2016 AMSMIC Meeting, Antigua Guatemala, January 21, 2016

Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs

Ritual Hallucinogens
of the Maya
Miguel F. Torres
miftorres@hotmail.com

National Academy of Geography and History of Guatemala

Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Universidad del Valle

FLAAR

Welcome to Antigua Guatemala, Central America

SACRED PLANTS

Teonancatl:
Psilocybe spp.
Hallucinogens

Peyote:
Lophophora williamsii
cacto
Psychodisleptic =

Hallucinogens:
Substances that cause mental
mistakes in the perception
of the senses, not founded
in an objective reality.
Imaginary perception.

Illumination

ENTHEOGENS:
Substances that enable
the encounter of God
within ourselves.
Wasson, 1963.

Natural Hallucinogens:
Ritual use in the life of people of all
countries in all times.
Found in the origin of all religions.

Ethnomycology: multidisciplinary study of the relation

between fungi and men through different cultures

Prehistory

Tassili Cave, Capsian culture

Algeria, Sahara,
antiquity 7,000 years

Russia, River Yanisei paintings

R. Gordon Wasson (1898-1986)

V. Pavlovna

A. Hofmann

G. Wasson

Founder of Ethnomycology.

Banker, amateur mycologist,

prolific author and researcher.

In 1926 he married the Russian

pediatrician Valentina Pavlovna.
They collected references of
fungi and folklore.

"Mycophilic" or "mycophobe".

1955 Mazatec Sierra ritual, he

is famous for Mara Sabina.

1963 he proposed "entheogen"

(Soma).

Mara Sabina

Ethnomycological legacy of

Dr. Bernard Lowy

Bernard Lowy Mycological Herbarium (LSUM)

Psilocybe
mexicana
LOWY, B. Hallucinogenic mushrooms in Guatemala
Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 9 (2): 123-125, 1977.

COGNODISLEPTICS

Stimulate imagination
Alter memory
Enhance sensations and fantasies

Ergot: Claviceps purpurea

Ololiuhqui: Ipomoea violacea

Jos Luis Daz, Las Plantas Mgicas y la Conciencia Visionaria, Arqueologa Mexicana.

Demeter, Persephone and Triptolemus

The Road to Eleusis, 1978. Wasson, Hofmann y Ruck

Greece
In Eleusis, the ritual of initiation was carried out.
The initiation into the sacred mysteries included
a sacred drink called Ambrosia.

Eleusis

Ambrosia was prepared with barley

parasitized by C. purpurea.
It produced powerful
hallucinations due to alkaloids
ergonovine and lysergic acid
or LSD.

Ixion

Sclerotium
or cornezuelo

Claviceps purpurea

Fungi

Demter, Persfone, hongos

 They are chosen to access

sacred areas.

The Shaman

The Shaman specializes in

ecstasy.
His soul leaves the body to
ascend to heaven or down to hell.
The shaman uses natural drugs
for the soul to leave the body.
The Shaman dominates the spirits
of nature and communicates with
the dead.
Mircea Eliade, Shamanism, 1960.

Siberia
Kamchatka, Siberia

Mesoamerica

Amanita muscaria

Fino-ugric shaman woman

India
Gordon Wasson (1969) found that "Soma"
described in the Rig Veda, a red sacred plant
plant without vegetal structure used to
prepare the entheogenic drink, was the
mushroom Amanita muscaria.

Amanita muscaria in prehispanic Mesoamerica

Maya area

MESOAMERICA: cultural area borders

Skull = death

Buttons of A. muscaria

Prehispanic purpecha sculpture

Amanita muscaria

The Maya of Mesoamerica

"It was the planets brightest indigenous people" (Sylvanus Morley, 1947)
They excelled in the sciences (astronomy, mathematics, medicine).
They excelled in the arts (architecture, sculpture, painting, ceramics).

