Teachings with Taita Part I

We spent hours in a bus descending “the road of death” – a switchback, gravel road which winds its way from the Colombian highlands in Sibundoy down to the upper-Amazon forest, with sheer cliffs serving as a constant reminder of the precarious position we hold in this world. When we arrived in Mocoa, a Couchsurfing collaboration lead us to a place about which we had already been told. Having lost all of our Colombian friends’ numbers, and the names of the places we should stay in Mocoa (of which the house of Taita was at the top of the list), it was as if the place had found us.

The painting of Taita which welcomes visitors before they descend from the road into the forest, crossing two rivers before reaching the home.

We arrived with some bags of produce, rice, beans, and lentils, to find a community of about 12 travelers, living in tents in a shelter outside the home of an indigenous family of the Kamentsá tribe. We promptly met Taita (meaning father), and his wife Mama, as well as their three sons. We were told we could camp as long as we wanted, and that we should feed ourselves with the community of travelers staying there. All had come for more or less the same reason: to learn from the family, and their traditional medicine, Yagé. 

To set the tone, this video is a song written about the spirit of Yagé.   Much of the song that is not in Spanish is sung in the language of Taita and Mama: Kamentsá. 

The Yagé vine.  More than 8 varieties grow at Taita's.

Yagé, also known as Ayahuasca, has been traditionally used throughout the Amazon region since time immemorial. Many indigenous tribes include this sacred plant in their creation story. The great serpents of the past crept up the land from the Ocean, and as they died, their bodies formed the great rivers of the continent of South America, with their ribs forming the many tributaries. Up these rivers traveled the great-grandfathers, the chiefs, the curanderos (literally translated means “curers”, or medicine-men), the women, and the workers, who carried with them in their dug-out canoes sacred plants, generally including cassava, coca, and Yagé. Over many generations, the plant – born in the Amazon – made its way to cultures in higher altitudes, including the Andean cultures of the Inca. The name Ayahuasca stems from the Inca language, meaning ‘vine spirit’. 

The Ayahuasca vine. Every part of the plant: the root,

the bark, the leaves is used in preparation 

of the medicine.

The plant has been used by curanderos, shamans, and Taitas/Mamas from numerous tribes, where it is known as “the great teacher”. Yagé itself is a vine, which is harvested, processed, mixed with other leaves, and boiled to produce a potent brew which is bitter and not easily digested. After imbibing the vine spirit, participants purge via vomiting and diarrhea, thus ‘purifying’ their bodies. This is followed by the presence of the spirit Yagé inside the student, which includes ‘visions’ or ‘paintings’ which are visual aids used by the spirit to teach lessons to those who seek the Yagé’s knowledge. During this process, the shaman who is present administers and also drinks the medicine. True curanderos have trained with the medicine for many, many years, and are therefore experienced and knowledgeable about the vine spirit; they are able to manage its influence, playing instruments, singing songs and dancing to invoke and please the spirit while protecting the space from evil and cleaning the energy of the patients. Drinking Yagé is not for the faint of heart; the medicine is intense, and despite many beautiful moments of clarity and oneness that it may offer, it is also known to conjure inner demons and force one to face deep-seated personal problems. As any great teacher, it tests the student. The results are worth the effort, and deep spiritual progress, visions of the future and integration and conversation with the great Mother (earth) are often reported from those who practice regularly with the medicine. 

 

An artist's interpretation of the Ayahuasca spirit. 

The Amazon's healers and holders of knowledge

and spiritual growth

Within this context we arrived at the house, greeted by Taita with an invitation to drink the following evening. We were to stay for 3 or 4 days, during which time we hoped to drink twice. The social situation among the travelers was interesting, as it appeared that most were not working with the family, although many had been there several weeks. We found the Taita the next day, and since I had brought gumboots (there was only one other traveler with the Campesinos or Farmer’s footwear of choice), he was excited about my eagerness to work. I began with another traveler, a young Colombian named Miguel, by hauling water up a steep slope, so that Taita could continually load a 5-gallon hand-held irrigator in order to fumigate a plot of land. During this time, I was amazed at Taita’s youthful, vibrant energy. A man of 58 years, he was (as is becoming the custom) easily able to outwork us, but all the while with a smile, a jovial chuckle, and the occasional cigar break. After a long day’s work, we went to a nearby waterfall, where we bathed and refreshed our energy in the cool, crystal waters. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon in preparation. Before drinking Ayahuasca, most Shamans ask their patients to have a ‘proposito’ or purpose for the medicine. That is, those drinking the medicine should be doing so to learn something, to heal themselves, or to seek insight or wisdom (specific or general). It can be dangerous to casually take Ayahuasca without purpose or intention – simply for the ‘experience’ or ‘high’ – and many Shamans screen their participants to ensure such people will not take the medicine, as the spirit is known to punish those we drink it without proper respect. Thus, a day of fasting combined with deep thought and meditation was how Claire and I prepared for our journey. Mentally we prepared ourselves to search our ‘propositos’, and we made sure we were strong and rested for the night ahead.

 

At the house of Taita and Mama, where ceremony is held. 

Madre Tierra/ The Virgin in the background with many

instruments for creating music and dance.

