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Effects of hallucinogen drugs on the brain
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Exercise 1: God/ spirit experienced in the Huichol peyote ritual According to the video, “The last of the medicine men-peyote” by Benedict Allen, Huichol is one of a native tribes in Mexico who Sharman eat the hallucinate cactus call peyote in order to interact with their god and enter the whole new different world of their gods. Every year the Sharman will lead all these people in the desert, which the Huichol believe that it was the land of their Gods and their ancient ancestor once lived, to perform the sacred ritual.They believe as long as they make the gods happy and continue to make this pilgrimage, the sun will rise and the rain will fall. On the other hand, if they do not make the pilgrimage, terrible thing will happen to them. In this …show more content…
ritual, the Huichol people are require to be purified by confessing their sins and eat the sacred peyote. They believe that only if they found and eaten the peyote in the desert, they can reach out to their gods. However, what the Huichol people do not know is that the peyote plant contains mescaline, which is a combination of stimulating component and hallucinogen; which mean whatever spiritual senses they experience by eating the plant are not real and it is all in their head. The reasons for what the god/spirit experiences that the Huichol people have are not real is because everything they experiences are “in one’s head”, and they are all hallucinating.
According to “What Is Peyote? | Is It Addictive & What Are the Side Effects?”, hallucinogens including peyote can create a sensory effect. In other words, a person who takes peyote might believe and think that they smell, hear sounds, touch things that are not even there. For example in the video “the last of the medicine men-peyote”, one of the members of the tribe who is a violinist said that he heard the noise of the song that he is playing now was from the last ritual after he ate the peyote. Another effect of hallucination is people can see things that are not even there. For instance, after eating the peyote, Benedict Allen describes that he sees stuffs such as the distance come and goes, everything and even the stones are moving and vibrating. Losing in touch with reality is also the effect of peyote according to “What Is Peyote? | Is It Addictive & What Are the Side Effects?”. It is said that “During a peyote trip, some people might feel introspective, calm and like they’re in a very deep meditative state, while others could experience hallucinations that bring them distress or even cause them to put themselves in harm’s way.”, which bring the similar effect that Benedict Allen and one of the tribe’s member name David experience after they eat the peyote. In the video, Benedict Allen
describe it as he is not sure what he was, he feels calm, suddenly release and in harmony at last. On the other hand, after eating the peyote, David described it as he saw something black from the sky cover his body, carry a stick dripping with blood and looking at his sin, which causes him to confess his sin right away. In conclusion, because there are so many similarities between how people react/feeling and the effect of hallucination, it is proved that what the Huichol people are experiencing on spiritual/gods are all in “one’s head” and it is not real. It is understandable for the Huichol people to believe that the sacred peyote is what helps them interact with their gods because of their culture, believes and religion. However, if everything is looking at scientifically, everything the Huichol people experiences are caused by the hallucinogens and stimulate from the peyote. In summary, the spiritual experiences that the Huichol have are all in one head and it is not real.
Further, prayer and medicine interplay to paint a classical image of the Native’s creed, yet, for many obsolete or preposterous existences of the shaman. To re-install beliefs present in the world for thousands of years, but have been disappearing, writers such as Neidhardt introduce the element of the
Kathryn book Life in the Pueblo is based on excavations that she did at Lizard Man Village (Kamp, 1997). This was a small pueblo located in Arizona which is believed to be inhabited between 11th and 13th century. These ancient excavations were first carried out by United States Forest Service and were parts of Grinnell College field school (Kamp, 1997). The aim of the book was to describe Lizard Man Village and present excavation processes and analysis. Kamp 1997 offers archaeological interpretation of the site in relation to the past understandings. She bring out successfully three narratives. These narratives include ethnographic data in relationship to traditional accounts from Hopi (a place which is believed to be the first resident of Lizard Man) (Kamp, 1997). He also bring out clearly the issue of archaeology as well as fictional account basing it on both ethnography and archaeology.
A well-known Meso-American deity, Huitzilopochtli, is the Aztec god of war and human sacrifice. It is written that he had a constant battle with evil within himself and required human sacrifice for nourishment. It is believed that Huitzilopochtli’s mother, Coatlicue, an Aztec earth goddess, conceived him after she kept a ball of hummingbird feathers in her bosom that had fallen from the sky. Huitzilopochtli’s sister, Coyolxauhqui, plotted to kill her mother after discovering the shameful way she had become impregnated. When his mother was decapitated, Huitzilopochtli burst from the womb and killed his sister Coyolxauhqui ...