Grear Jaguar Pyramid, Tikal

Maya hieroglyphic writing

Unique in America

Complex rituals and human sacrifice

Dominant priestly caste

Owner of knowledge of ritual entheogens

The Ah Men was the priest or doctor that treated

diseases physical and psychological. For psychosomatic
illnesses he used ritual entheogens.

Cult of
Culto
al Time
tiempo

Lengthy mathematical calculations

Carving stelae every 20 years (Katun)

Goddess of suicide: Dresden Codex, p. 53

Wife of the god of death Chamer. Committing suicide was a honorable
practice before suffering humiliation, sickness or misfortune.
Ixtab accompanied the souls of suicide to a special paradise.

Self-decapitation
Impossible to perform

Cut of the carotid artery

K1230

Self-sacrifice: auto-decapitation
Indication of use of potent hallucinogens

Enema syringe

The WAHIS where familiar spirits, represented powers

of Maya kings produced spells and sickness.

FLAAR, www.Maya-archaeology.org

Castillo Vase, Popol Vuh Museum, Guatemala. Northern Lowlands. Late Classic (600-900 A.D.)
A masterpiece of Mayan art. It presents mythological figures and fellow spirits.

The Altar de Sacrificios Maya vase

Depicts the self-suicide ritual of an accompanying lady.

Selfsacrifice

Bird-jaguar dancer
in Underworld

Botanical, zoological and

mycological Maya hallucinogens

Ritual Hallucinogens of the Maya

Amanita muscaria

Psilocybe mexicana and others

Nymphaea ampla
Nicotiana
rustica

Bufo marinus

Turbina corymbosa

Ipomoea violacea

The Balch: sacred alcoholic drink, honey/bark of the balch tree

Lacandon

Balch tree
Lonchocarpus spp.

Fermentation de
water/honey
Fermentacin
aguamiel

Maya intoxicated with balch

Collecting wild honey

Balch vase and enema syringe

Balch, insects and water lily jaguar

Balch drink was prepared with fermented honey from
stingless bees and added hallucinogens.

Hallucinogenic Maya Enemas

Great absorbtion through the anal mucosa; avoid the mouth

Nymphaea ampla

Mesoamerican white water lily

FLAAR, www.Maya-ethnobotany.org

Nymphaea
amplainin
Mayan
Nymphaea ampla
Maya
art art

Limit symbol of the underworld.

Limit
symbol
of thenupharin
underworld.
Contains sedative
alkaloids:
and nymphaein
Contains sedative alkaloids: nupharin and nymphaein

FLAAR, www.Maya-ethnobotany.org

Underwater dance of the Maize God

Royal water lily-fish emblem. The power of control of sacred

agriculture and fish farming for food production: corn.

Bufo marinus: hallucinogenic venom

Bufotenina

Toads in maya vessels

Bufotenin

Itzamn main God ritual under the influence of hallucinogens administered by

enemas. The priest "red toothy" directs the ceremony from his throne.

Coe 1978 The Lords of the Underworld

Unknown plant

Possible aditives to
the balch enema:

1.

1. Peyote?
2. Toad venom?
3. Fungi?

2.

3.

Smoking of rustic tobacco a pre-Hispanic tradition of gods and mortals

Lacandon smoking

Nicotiana rustica

Old God smoking

Pharmacological action of hallucinogens

Temporary replacement of the neurotransmitter serotonin or 5hydroxytryptamine (mental wellness hormone) in the synapses receptors
by molecular similarity. The function of serotonin is inhibitory; high levels
give a sense of well-being and decreased anxiety and sadness.
The "free" passage of nerve impulses causes severe hallucinations.
Serotonin

Psilocibin

Psilocin

Bufotenin

LSD

DESCRIPTION OF THE HALLUCINATIONS CAUSED

BY FUNGI OF THE GENUS Psilocybe:
(Psychodysleptic effect = "enlightenment")
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Colored visual hallucinations

Ecstasy
Loss of time/space perception
Inner peace
Introspection
Past memory
Universal love
Union with Nature
Feel part of the Cosmos

Adapted from: Guzmn (1959); Ludwig (1969); Dobkin de Rios (1974).

