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Therapeutic Yage: recommendations for foreigners

Introduction

The drink known as Yage is the product of a preparation made by a number of ethnic communities of the Andean-Amazonian foothills comprising an area mae up of the south of Colombia, and parts of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. This drink is taken for medicinal reasons and as a purgative.

 The name “Yage” belongs to the indigenous communities of the south of Colombia, particularly the Cofanes, Sionas, Ingas, Coreguajes and Kamsas. In the other countries the most common name is Ayahuasca, a term of Quechua origin which is made up of two words Aya: soul, spirit; and Huasca: vine or creeper. It can be translated then as “vine of the soul” or “creeper of the spirit”.

The most common preparation of Yage includes at least two plants: a vine, which is also known as “Yage” (Banisteropsis caapi) and a plant called “Chagropanga” (Diplopteris cabrerana). This refers to the preparation in the area of Colombia. Further  south, the plant used in combination with the vine is the rubiacea (plant of the madder family) known as “Chacruna” (Psychotria viridis).

The Structure of a Yage ceremony

Yage is used by Taitas (shamans or traditional medical practitioners) in a nocturnal ceremony that they direct. During this ceremony the taitas and their apprentices perform dances, chants and invocations,  burn  fragrant woods and resins and play musical instruments such as harmonicas, pan pipes, flutes, guitars, charangos (traditional Andean string instrument), drums , and other percussion instruments (rattles, maracas etc...). The structure of the ceremony can be laid out as follows:

1. The ceremony begins with each patient in turn being given a cup of the drink.

2. The Yage begins to take effect after about half an hour to forty five minutes.

3. One and a half hours after the first cup of Yage is given, the Taita usually offers another for those whose have not felt the effects of the first or for those who would like a second cup.

4. From then onwards, participants may request as many further cups as they would like, depending on their individual state. The Taita will decide whether or not to administer these additional servings.

5. At a certain time of night, the Taita gathers the patients together in order to perform the “Spiritual healing” or “Cleansing”. The healing is an act performed by the Taita and his helpers on the patients. By doing this the Taita and his apprentices perform a cleansing and healing of the sicknesses the patients are suffering from. 

Before a Yage Ceremony 

Taitas (in particular Cofan taitas) make certain recommendations to those who wish to participate in a Yage ceremony. 
1. A woman may not participate in a Yage ceremony during her menstrual period. 
2. A woman who is more than three months pregnant may not attend a Yage ceremony.

3. A man whose partner is more than three months pregnant may not attend a Yage ceremony.

4. In general, someone who is taking pharmaceutical medication may attend a ceremony although in some cases they may not be given Yage. In any case, someone who does not take Yage can still participate in the healing ritual. Whether the person in question (who is taking medication) takes Yage or not is something that the Taita must decide based on the individual case.

5. Three days before taking Yage it is recommended (although not essential) to follow a diet that excludes carbohydrates, heavy seasoning, onion, garlic, red meat and dairy products.

6. From three days before taking Yage onwards it is recommended (although not essential) to abstain from sexual relations.

7. It is also recommended to drink plenty of liquids before the ceremony in order to avoid dehydration. 

During a Yage ceremony

Taitas make certain recommendations to those people attending a Yage ceremony. The most important of these are listed below:

1. Try not to pass behind the back of the Taita or apprentices, or ask permission before doing so. 
2. Try to vomit on the ground, beside a tree, in areas not walked upon by others.

3. Do not vomit in the toilet bowl or the sink.

4. Knives and other sharp objects must be kept out of the ceremony.  Mobile telephones must also be switched off.

5. Participants must remain in the place where the ceremony is taking place until it is completely over.

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Medical Code of Ethics

UMIYAC (Union of Yage-using Indigenous Healers of the Colombian Amazon Region)

1

We believe that all creation is the work of God and it was He who gave us the way of Yage, medicinal plants and our culture. Being a traditional medical practitioner is a gift given to us by God. But it also represents an enormous commitment and a great responsibility towards ourselves, our communities and the whole world. Following the teachings of our taitas we have made a commitment to work as traditional medical practitioner for the service of others with God’s help.

We must always be moved by a deep love for our fellows, a desire to help the sick and the suffering and we are convinced that good health comes in all cases from the love of God.