Thus, historians ought to emphasize the significance of human sacrifice, and not their agriculture, when discussing the Aztecs. Religion is clearly a vital part of the Aztec culture. They had at least 128 gods, including but not limited to the divine beings of “rain, fire, water, corn, the sky, and the sun.” They were honored in numerous ways: ceremonies and festivals, dances and feasts, and by having humans sacrificed to them. Background Essay:
The children which were the stars and Coyotxauhqu became jealous and feared that now they would no longer be as important to her and decided the murder her. The children decapitated the Coatlicue which cause the new born child Huitzilopotchi to be born in armor and seek vengeance upon his siblings. He threw his sisters body down the mountain and tossed her head into the air to become the moon. This myth was used by the Aztecs as a metaphors as to why the sun, moon, and stars are how they are now, but also to show how Huitzilopotchi became the sun god telling how the sun and moon came into place. The Aztec people traveled until they found a cactus with an eagle nesting obeying Huilzilopotchli command and settled there which is now known as Tenochtitlan. After the fall of the Aztec, the work was found by Christians and reburied because of the assumption that it represented something evil. The art was not supposed to be viewed as evil but to show the Coatlicue as part human, part earth animal, and animal that represented life and death. The goddess played a
The Ho-Chunk Nation members take part in the Native American Church, otherwise known as NAC to most tribal members. The NAC is a peyote based religion. This religion first came in contact with the tribe during the 1900s. Peyote is a hallucinogen that comes from the flower of a thornless cactus. Members of the NAC believe in the Great Spirit who controls the waterbird and thunderbird spirits. Taking peyote is believed to allow people to communicate with the Great Spirit for guidance and
“Rituals and Traditions; It Takes a Tribe,” written by David Berreby and “Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History” written by Jane Tompkins, both exemplify a typical controversial topic in the United States of America today. The US prides there self on the basis of freedom, and how Americans are made up of individuals with backgrounds from all around the world. Many consider the US to be a “melting pot”, a society where cultures are just blended together and not recognized fully on their own, where as others consider the US to be a “salad bowl”, where people of international cultures hold fast to their traditions and practices and coexist with the cultures around them. Both authors of the readings propose that generally speaking,
Scientists have recently discovered links to the Kiowa and Aztec religions. For example both tribes worshiped a stone image, Taimay, and both tribes followed a pictographic calendar. The language that the Kiowa spoke can be traced back to the Uto-Aztecan language like Latin and English. The Kiowa languages also have connections to the Bannocks, Comanche’s, Paragons, Paiutes, Pima, Shoshones, and Utes. The Kiowa and Aztec preformed many dances of praise including the Sun Dance. However, the Kiowa also had many unique dances including the Scalp, Corning, Feather, and Ghost praising nature and life. Each dance was preformed to celebrate different achievements. For example, the scalp dance was preformed when men returned ...
Boyer, B., Boyer, R., & Basehart, H. 1973. Hallucinogens and Shamanism M. Hamer, Ed.. England: Oxford University Press.
Rituals are held as a very important part of any society, including ours. They go back to ancient times, or can be as simple as maintaining one’s hygiene. Non-western societies have rituals that may seem very foreign to us, but they have been engrained in their communities and are essential to their social structure. This interpretation will focus on the Great Pilgrimage, a ritual performed by Quechuan communities. We will be looking specifically at a community in the Sonqo area.
The effects of peyote are quite strong, and cause an array of feelings and emotional perceptions. According to www.xs4all.nl;
Native American Ritual Dancing “It has often been said that the North American Indians ‘dance out’ their religions” (Vecsey 51). There were two very important dances for the Sioux tribe, the Sun Dance and the Ghost Dance. Both dances show the nature of Native American spirituality. The Ghost Dance and the Sun Dance were two very different dances, however both promote a sense of community.
A psychedelic drug is one that alters the brains perception and cognition. Drugs of this sort can cause visual hallucinations. People have said it feels as though everything is alive, breathing, dancing. Of course, like any drug, there is the possibility of having a “bad trip.” This is where things seemingly go wrong. The person tripping feels trapped, frightened, and extremely uncomfortable. The
A very minute does can significantly alter ones perception to the point of hallucination. Hallucination is when a person hears, or sees thing that don’t really exist. LSD is the most potent hallucinate. Approximately 100 times stronger than psilocybin, and 4000 times stronger than mescaline.
Houston, Stephen. “Classic Maya Religion: Beliefs and practices of an Ancient American People.” BYU Studies 38.4 (1999): 43-64. Print.