A man prepares Ayahuasca vine, banisteriopsis Caapi, by crushing it into strandsfor cooking together with chacruna for medicine


A man prepares Ayahuasca vine, banisteriopsis Caapi, by crushing it into strands and smaller pieces for cooking. The vine, along with chacruna leaves, are to be boiled into the entheogenic brew Ayahuasca, used in traditional Shipibo medicine ceremonies in the Amazon Rainforest. The Chacruna bush contains dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, which gives the brew it's hallucinogenic properties. The 'vine of souls' Ayahuasca contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors which allow the DMT to be orally active when drunk. Ayahuasqueros use this sacred medicine to treat patients with a holistic approach that encompasses physical, mental, and spiritual ailments. The medicine must be heavily refined to the point where it is a thick, dark brown or red liquid.


Size: 5700px × 3800px
Location: Ayahuasca Foundation, Nauta, Iquitos, Maynas, Peru, South America
Photo credit: © Brian Van Tighem / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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