List of substances used in rituals

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This page lists psychoactive substances which are consumed in ritual contexts for their consciousness-altering effects. Non-psychoactive consumption like symbolic ingestion of psychoactive substances is not mentioned here.

Animal

Common name Specie Specie, phytochemical(s) Substance effect class Regions/Cultures of use
Kambo (or sapo) Phyllomedusa bicolor Secretion: Opioid peptides (deltorphin, deltorphin I, deltorphin II and dermorphin).[1][2][3] Depressant Increasing popularity in cleansing rituals and depression treatment.[4][5][6]

Plant

The plant parts are listed to prevent accidents. For example, kava roots should always be used because the leaves of the plant are known to cause hepatoxicity and death.[7]

Common name Specie Specie, phytochemical(s) Substance effect class Regions/Cultures of use
Alcohol Yeast byproduct: Alcohol fermented species Alcohol Depressant During the Jewish holiday of Purim, Jews are obligated to drink until their judgmental abilities become impaired.[8][9]
Aztec tobacco Nicotiana rustica Leaf: up to 9% nicotine.[10] MAOI beta-carbolines. Stimulant Mapacho (South America)[11] and thuoc lao (thuốc lào) (Vietnam). Nicotiana rustica is used by Amazonian tobacco shamans known as tobaqueros.[12] Nicotiana rustica is a common ingredient of Ayahuasca in some parts of the Amazon.[13]
Blue water lily Nymphaea caerulea Flower: Aporphine, and nuciferine Depressant Mayans and the Ancient Egyptians.[14]
Chili pepper Capsicum spp. Fruit: Capsaicin Deliriant "While the Inca may have recognized chili’s potent spiritual medicine, they weren’t the only culture to do so. Chilies were mixed with tobacco and other plants by shamans and medicine people in pre-Columbian Central America to aid in journeys to the upper and lower worlds on behalf of mankind."[15]
Coca, coca tea Erythroxylaceae spp. Leaf: 0.3-1.5% cocaine[16] Stimulant Coca has been a vital part of the religious cosmology of the Andean peoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, northern Argentina, and Chile from the pre-Inca period through the present.[citation needed] In addition, coca use in shamanic rituals is well documented wherever local native populations have cultivated the plant. For example, the Tayronas of Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta use to chew the plant before engaging in extended meditation and prayer.[17]
Cocoa Theobroma cacao Bean: Theobromine, small amount of MAOIs, etc (see full list) Stimulant Ritualistic practices originated among the Olmec, Maya and Mexica (Aztec).[18]
Coffee Coffea spp. Seed: 0.06-3.2% caffeine[19] Stimulant The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century, in Yemen's Sufi monasteries.[20] The sufi monks drank coffee as an aid to concentration and even spiritual intoxication when they chanted the name of God.[21]
Corn beer Yeast byproduct: Corn (Zea mays), fermented Alcohol Depressant The corn beer Chicha de jora was once a sacred drink of the Incas, often reserved for the most cherished of ceremonies.[22]

Tesguino is a corn beer made by the Tarahumara people of the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico. It is brewed for local celebrations related to Holy Week. For the Tarahumara, the beer is an elixir for healing, a barter item and is considered a sacred beverage.[23]

Ilex guayusa Ilex guayusa Leaves: 1.73–3.48 % caffeine.[24] Theanine Stimulant A ritual use by the Kichua people involves drinking guayusa infusion to have foretelling dreams for successful hunting expeditions.[25] Ilex guayusa is used in ayahuasca admixtures for its healing powers.[13]
Kava Piper methysticum Root: 3-20% kavalactones[26] Depressant Kava cultures are the religious and cultural traditions of western Oceania which consume kava.
Khat Catha edulis Leaf: Up to 14% cathine[27] Stimulant For centuries, religious leaders have consumed the leaves to stay awake during long nights of prayer.[28]
Kratom Mitragyna speciosa Leaves: Opioids (1–6% mitragynine, 0.01–0.04% 7-hydroxymitragynine[29]) Depressant In Thailand, kratom was "used as a snack to receive guests and was part of the ritual worship of ancestors and gods." (Saingam et al.)[30]
Opium, Opium poppy Papaver somniferum Latex exudate: 0.3–25% morphine and codeine 0.5-4%[31] Depressant From the earliest finds, opium appears to have had ritual significance, and anthropologists have speculated ancient priests may have used the drug as a proof of healing power.[32] In Egypt, the use of opium was generally restricted to priests, magicians, and warriors, its invention is credited to Thoth, and it was said to have been given by Isis to Ra as treatment for a headache.[33] A figure of the Minoan "goddess of the narcotics", wearing a crown of three opium poppies, BCE, was recovered from the Sanctuary of Gazi, Crete, together with a simple smoking apparatus.[34][35] The Greek gods Hypnos (Sleep), Nyx (Night), and Thanatos (Death) were depicted wreathed in poppies or holding them. Poppies also frequently adorned statues of Apollo, Asklepios, Pluto, Demeter, Aphrodite, Kybele and Isis, symbolizing nocturnal oblivion.[33] The opium poppy was a magical ritual plant among the Germanic tribes.[36]
Pituri Duboisia hopwoodii, Duboisia myoporoides, Nicotiana spp. Nicotine, tropane alkaloids A stimulant (or, after extended use, a depressant) chewed by Aboriginal Australians. Some authors use the term to refer only to the plant Duboisia hopwoodii and its leaves and any chewing mixture containing its leaves.[37]
Tea Camellia sinensis Leaf: 0.4-9.3% caffeine and theanine 0-5-1.4%[38] Stimulant Tea has been drunk by Buddhist monks since the Sui Dynasty (589–618 BC) to maintain a state of “mindful alertness” during long periods of meditation. Tea ceremonies have been ritualized for centuries.
Wine Yeast byproduct: Grape (Vitis spp.) (fermented) Alcohol Depressant Wine was used in rituals and worshipped by the Egyptians[39] and the Greeks, specifically in worship of Dionysus.

