attracted to religious faith,
to the wonders of mystic ecstasy, to the challenge of esoteric learning, to the efficacy of
alternative therapies and "natural" food. For them, ecological-mystical holism substitutes the
clamors of the social and sexual revolutions.
As mentioned in chapter III, from the 70's onwards, hitch-hikers with many of these
characteristics, began frequenting "Colônia 5.000". They played a decisive role in the spreading
of Mestre Irineu's and Padrinho Sebastião’s ideals and in the founding of Daime centers in
several urban and rural areas, in Southeast Brazil, which congregated a new type of follower,
from the urban middle classes, young and well educated.
Excerpts from, Guided by the Moon, by Edward MacRae
Chapter 6
From the Solitary "Vegetalistas" to the "Collective Shamanism" of the Santo Daime
Shamanism, also called "pajelança" in Brazil, is the most important Amerindian religious
institution preserved by the Amazonian mestizo. In spite of having adopted Christian prayers,
placing Catholic saints in place of familiar spirits, side by side with supernatural water and
forest spiritual beings, shamanism is still of the least modified Indian cultural legacies (1).
In the Shamanism practiced by the Santo Daime cult adepts it is possible to detect
innumerable traces of Indian and "caboclo" (mestizo) traditions.
As already mentioned, the man, sometimes referred to as Don Crescêncio, to whom
Mestre Irineu's initiation to the use of ayahuasca is attributed , was probably a vegetalista, very
similar to the ones studied by Luna and Dobkin de Rios. In this comparison, Mestre Irineu is
similar to the more urbanized shamans, who maintain in their beliefs and practices an Indian
influence coexisting with elements of Roman Catholic, Spiritualistic, Esoteric and African
traditions. The very title of "Mestre", given him by his followers and also used by members of
another Brazilian ayahuasca-using sect, the União do Vegetal, reminds one of the Spanish
"Maestro" used by the Peruvian ayahuasqueros.
The reports of Mestre Irineu's initiation show the basic elements present in the
shamanic tradition, specially his solitary retreat to the forest, where he followed a series of
rigorous dietary and other behavioral ritual prescriptions. Although the period normally
attributed to his isolation in the woods is short (only eight days, vis-à-vis a minimum of six
months, for the "vegetalistas" studied) one must remember how, as a rubber-tapper, it was part
of his routine to spend long periods alone in the jungle. And in spite of his first experiences with
the brew having been in the end of the 1910's or the beginning of the 1920's, it was only in the
30's that he felt himself ready to perform works in public, and subsequently develop his doctrine.
Therefore it might be justified to suppose that his initiation extended itself for many years and
that, in the 20's, he had spent other periods of retirement in the woods, learning the secrets of
the brew he named Daime.
To the Amazon "caboclo", the forest and the rivers are the domains of a great variety of
evil spiritual beings, the "anhangás". There are also guardian spirits that protect certain animals
, plants, mountains and rivers. They are generally conceived as feminine spirits, called
"mothers", that must be propitiated in various ways by hunters, fishermen, or others who for one
reason or another wander through their domains. They have their place in the caboclo's
religiosity but, though they might be occasionally propitiated they are not worshipped. Worship
is reserved to saints conceived as providers of the means of attaining well-being, good crops,
good health, etc..
With regard to "teacher plants", it is their "mothers" who are the real holders of the
wisdom passed down to those who know how to use them. One of the main plants that have
"mothers" is the ayahuasca. Therefore, when having visions where a "lady", the "Queen of the
Forest" came to deliver her teachings, Mestre Irineu was keeping himself strictly within the
traditions of the "ayahuasquero" shamans. As a "caboclo" strongly influenced by Western and
Christian traditions, he does not perceive her as Indian spiritual being but as the great Catholic
archetype of motherhood, Our Lady of the Conception, widely revered in the region. This way,
the pagan tradition of Indian origin could be incorporated to the cult of the Catholic saints,
becoming legitimate and socially acceptable.
