Ashaninca men I knew were all sheripiari. They were so old that they did not know their own age, which only their deeply wrinkled skin suggested, and they were remarkably alert and healthy.
Intrigued by these disparities, I looked through data banks for comparative studies between the toxicity of the Amazonian variety (Nicotiana rustica) and the variety used by the manufacturers of cigarettes, cigars, rolling tobacco, and pipe tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). I found nothing. The question, it seemed, had not been asked. I also looked for studies on the cancer rate among shamans who use massive and regular doses of nicotine: again, nothing. So I decided to write to the main authority on the matter, Johannes Wilbert, author of the book Tobacco and Shamanism in South America , to put my questions to him. He replied: ‘There is certainly evidence that Western tobacco products contain many different harmful agents which are probably not present in organically grown plants. I have not heard of shamans developing cancers but that may, of course, be a function of several things like lack of Western diagnosis, natural life span of indigenous people, magico-religious restriction of tobacco use in tribal societies, etc.’
In any case, scientists have never really considered tobacco as a hallucinogen, because Westerners have never smoked large enough doses to reach the hallucinatory state.
The Cosmic Serpent , 1998
Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo
M EANWHILE, THE SUPPER went ahead, and appeared to have been supplied solely for Franz, for the unknown man scarcely touched one or two dishes of the splendid feast to which his unexpected guest did such ample justice. Then Ali brought on the dessert, or rather took the baskets from the statues’ heads and placed them on the table. Between the two baskets he placed a small vermeil cup, closed with a lid of the same metal. The respect with which Ali had carried this cup piqued Franz’s curiosity. He raised the lid and saw a kind of greenish paste that looked like preserved angelica, but which was entirely unknown to him. He replaced the lid, as ignorant of what the cup contained as he was before he had lifted it, and then, glancing at his host, he saw him smile at his disappointment.
‘You cannot guess what sort of eatable is contained in that little vase, and that intrigues you, doesn’t it?’
‘I confess it does.’
‘Well, then, those green preserves are nothing less than the ambrosia that Hebe served at the table of Jupiter.’
‘But,’ replied Franz, ‘this ambrosia, in passing through human hands, has no doubt lost its heavenly name to assume a human one.
‘In vulgar language, what do you call this thing – for which, in any case, I do not feel any great desire?’
‘Ah, thus is our material origin truly revealed!’ cried Sinbad. ‘We frequently pass so near to happiness without seeing it, without really looking at it; or even if we do, we still do not recognize it. Are you a practical man, and is gold your god? Then taste this, and the mines of Peru, Gujarat, and Golconda are open to you. Are you a man of imagination, a poet? Then taste this, and the boundaries of possibility disappear, the fields of infinite space will be open to you: you will walk about, free in heart and mind, into the boundless realms of reverie. Are you ambitious, do you run after the grandeur of the earth? Only taste this, and in an hour you will be a king, not of some petty kingdom hidden in a corner of Europe, like France, Spain, or England, but a king of the world, of the universe, of creation. Your throne will be established on that mountain to which Jesus was taken by Satan, and without being obliged to do homage to the devil, without having to kiss his claw, you will be sovereign master of all the kingdoms of the earth. Is it not tempting, what I offer you? And is it not an easy thing, since it is only to do thus? Look!’ With these words he uncovered the little vermeil cup
Intrigued by these disparities, I looked through data banks for comparative studies between the toxicity of the Amazonian variety (Nicotiana rustica) and the variety used by the manufacturers of cigarettes, cigars, rolling tobacco, and pipe tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). I found nothing. The question, it seemed, had not been asked. I also looked for studies on the cancer rate among shamans who use massive and regular doses of nicotine: again, nothing. So I decided to write to the main authority on the matter, Johannes Wilbert, author of the book Tobacco and Shamanism in South America , to put my questions to him. He replied: ‘There is certainly evidence that Western tobacco products contain many different harmful agents which are probably not present in organically grown plants. I have not heard of shamans developing cancers but that may, of course, be a function of several things like lack of Western diagnosis, natural life span of indigenous people, magico-religious restriction of tobacco use in tribal societies, etc.’
In any case, scientists have never really considered tobacco as a hallucinogen, because Westerners have never smoked large enough doses to reach the hallucinatory state.
The Cosmic Serpent , 1998
Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo
M EANWHILE, THE SUPPER went ahead, and appeared to have been supplied solely for Franz, for the unknown man scarcely touched one or two dishes of the splendid feast to which his unexpected guest did such ample justice. Then Ali brought on the dessert, or rather took the baskets from the statues’ heads and placed them on the table. Between the two baskets he placed a small vermeil cup, closed with a lid of the same metal. The respect with which Ali had carried this cup piqued Franz’s curiosity. He raised the lid and saw a kind of greenish paste that looked like preserved angelica, but which was entirely unknown to him. He replaced the lid, as ignorant of what the cup contained as he was before he had lifted it, and then, glancing at his host, he saw him smile at his disappointment.
‘You cannot guess what sort of eatable is contained in that little vase, and that intrigues you, doesn’t it?’
‘I confess it does.’
‘Well, then, those green preserves are nothing less than the ambrosia that Hebe served at the table of Jupiter.’
‘But,’ replied Franz, ‘this ambrosia, in passing through human hands, has no doubt lost its heavenly name to assume a human one.
‘In vulgar language, what do you call this thing – for which, in any case, I do not feel any great desire?’
‘Ah, thus is our material origin truly revealed!’ cried Sinbad. ‘We frequently pass so near to happiness without seeing it, without really looking at it; or even if we do, we still do not recognize it. Are you a practical man, and is gold your god? Then taste this, and the mines of Peru, Gujarat, and Golconda are open to you. Are you a man of imagination, a poet? Then taste this, and the boundaries of possibility disappear, the fields of infinite space will be open to you: you will walk about, free in heart and mind, into the boundless realms of reverie. Are you ambitious, do you run after the grandeur of the earth? Only taste this, and in an hour you will be a king, not of some petty kingdom hidden in a corner of Europe, like France, Spain, or England, but a king of the world, of the universe, of creation. Your throne will be established on that mountain to which Jesus was taken by Satan, and without being obliged to do homage to the devil, without having to kiss his claw, you will be sovereign master of all the kingdoms of the earth. Is it not tempting, what I offer you? And is it not an easy thing, since it is only to do thus? Look!’ With these words he uncovered the little vermeil cup
Similar Books
The Evil That Men Do: FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey Into the Minds of Sexual Predators
Stephen G. Michaud, Roy Hazelwood