Chemicals

Plant substances found in in small amounts are not listed here: Cocaine; The coca leaf, when consumed in its natural form or as coca tea, does not induce a physiological or psychological dependence, nor does abstinence after long-term use produce symptoms typical to substance addiction.[40][41][42][43]

Substance IUPAC name Substance effect class Notes
Alcohol Ethanol Depressant See Vitis spp.
Caffeine 1,3,7-Trimethylpurine-2,6-dione Stimulant See Coffea
Cathine (1S,2S)-2-amino-1-phenylpropan-1-ol Stimulant See Catha edulis
Codeine (5α,6α)-7,8-didehydro-4,5-epoxy-3-methoxy-17-methylmorphinan-6-ol Depressant Prodrug for morphine
Kavalactones Depressant See Piper methysticum
Morphine (4R,4aR,7S,7aR,12bS)-3-Methyl-2,3,4,4a,7,7a-hexahydro-1H-4,12-methanobenzofuro[3,2-e]isoquinoline-7,9-diol Depressant See Papaver somniferum

See also

References

  1. ↑ Erspamer V, Melchiorri P, Falconieri-Erspamer G, et al. (July 1989). "Deltorphins: a family of naturally occurring peptides with high affinity and selectivity for delta opioid binding sites". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 86 (13): 5188–92. doi:10.1073/pnas.86.13.5188. PMC 297583 Freely accessible. PMID 2544892. 
  2. ↑ Melchiorri P, Negri L (1996). "The dermorphin peptide family". General Pharmacology: The Vascular System. 27 (7): 1099–107. doi:10.1016/0306-3623(95)02149-3. PMID 8981054. 
  3. ↑ Amiche M, Delfour A, Nicolas P (1998). "Opioid peptides from frog skin". EXS. 85: 57–71. doi:10.1007/978-3-0348-8837-0_4. PMID 9949868. 
  4. ↑ Leban, V; Kozelk, G; Brvar, M (2016). "The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion after giant leaf frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) venom exposure". Toxicon. 120: 107–109. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2016.07.007. 
  5. ↑ Daly, M (May 10, 2016). "How Amazonian Tree Frog Poison Became the Latest Treatment for Addiction". Vice. 
  6. ↑ "About Kambo". International Association of Kambo Practitioners. 
  7. ↑ "KavaKava". livertox.nih.gov. 
  8. ↑ Borras, Laurence; Khazaal, Yasser; Khan, Riaz; Mohr, Sylvia; Kaufmann, Yves-Alexandre; Zullino, Daniele; Huguelet, Philippe (1 December 2010). "The relationship between addiction and religion and its possible implication for care". Substance use & misuse. 45: 2357–410. 
  9. ↑ "Drinking on Purim". aishcom (in English). 
  10. ↑ "Nicotiana sp". artsci.wustl.edu. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 
  11. ↑ "Shamanic Tobaccos". Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge - A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution. Bantam. 1992. p. 196. ISBN 0-553-37130-4. 
  12. ↑ "Meeting The Tobacco Spirit - Reality Sandwich". Reality Sandwich. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Rätsch, Christian (2005), pp. 704-708. The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications. Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press, 1998. Template:ISBN
  14. ↑ Bertol, Elisabetta; Fineschi, Vittorio; Karch, Steven B.; Mari, Francesco; Riezzo, Irene (2004). "Nymphaea cults in ancient Egypt and the New World: a lesson in empirical pharmacology". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 97 (2): 84–85. doi:10.1258/jrsm.97.2.84. PMC 1079300 Freely accessible. PMID 14749409. 
  15. ↑ "Magical and Historical Uses for Chili Pepper and Cayenne". The Practical Herbalist. 3 November 2015. 
  16. ↑ "Illicit Production of Cocaine – [www.rhodium.ws]". Erowid.org. Retrieved 2013-03-26. 
  17. ↑ Museo del Oro, Banco de la República. "Museo del Oro, Colombia" (in Spanish). Banrep.gov.co. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-09. 
  18. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10917925
  19. ↑ "Show Plant". phytochem.nal.usda.gov (in English). 
  20. ↑ Weinberg, Bennett Alan; Bealer, Bonnie K. (2001). The world of caffeine. Routledge. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-0-415-92723-9. 
