aákuta ‘ayahuasca’, cultivated plant that constitutes one of the [...]

1. • ‘ayahuasca’, cultivated plant that constitutes one of the principal ingredients in the hallucinogenic brew of the same name. The plant itself is a woody creeper that grows up from the ground, and is typically harvested when it reaches a diameter of several centimeters

   Scientific Name

   Banisteriopsis caapi

2. • ‘ayahuasca’, hallucinogenic beverage made from the woody creeper of the same name and <mɨɨ́mɨɨti> (‘chacruna’) leaves, among other possible additional ingredients. In traditional Iquito society, this beverage was reportedly consumed periodically by all adults, in contrast to <isúuna> and <saasakíkwaa>, hallucinogenic plants of great power which were only used by shamans. Iquito elders explain that their ancestors took ‘ayahuasca’ for a variety of purposes, including treating illness, removing bad luck, divination (e.g., finding lost items or identifying a thief), and obtaining knowledge or skill related to important subsistence activities, such as farming or hunting