The adoption of the double armed cross of Caravaca, under the name of "Cruzeiro",
mandatory in all Daime "works", is another important symbolic support for the Christianization of
the ancient "ayahuasquero" traditions. This version of the cross of Christ, though not very
common in Catholic ceremonies, was already well-known to the people in the Amazon. In all of
Latin America it is usually associated to magic and Esoterism, due to the use practitioners of
such arts, make of the compendium of prayers that carries the name and has its image
stamped on the cover.
the good from the bad "vegetalistas". There is no place in a doctrine revealed by the Virgin
Mother for the use of magic poison arrows or "virotes" and other types of sorcery used by the
"vegetalistas". Maybe as a result of this christianization, the Daime shamanic work has lost
many of its bellicose characteristics necessary for engaging evil spirits or witches in battle. In
their place, more diffuse and generalized ideals of the "struggle of Good against Evil", relief pain
etc., were adopted. The daimista's protection was more dependent on his moral rectitude and
on his obedience to rules of good conduct than on a defensive armor, like the "arkana" of the
"vegetalistas".
The virotes and the magic phlegm "yachay" used by "vegetalistas" to protect them or to
withdraw evil from the patients' body, are conceived as being made of the same substance,
simultaneously material and spiritual. The spiritual substance can also be the ritual knowledge
which gives spiritual strength or the spirit itself. So, the generic term for shaman is "yachak", in
quechua, meaning " owner of a yachay" (2). With christianization , this complex and morally
ambivalent conception of being "the owner of a spirit" seems to have been substituted by the
concept of holy beings, like the Virgin Mother, the Celestial Father, Jesus Christ and other
divine members of the Celestial Court. It is they who are requested for the power, firmness,
light, wisdom and love, which the "daimista" needs in order to perform his works.
It would be unwise at this distance in time , to try to guess the reason or intentions
behind certain aspects of the doctrine as taught by Mestre Irineu. Its inspired nature makes this
especially difficult, and it is not our intention to suggest that it might have been the result of
conscious planning to achieve certain material advantages. It is more probable that the doctrine
was merely a result of Mestre Irineu's life experience and of his religious sensibility. The support
he occasionally received from influential politicians, shows how well adapted his teachings were
to his social milieu. But one must be careful not to overestimate such support, remembering
that, on occasion, he and his followers were the target of official persecution.
Although the Daime works keep within the traditional shamanic parameters, one should
take into consideration the remarks made by Couto, that, here, one is dealing with what he calls
"collective shamanism". The command of the works is held by more experienced shamans, but
the shamanic activity is not, exclusively in the hands of a few initiates and all participants are
considered apprentice shamans and even potential shamans. Taking part in the rituals is a way
of learning the art, and it is thought that any of the participants of the ritual may display
shamanic powers which are considered to be latent in human nature (3).
Maybe this democratic aspect of Daime, which allows all who are interested to have
access to its secrets, is the reason for the attraction it has been exerting on a new generation of
followers which is quite different from the inhabitants of the outskirts of the town of Rio Branco ,
where the first Daime churches sprang up. According to the anthropologist Luiz Eduardo
Soares, since 1988 the Rio de Janeiro research center Institute de Etudes da Religion ( Institute
for Religious Studies) has been carrying out research under his coordination on what is being
called the "new religious consciousness". This new consciousness has shown itself to be
important from a social and cultural point of view, since it questions the direction taken by
modern culture, in general and that of Brazilian society, in particular (4).
Summarizing his description of the phenomenon, one might say it involves members of
the urban middle class, individuals with a high degree of learning who identify with the typical
modern ethical and political ideals, and who consider themselves as being "liberated",
"libertarians", "open" and critical of traditional values ,especially of the "repressive burden" of
religious traditions. These individuals, which may be considered to be examples of the modern
individualistic lay model, have been showing themselves increasingly attracted to religious faith,
to the wonders of mystic ecstasy, to the challenge of esoteric learning, to the efficacy of
alternative therapies and "natural" food. For them, ecological-mystical holism substitutes the
clamors of the social and sexual revolutions.
As mentioned in chapter III, from the 70's onwards, hitch-hikers with many of these
characteristics, began frequenting "Colônia 5.000". They played a decisive role in the spreading
of Mestre Irineu's and Padrinho Sebastião’s ideals and in the founding of Daime centers in
several urban and rural areas, in Southeast Brazil, which congregated a new type of follower,
from the urban middle classes, young and well educated.
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