  21. ↑ McHugo, John (18 April 2013). "How a drink downed by Arab mystics went global". BBC News. 
  22. ↑ "This Ancient Incan Corn Beer Might Bring You Closer to the Gods". Munchies (in English). 25 April 2016. 
  23. ↑ "The Sacred Corn Beer of the Tarahumara". NPR.org (in English). 
  24. ↑ Lewis, WH; Kennelly, EJ; Bass, GN; Wedner, HJ; Elvin, L (1991). "Ritualistic use of the holly Ilex guayusa by Amazonian Jivaro Indians". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 33: 25–30. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(91)90156-8. 
  25. ↑ Spruce, R. (1996). Notas de un botánico en el Amazonas y los Andes. Quito, Ecuador: Colección Tierra Incógnita. 
  26. ↑ "Show Plant". phytochem.nal.usda.gov (in English). 
  27. ↑ "Show Plant". phytochem.nal.usda.gov (in English). 
  28. ↑ http://www.ogina.org/issue5/issue5_culture_of_khat_ezekiel.html
  29. ↑ Kikura-Hanajiri, Ruri; Kawamura, Maiko; Maruyama, Takuro; Kitajima, Mariko; Takayama, Hiromitsu; Goda, Yukihiro (July 2009). "Simultaneous analysis of mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, and other alkaloids in the psychotropic plant "kratom" (Mitragyna speciosa) by LC-ESI-MS". Forensic Toxicology. 27 (2): 67–74. doi:10.1007/s11419-009-0070-5. ISSN 1860-8973. 
  30. ↑ Singh, Darshan; Narayanan, Suresh; Vicknasingam, Balasingam (September 2016). "Traditional and non-traditional uses of Mitragynine (Kratom): A survey of the literature". Brain Research Bulletin. 126 (Pt 1): 41–46. doi:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2016.05.004. PMID 27178014. 
  31. ↑ "Show Plant". phytochem.nal.usda.gov (in English). 
  32. ↑ M J Brownstein (June 15, 1993). "A brief history of opiates, opioid peptides, and opioid receptors". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 90 (12): 5391–5393. doi:10.1073/pnas.90.12.5391. PMC 46725 Freely accessible. PMID 8390660. 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Paul L. Schiff, Jr. (2002). "Opium and its alkaloids". American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007. 
  34. ↑ P. G. Kritikos & S. P. Papadaki (January 1, 1967). "The early history of the poppy and opium". Journal of the Archaeological Society of Athens. Retrieved May 26, 2007. 
  35. ↑ E. Guerra Doce (January 1, 2006). "Evidencias del consumo de drogas en Europa durante la Prehistoria". Trastornos Adictivos (in Spanish). 8 (1): 53–61. doi:10.1016/S1575-0973(06)75106-6. Retrieved May 10, 2007.  (includes image)
  36. ↑ http://www.entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=259Template:Full citation needed
  37. ↑ Silcock JL, Tischler M, Smith MA. "Quantifying the Mulligan River Pituri, Duboisia hopwoodii ((F.Muell.) F.Muell.) (Solanaceae), Trade of Central Australia." Ethnobotany Research & Applications. 2012; 10:037-044. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  38. ↑ "Show Plant". phytochem.nal.usda.gov (in English). 
  39. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-01. 
  40. ↑ Hanna JM, Hornick CA., "Use of coca leaf in southern Peru: adaptation or addiction," Bull Narc. 1977 Jan–Mar;29(1):63–74.
  41. ↑ "Report of the Commission of Enquiry on the Coca Leaf" (PDF). United Nations Economic and Social Council: 31. May 1950. Retrieved August 4, 2014. 
  42. ↑ Jenkins, Amanda J.; Llosa, Teobaldo; Montoya, Ivan; Cone, Edward J. (9 February 1996). "Identification and quantitation of alkaloids in coca tea". Forensic science international. 77 (3): 179–189. ISSN 0379-0738. PMC 2705900 Freely accessible. 
  43. ↑ Biondich, Amy Sue; Joslin, Jeremy David (2016). "Coca: The History and Medical Significance of an Ancient Andean Tradition". Emergency Medicine International. 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/4048764. ISSN 2090-2840. PMC 4838786 Freely accessible. 

External links

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