 About 9 PM, Taita let us know it was time for our first ceremony. The ceremony was just Claire, myself, Taita, and his son. We began with another cleansing tradition – called Yopo in this part of Colombia (“Yopo” as it is commonly known in other parts of Colombia refers to a different, highly hallucinogenic leaf). In Mocoa, Yopo is tobacco leaf, roasted and ground finely into a brown powder. This powder is then put into a small pipe, and blown into sinus cavity via the nostril, one at a time. The ensuing sensation begins as a small fire which quickly spreads to the inner-nose and throat. One cannot breath from the nostrils, and calm is needed to keep the breath through the mouth as the nose burns, the eyes water, and the coughing begins. After a few minutes, the burning passes, and the nose runs out the tobacco. The resulting feeling is one of incredibly clear breathing, like the light sting of dry, cold air as it passes through the nose on a winters’ morning. Thus having cleaned our breathing apparatus and sinuses, we began the ceremony.

 Taita begins by praying in Spanish to the Father, Mother, and Holy Spirit – as he is a devout Christian. He also prays to the ‘Madre Tierra’ (Mother Earth), the spirit of the Yagé, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus. His mix of Christianity and Indigenous belief blended so seamlessly that I found myself wondering if such disparate ideas couldn’t be reconciled, after all. Then he blessed the medicine through a series of songs and cantations, and we stood one-by-one to drink the thick brew from a small cup.

 

Photo of Taita in traditional costume which hangs

above the ceremony table.  His necklaces each

make a different sound when shaken.

The drink tasted sweet – a testament to the Taita’s skill in brewing the medicine. Still, it had the consistency of motor oil, and its acrid, bitter aftertaste clung to the tongue and teeth. After drinking with intention, and praying to the spirit that we receive guidance, we sat in the dark and waited in meditation. Normally it takes about 30 minutes before one vomits, but the idea is to hold the medicine (guantalo!) as long as possible, to keep as much of the spirit as possible inside the body. These minutes build in intensity, as the stomach begins bubbling. The sensation started for me in the tips of the fingers, a slight tingling, which grew its way up the arms and into the chest. Then my stomach began to rumble, and my head felt the spirit entering, like someone massaging my hair, but the sensation reaching throughout the brain.

The vomit was the best I’ve ever had. I know that sounds strange. The intensity of the medicine inside the body is such that when one releases the medicine, it is like purifying all the negative energy from one’s being. The liquid comes out easily, as we practiced fasting for the day before drinking. Thus, one is left with a light, connected feeling. During this ceremony I began to feel the barriers between myself and all the energy around me dissolving. My limbs were absorbed by the surrounding environment, I became one with everything, and the lower I slumped into my chair, the more I felt I was floating away from my ego and into nothing (which –it seemed perfectly obvious at the time - was simultaneously everything).

La Madre

I was deep in the arms of Mother Ayahuasca. I felt all my cares lift, all my worldly concerns, hopes, dreams (my ego) meshed with the nature around me. At intervals, Miguel and the Taita would sing, play their harmonicas, and dance, calling to the Vine Spirit, beckoning her to teach us, and channeling her energy through their bodies. Tatia was dressed in a traditional vest, with a necklace of boar teeth that rattle with every movement, and a headband of Tiger colors. When he came by me, waving me with a fan of leaves which bristled with sound and energy as it passed just in front of the face, I felt him bring me back to the world. Then I would drift into the Mothers’ arms again, only to be retrieved by Taita’s calming song. As I opened my eyes to Taita, he was a gentle giant looming over me –larger than life. This man, who stands about 5’2”, was so big that he could have thrown me on his shoulders like a small child. 

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Taita playing the harmonica to summon the Yage spirit

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We drank twice that night. Claire and I were both having very profound experiences. I opened my eyes to visions of people trying to hand me things – worldly things, such as a cup of brew, a beer, a book. I reached to take these things, and my hands passed through the apparition offering me the ‘gift’. I had asked the Yagé to help me spiritually, to help me dissolve my Ego and embrace peace and love in my life. As I lost hope in the material things offered to me, the Vine Spirits’ lesson began to sink in. I absorbed lessons from the great teacher that seem obvious and intuitive - that life must be lived with love, and peace.  That unity with one another and mother nature must be our primary goals.  That we do not live in competition with one another, but rather in cooperation. That the more we share love, the more love we gain, because it is infinite. These lessons were taught not through logic or intellect, but rather experience.  I was living these lessons, in every moment, pure truth.

Later in the night, I began to drift from the Mother’s Arms into pure sleep. I was exhausted from hosting the spirit for the evening. Taita came and put a hand on my head. I could feel his energy, his love, flowing through me. I explained ruefully how tired I was. 

“Don’t worry” he comforted me. “I will teach you.”

 

Taita the morning after ceremony drinking Chicha and full of energy and light.

 The next day was one of revelation and purity, as we talked of our experiences and tried to sort out the lessons from the visions we had been given. Claire felt she had been given a huge gift from the Mother, a ‘giant hug from the universe’ as she described it. She also described feeling the ego and the boundaries between the ‘self’ and the ‘rest’ dissolve into the enlightenment of purity. At one point, during the ceremony, as Taita walked over to her, she felt their energies so connected that he was she and she he, one being. Meditation the following morning carried me to a place where I did not exist in isolation of my surroundings – for the first time in my life.

 I continued to work with Taita, fumigating and hauling water, and expressing interest in learning more from him about the medicine. Of course, we would be leaving in a matter of days, so I knew my time was short and I should work as hard as possible to earn his respect and learn what I could. Yet I would need more time. Claire also felt this draw, but we had to leave to visit our friends. We had plans. The best laid plans …