Ethnomycological legacy of

Dr. Bernard Lowy

Bernard Lowy Mycological Herbarium (LSUM)

Psilocybe
mexicana
LOWY, B. Hallucinogenic mushrooms in Guatemala
Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 9 (2): 123-125, 1977.

Species of Psilocybe mushrooms

described in Guatemala:
1. Psilocybe mexicana pajaritos

Singer y Smith (1958) & Bernard Lowy (1977)

Native species utilized by Maya and Aztecs

Psilocybe zapotecorum
Only one record: Sierra
de las Minas, Zacapa.

2. Psilocybe cubensis San Isidro

Miguel Torres (1983) & Gastn Guzmn (1983)

Psilocybe cyanescens
Two records: Sta. Elena
Barillas and Cobn.

Exotic species, spores in

cattle came in galleons.

Evening with hallucinogenic mushrooms: cure for schizophrenia

Dr. Teruo Miyanishi, ethnopsychiatrist, Wakayama University

He made psychiatric longitudinal studies (1971-1978) among the Mazatec and Lacandon.
He diagnosed several cases of schizophrenia, and documented his local cure with
hallucinogenic Psilocybe mushrooms.

Mayan archaeological evidence of mycolatry

1. Paintings: in the codices

2. Stone sculptures: Mushroom stones

Amanita muscaria in the Codex of Madrid (Lowy, 1972)

LOWY, B. Mushroom Symbolism in Maya Codices

Mycologia, 64:816-821,1972.
Cimi=death

A. muscaria var. flavivolvata / var. muscaria

Totonicapn, Guatemala. Foto: Rubn Mayorga

Ethnomycology in the Dresden Codex 1,250 A.D.

(Lowy, 1972)

Zoomorphic deity, inverted Amanita muscaria

LOWY, B.
Mushroom Symbolism in Maya
Codices
Mycologia, 64:816-821,1972

Descending gods in hallucinatory state

Representations of fungi in Mexican codices

Tepantitla, Teotihuacn

Fray Bernardino de Sahagn demonized "teonanctl fungi.

Codex Magliabechiano (Aztec).
The person eats ritually
sacred mushrooms in pairs.
The God takes his head with claw.

Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus I

(Mixtec) Quetzalcatl instructs nine deities
in the origin and use of sacred mushrooms.

Pilzintli: Aztec deity of hallucinogenic mushrooms

Tonantzintla

In the Codex Borgia, Aztec

Young male deity
Descending from the sky
Surrounded by "disembodied eyes"
Fungi in pairs

Reminiscent:

Convent of La Concepcin, Antigua

Aquatic procession, Amatitln Lake

Chac:

Madrid Codex page 13

god of rain
and thunder
,

Dresden Codex page 74

The red mushroom grows where

the thunderbolt strikes the earth.
Itzel ocox = "mushroom of devil"
Amanita muscaria:
Lowy, B. Amanita muscaria and the
Thunderbolt Legend in Guatemala and Mexico.
Mycologia, 66 (1): 188-191, 1974.

kakulj = thunderbolt
(kiche )
yuyo de rayo or
yuy chuac in Chiapas

Sacred fungi and Maximn (local deity)

Tzutuhil oral tradition, Santiago Atitln, Guatemala

Palo de pito
Erythrina
berteroana

The prophet Francisco Sojuel received

Inspiration from magic mushrooms for
carving ritual mask of "Palo whistle"

Reminiscent of Turbina corymbosa in the spiral columns of

seventeenth century portal of San Francisco church, Antigua

Turbina corymbosa

Vivian de Torres and Dr. Gastn Guzmn

According to Donald B. Lawrence, in Wasson 1980

Murals in San Cristbal el Alto church, Totonicapn, Guatemala

Reminiscent of Turbina corymbosa and Ipomoea violacea
Ololiuhqui seeds with LSD

Mayan Mushroom Stones

Pre-Hispanic art typical of Guatemala

Mushroom Stones
Sculptural art typical of the southern Maya area,
mainly in the highlands and southern coast of
Guatemala, especially Kaminaljuy.

