isúuna ‘maricahua’, plant with powerful hallucinogenic effects that was [...]

• • ‘maricahua’, plant with powerful hallucinogenic effects that was traditionally taken for shamanic purposes. With the use of this plant, shamans were reportedly able to cure illnesses and perform superhuman feats like flying to heaven and other lands. The plant was also the means by which shamans obtained their powers to heal or cause harm through witchcraft: the ‘madre’ of the plant would present the novice shaman, in a vision, a set of colored threads suspended in the air, each corresponding to a different ability; the apprentice would select the one corresponding to the ability he wished to aquire, and this thread would then enter his body through his mouth, conferring on him the desired power. The last shamans who knew how to use this plant are believed to have died in the late 19th century, so what we now know about its use is largely due to legends. This plant is understood to be the female counterpart of <saasakíkwaa> (‘toé’), the former having white flowers, and the latter, purple

  Scientific Name

  Brugmansia sp