2

In the same way that western doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, we also have our own oath in which we swear to respect and defend life. We must never use our knowledge to make an attempt against the life or health of a living being on the earth. For this reason we are prohibited from performing or suggesting abortions, helping to take the life of a sick or suffering person, or from seeking the happiness of one human being at the expense of others. Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to working always in order to do good. Our remedies must be put to the service of others and our knowledge must never be used to harm anyone. 

3

In order to be recognised as traditional medical practitioners we must form a part of our communities and organisations and we must live on a permanent basis among our fellow indigenous people. We accept that it is the taitas, the traditional authorities and our brothers and sisters who bestow upon us our recognition as traditional medical practitioners. Under these conditions, the taitas of the Union of traditional medical practitioners offer to make the communities and non-indigenous people aware which of us are recognised as true healers, which are apprentices, and which of us do not meet the necessary requirements.

4

As apprentices in our traditional medicine we use Yage and other knowledge giving plants, always guided by the taitas. Yage and nature itself we take as our most important texts. We commit ourselves to our apprenticeship in our traditional wisdom and of Yage, respecting the sacred plant and not permitting that it be put to any use other than that which it has as a gift from God. As traditional medical practitioners we promise to use our plant in a sacred and wise manner and we forbid ourselves from using it to sell or do business with researchers, doctors, anthropologists, botanists and salespeople.

It is not considered a good thing for an apprentice to be under the guidance of different taitas, even if they are friends or members of the same family. We must always have one elder taita who leads and advises us.  We must try to be as much as possible at his side and we can only learn with others when our own taita allows it and under the conditions that he lays down.

The elders also teach us that while they are living we continue to be apprentices. We cannot consider ourselves as traditional medical practitioners until the taita himself permits it and the community begins to recognise us through the results of our work. We have an obligation to respect and obey our taita masters while they are alive and to promise that we will always be available to help them and care for them should they need it.

5

Investiture as a traditional medical practitioner (traditional indigenous healer) implies a strict code of conduct. In accordance with the teachings of our elders we must show that we are leading a just life, following the path of goodness, and serve as an example to others.

Taitas and apprentices must always be respectful to others and use amiable and polite language at all times and in all places. We may not cause scandal with our behaviour, for example in drunkenness , fights, gambling and games of chance, mistreatment of our spouse or partner or of our children. We must always be appropriately dressed. Although we respect the freedom of each person to dress as he or she wishes we do state our intention that taitas and apprentices be the first to try to revive usage of our traditional dress, above all during the healing ceremonies.

6

We as taitas hereby commit ourselves to strengthening the bond between us and to working together for the benefit of each other, our communities and our healing tradition. We renounce any thought or action that aims to divide us, offend us, criticise us or cause us to speak ill of one another.

7

We commit to establishing an Ethical Tribunal consisting of the taitas of the Council of Elders, of the Support Committee, a taita representative from each of the indigenous groups, and a representative from each of the local or regional indigenous organisations created to represent our interests. The aim of this Tribunal will be the control and evaluation of our activities as traditional medical practitioners.

Where the actions of a taita, an apprentice, a fellow indigenous person or a non-indigenous person in relation to our traditional medicine and our plants may be considered to violate our Code of Medical Ethics, we will seek contact in order to make our complaint known, aiming to advise and correct. In the case of our complaint being disregarded, this will pass into the hands of the Ethical Tribunal.

8

As indigenous medical practitioners we commit to working with our communities, using our knowledge and practical skills, to eradicate the vice of alcohol, and with the Union of Indigenous Healers that we have founded we will begin a campaign of traditional health towards this aim. As taitas and Yage-using medical practitioners we commit to making the eradication of alcoholic consumption a part of the practice of traditional medicine. We make a firm commitment to not using it ourselves and to reviving the consumption of the plants and drinks that our ancestors used, as companions to yage.

9

We promise to offer our services as indigenous practitioners of traditional medicine, first of all to members of our own community and to fellow indigenous people and also to non-indigenous people when they require and request it.

We promise not to advertise our services as traditional medical practitioners and to allow those people who benefit from our services to be the ones who recommend us to others.

We commit ourselves to the construction of indigenous hospitals in the cities in order to attend to non- indigenous people. In this way we will be able to carry out our ceremonies in conditions of respect and comfort as close as possible to our original ways of working. Once these hospitals are constructed we will offer to travel to the cities but always in order to work according to our traditions and with the respect due to our sacred plant.