National Exhibitions of Mushrooms

Teachings of Dr. Gastn Guzmn from Mexico, since 1985.

Miguel Torres and Dr. Gastn Guzmn

Elaboration of the book Piedras-Hongo

Kuniaki Ohi & Miguel F. Torres, editors.
Museum of Tobacco and Salt, Japan, 1994. SpanishJapanese.
The first archaeological and interpretive catalog of these sculptures.
Miguel F. Torres

Mother Yvonne
Sommerkamp

There are about 300 mushroom

stones, we studied about 200.
Volcanic stone rarely sandstone.

First studies on Mushroom Stones from Guatemala

1. Initially it was believed that they were phallic sculptures.

Phallic sculptures from Chucuito, Per

Phallic sculptures, Temple of Sex, Uxmal, Mexico

2. First Mayan sculpture to be recognized as "mushroom stone", studied by the

Swiss ethnographer Carl Sapper in 1898. Reitberg Museum, Zurich, Switzerland.
This piece motivated Wasson to study the hallucinogenic mushrooms, Mexico, 1955.

The oldest mushroom stones

Period: Middle Preclassic (1000 BC - 200 BC).
With human or animal figures.

The miniature mushroom stones from

Nottebohm collection; c. 2,500 years old
Hungarian archaeologist Stephan F. de Borhegyi described 9 mushroom stones,1960.
Miniature (14 -18 cm.) Middle Preclassic period (1000-200 BC) from Kaminaljuy.
They were found together with nine miniature grinding stones, probably used for
grinding the hallucinogenic mushrooms in the ritual.
They represented the nine underworlds, the nine lords of the night.

Normal size of mushroom

stones: 28-38 cm.

Stephan F. de Borhegyi. Miniature Mushroom Stones from Guatemala. American Antiquity, 26(4):498-504, 1961.

Zoomorphic Mushroom Stones

Represent nahual animals (companion spirits).
According to Dobkin de Rios (1974) the presence of nahual animals and life-death
duality in the Mayan world are linked to the ritual use of hallucinogens.
Jaguar
Coati
Spider monkey
Rabbit
Toad

Felis onca

Nasua narica

Ateles geoffroy

Sylvilagus floridanus

Bufo marinus

Late Mushroom Stones

Period: Late Classic (550 A.D. - 1000 A.D.)
Simple tripod base

The mushroom stones production ends c. 1000 A.D.

Classification according Ohi and Torres,
Piedras-Hongo, 1994.

What represented and what was the use

of Mushroom Stones?

They represented fungi in general, both hallucinogenic and edible.

They did not represent the thin Psilocybe mushrooms rather robust edible mushrooms.
It is believed they were used in agricultural rituals to fool nature and promote rain.
Nahual animals and shamans helped them in this task.
Sometimes were offerings in human sacrifices related to the underworld.

Psilocybe mexicana
Boletus edulis

The edible fungi from Guatemala

Ancestral tradition: 70 species of edible mushrooms

Amanita caesarea
Hongo de San Juan

Some traditional edible fungi of Guatemala

Hongo de San Juan:

complex of Amanita caesarea

Anacates:
Cantharellus cibarius
Sharas:
Lactarius indigo

Pancita:
Morchella esculenta
Lengua de venado:
Hydnum repandum
Hongo de guachipiln:
Pseudofistulina radicata

Morchella guatemalensis
sp. nov.

Description of the new species:

Collected by Miguel F. Torres
for the first time in a forest of Quercus and
Cupressus in El Tejar, Chimaltenango,
Guatemala 1984.
A new species of Morchella.
Gastn Guzmn, Miguel F. Torres,
Logemann H., J. Argueta, I. Sommerkamp
Mycologia Helvetica 1 (6): 451 to 459.1985.
First record for Mexico:
Laura Guzmn D, y Otilia Rodrguez. Boletn Instituto de
Botnica U.G. 1:471-475,1993.