Anthropologist Learns with Ashaninkas about Plants Being a Source of Knowledge
Jeremy Narby's most recent book, Plant Teachers: Ayahuasca and Tobacco, was written with the traditional healer Rafael Chanchari
Feb.7.2023 6:16PM
'I didn't think I had "really" become a jaguar in any measurable way. It was more as if I had an intense physical memory of the idea of "being a cat", which I could summon at will, and use as a source of strength and courage.' Jeremy Narby, a Canadian anthropologist based in Switzerland, heard this description from a Peruvian healer, Carlos Perez, and initially took it with a pinch of salt, as he writes in his latest book.
Firstly, because of his previous disenchanted and materialistic scientific background. Secondly, because Perez narrated a change in consciousness triggered by tobacco, and not by the plants commonly used to prepare ayahuasca (chacrona and soul vine). Ayahuasca is a psychoactive tea recognized by mainstream neuroscience as a powerful psychedelic.
Such a strong effect from ingesting tobacco is something unknown to Westerners who smoke it. It was one of several clues that convinced Narby — after being in contact with the Ashaninka for decades — that this and other Amazon peoples had much to teach our scientists.
Indeed, there is much to be learned not only from Indigenous peoples, but also from "plant teachers", such as tobacco. Some Indigenous groups believe that plants are endowed with spirit and intelligence, and that they are subjects of life, and not mere objects to be used and exploited.
More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2023/02/anthropologist-learns-with-ashaninkas-about-plants-being-a-source-of-knowledge.shtml
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