The fee we charge for our services justifies the expense of acquisition and preparation of the remedies and of travel to and from the site where we deliver them, and as such we consider it a fair price for our work, considering the benefits obtained by those who seek out our help.  Where our own communities and our fellow indigenous people are concerned we will continue to offer our services in exchange for what they can give us in return on a voluntary basis. For non-indigenous people we will work towards establishing tariffs based around a basic charge with additional charges depending on the problem to be resolved.

10

In so far as we can reclaim our territories and ways of life we commit ourselves to looking after, conserving and replanting our forests with yage and other medicinal plants. It is the duty of every healer and apprentice to cultivate and conserve yage and the medicinal plants.

We restate our collective intellectual property rights over our ancestral medical knowledge and our claim as indigenous peoples over the resources that we have employed over centuries. We are prepared to discuss the topic of possible negotiations for reasons of investigation and commercialisation in so far as our rights are respected and said negotiations are done with the common consent of the taitas and the Union we have formed as well as local, regional and national organisations that represent us. In all cases we will seek a fair repartition of the economic benefits of any such negotiations.

As was agreed at the Meeting of Taitas, once our Code of Medical Ethics is completed, the taitas of UMIYAC, in coordination with our organisations will work towards the establishment of Legislation over the Commerce and Traffic of the Plants and Medical Resources of the Colombian Amazon Foothills.

We solemnly promise, as taitas and apprentices, not to participate in the commerce and traffic of yage and medicinal plants, nor to sell raw or prepared yage so that it may be distributed among non-indigenous people. We may only make use of yage through the ritual ceremonies whose aim is the diagnosis and treatment of illness, according to our tradition.

11

We accept and trust in modern medicine. We need and request its services for our communities. But we ask that these services are offered while respecting our customs and way of life. We therefore request that the Government help us to defend and strengthen our traditional medicine, without conflicting or competing with modern medicine.

As taitas and apprentices of indigenous medicine we wish to know about modern medicine. We do not intend to discard our practices, not to enter into competition with modern medicine. 

We insist that no other form of medicine uses our name, our practices or our symbols and clothing to publicise itself. In the same way we undertake not to use the name or practices of those medicines for which we have received no form of training.

We believe that before beginning to exchange knowledge and practices we must first strengthen our own healing tradition, put our community to rights, reclaim our territories, build our house of yage and revive the cultivation of our medicinal plants. In this way we may create the possibility of a more dignified life as human beings and as traditional medical practitioners.

We sign and accept under a sworn oath what is written herein, in the name of the God of the Indians and the God of everyone.

Indigenous yage-using healers, followers and apprentices of the Colombian Amazon Foothills: 

Francisco Piaguaje • Fernando Mendúa • Laureano Becerra • Juan Yaiguaje • Pablo Maniguaje • Humberto Piguaje • Edgar Vigay • Hermógenes Piaguaje • Franco Emilio Yaiguaje • Julio César Piaguaje • Luis Felinto Piaguaje • Sofonía Maniguaje • Tiberio Lucitante • Cirilo Mendúa • Rafael Lucitante • Jorge Enrique Lucitante • Jesús Rodrigo Lucitante • Patricio Jojoa • Nairo Jojoa • Tarcisio Yoduro • Universario Queta • Edilberto Criollo • José Bernardino Queta • Abraham Queta • Luis Antonio Criollo • Luis Octavio Criollo • Drigelio Criollo • Plácido Lucitante • Dionisio Lucitante • Edgardo Gentil Criollo • Ruber Olmedo Criollo • Hernando Criollo • Ángel Criollo • Luciano Mutumbajoy •Santiago Mutumbajoy • Isaías Mavisoy • Juan Jansasoy • Carlos Quinchoa • Domingo Tisoy • Paulino Mojomboy • José Alfredo Mojomboy • Santiago Chicunque • Ma. Concepción Chicunque • José Becerra • Peregrino Jacanamijoy • Narciso Muchavisoy • Ignacio Jacanamijoy • Pablo Buesaquillo • Agustín Mutumbajoy • Pedro Juajibioy • Arturo Delgado • Querubín Becerra • Mario Jacanamijoy • Natividad Mutumbajoy

[Translated by Jane Fairfax]