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Peruvian government recognizes Ayahuasca as cultural heritage

Big WOW! Who whould have thought that any government would ever release statements like these: "the effects produced by its consumption are equivalent to entering the secrets of the spiritual world..." and, "knowledge of ayahuasca states is required for all members of Amazonian societies at some point in their lives, and is essential for assuming the role of privileged individuals..."

No english news source for this yet, but these two articles Portuguese-to-English via Google Translate are quite usable:

The government of Peru said as the cultural patrimony of the nation's traditional knowledge and practices of ayahuasca practiced by indigenous communities in the Amazon Forest. The ayahuasca is better known in Brazil as Santo Daime. The decision of the Peruvian government, signed by the director of the National Institute of Culture, Javier Ugaz Villacorta, was published in the Saturday edition of El Peruano, the official daily of the country.

In the statement of recognition, the Peruvian government maintains that the ayahuasca has psychotropic qualities, namely that act on the psyche, the mental activity, behaviour, perceptions and is known worldwide as a plant indigenous to transmit wisdom for the beginner on the very foundations of the world.

It also states that the effects produced by its consumption is equivalent to entering the secrets of the spiritual world. According to the National Institute of Culture, the ritual of ayahuasca is setting as the center of traditional medicine and is one of the pillars of the identity of Amazonian peoples, and its use necessary and indispensable for all members of society Peruvian Amazon.

...

According to the Peruvian government, ayahuasca has extraordinary cultural history because of its psychotropic qualities. The National Institute of Culture notes that the use and results obtained with ayahuasca are required for all members of societies Amazon at some point in their lives and essential to assume the role of privileged individuals, either through communications with the spiritual world or [dream visions?]"

Some strangeness in the translations, but you can probably figure them out. Thanks for the tip Snow!

Posted By jamesk at 2008-07-17 12:53:45 permalink | comments
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guest : 2009-02-26 13:37:27
El Peruano is a periodical here in Peru. It is one of the oldest newspapers here, although it may not be the most popular. And it is not a tabloid, but a newspaper.

I've spent much time in the jungle and amazonian parts of Peru and Brazil, and Ayahuasca is a very common drink made from a plant. I've never felt any euphoric or psychadelic effects from it, but the potency varies. It is served in restaurants with other common foods to that area such as pachamanca.

Alejandro Salem. : 2008-10-27 08:31:59
There is no such periodical as "El Peruano." If it did exist, it would be a small-scale tabloid, far from the official daily of the country. However, it is unlikely that such newspaper even exists. It's too tame a name for a tabloid.

However, doing the littlest bit of research I have found this:
[link]
Which is not official, but seems a pretty strong bearing. I'll look a bit further.

Caduceus. : 2008-07-22 07:44:45
There is now a complete English translation of the text, which can be found here:

www.ayahuasca-info.com/national_heritage/

:). : 2008-07-20 09:00:20
Yay!
Psychotrophic : 2008-07-18 15:07:05
I just arrived back from five weeks there the day this was posted, just KNEW I had to get back there ASAP!
that's some good news. : 2008-07-18 08:00:12
I can't even begin to imagine a UK, US, and the other usual culprits governments coming up with a public statement even near to as intelligent and evolved as that. Nowhere near as human as that.

They're too busy talking-down to the worst mentalities to ever bother with addressing people as they ought to be in the first place. At the end of the day, you deal with the problem folks etc anyway; there's no need to run the country as if no intelligent people exist.

We're always being expected to accept the most ridiculous lies, double standards, inabilty to use logic and reasoning and facts to back up anything said - as though that is normal behaviour for humans. And those who talk the rubbish, they would read words like this here as meaningless: just a tiny percentage they don't have to worry about, cause not enough people will ever become sentient enough to think the same way; and they think that even if enough people did realise - they'd see it as a joke that such idiots had been allowed to have any power and control (or just act as though they did), that we'd go along with their notions that it's funny that their kinds have gotten control over anything. Like my life being wasted living under their regimes is a laugh.

Miguel Young. : 2008-07-17 13:45:23
in the part where you put "(dream visions?)", the portuguese text says:
papel de portadores privilegiados, seja através de comunicações com o mundo espiritual ou para os que se expressam plasticamente
which you can translate to:
role of privileged individuals, either through communications with the spiritual world or for those who express themselves plastically.

I think they mean artists, painters, dancers, whoever uses aesthetics for expression, hence the plastic expression. Here in Brasil, painters are the most commonly referred as plastic artists.

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