The Use of the Genus Virola as a Hallucinogen In South America

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The Use of the Genus Virola as a Hallucinogen In South America

Virola theiodora (Spr. ex Benth.) Warburg is one of many species of Virola used in the Amazon region as a hallucinogenic snuff. The plant differs in its pattern of usage by the indigenous people of this region. A reddish resin- like exudate is extracted from the cambial region of the bark of this slender tree and either snuffed or ingested orally. The major alkaloid constituent of this snuff appears to be 5-MeO-DMT with lesser amounts of DMT.

Description

The Brazilian botanist Ducke was the first to make a definitive association between the hallucinogenic snuff used by the natives of the Amazon and the genus Virola in 1938. However, the snuff was first described in detail and identified to species with a voucher specimen in 1954 (Schultes, 1954).

Virola theiodora is a slender tree, 25-75 feet in height, with a cylindrical trunk up to 1.5 feet in diameter and smooth, brown-mottled bark with gray patches. Staminate inflorescences are many- flowered, paniculate, usually shorter than leaves, up to 15 cm long (usually shorter). Pistillate inflorescences are shorter. Distribution is mainly in the western Amazonia of Brazil and Columbia, possibly also in adjacent parts of Peru and Venezuela: especially abundant in the Rio Negro basin. It is a tree of well-drained forests.

Virola use by natives of South America

Virola is used in the manufacture of hallucinogenic substances by various tribes throughout the range of the genus. Social implications for use, and the preferred form of the hallucinogen, differ according to region.

The Colombian Vaupès

The indian tribes of this region include the Barasana, Makuna, Puinave, Kabuyari, and Kuripko among others. Virola theiodora, V. calophylla, V. calophylloidea, and V. elongata are used in the making of a snuff as well as Theobroma. The use of this snuff is restricted to shamans.

The Orinoco in Venezuela and The Rio Negro of Brazil

The indian tribes here fall under the generic name of Waikà but include such subgroups as the Kirishaná, Shirianá, Karauetari, Karimé, Parahuri, Surará, Pakidái, and Yanomami. The snuff is used occasionally in daily life and individually as well as ceremonially. Not only do shamans use the snuff but also all male members of the tribe over the age of fourteen are encouraged to partake in the snuff ( Schultes and Hoffman, 1980). The snuff is often administered through a blow tube by another person. The principal species used is Virola theiodora with V.

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