Abstract
The worldwide use of ayahuasca, an entheogenic tea originally used in ceremonial context by Amazonian peoples, has increased in the last decade. In Brazil, “seringueiros” or rubber tappers have incorporated its use into urban settings, creating three main religions that continue to drink the sacred tea: Santo Daime, Barquinha, and União do Vegetal. A neo-ayahuascan network has arisen along with the expansion of ayahuasca, with distinct meanings associated with the tea, including using it for therapeutic, artistic, religious, and playful purposes. Brazilian ayahuascan groups (BAGs) commonly prepare the tea using the stems of Banisteriopsis caapi (Malpighiaceae) along with the leaves of Psychotrya viridis (Rubiaceae) or sometimes with those of Diplopterys cabrerana (Malpighiaceae). There are citations of traditional Amazonian peoples using the stem of other Malpighiaceae species to prepare ayahuasca in the literature, also several papers refer to “ethnotaxa” of B. caapi recognition. Fertile samples must be collected in order to identify genera and species of Malpighiaceae, which is not always possible due to the short flowering period. There is also a difficulty in collecting sacred plants due to access limitation inside the traditional communities, and due to the natural obstacles in liana sampling in the Amazon Forest. Data in the literature shows that wood anatomy is a good tool to identify plants. Our study synthesizes ethnobotanical material and wood anatomy data in order to understand: (1) whether there is consensus between the respondents of the BAGs of the identity of ethnotaxa; (2) whether there is a hierarchical classification of the ethnotaxa, and whether it can be described and reproduced, illustrating the variation of B. caapi in more detail; (3) whether stem anatomy can be used to distinguish the genera and ethnotaxa used in the production of ayahuasca; and (4) whether there is homogeneity in the use of ethnotaxa or if any of them is more commonly used. Thirty-eight people belonging to BAGs were interviewed. Eighteen ethnotaxa and 30 names for B. caapi were documented. Among the respondents, there are disagreements about the ethnotaxa identities. There is an ethnotaxa hierarchical classification based on stem morphology, which groups them as lianas with swollen nodes (caupuri) and without swollen nodes. However, the tea chemical effects are equally important, as there are lianas called caupuri which do not have swollen nodes, but have the same effect. Wood anatomy and morphology can help in understanding the categorization of ethnotaxa. Stem wood anatomy was also used to verify the identity of Diplopterys cf. pubipetala, which was cited by one respondent. Some ethnotaxa are more used for their chemical effects or their ease of cultivation. Our data suggest that B. caapi has some degree of domestication and that BAGs help to maintain a significant portion of B. caapi diversity. The role of these groups as plant “guardians” used to make ayahuasca is unique at this historical moment, in which the Amazon rainforest and its great diversity is being cruelly and irresponsibly decimated.
Resumo
A utilização mundial da Ayahuasca, um chá enteogênico originalmente utilizado em contexto cerimonial pelos povos amazônicos, aumentou na última década. No Brasil, os seringueiros incorporaram a sua utilização em ambientes urbanos, criando as três principais religiões que comungam o chá sagrado: Santo Daime, Barquinha e União do Vegetal. Uma rede neo-ayahuasqueira surgiu simultaneamente à expansão da Ayahuasca, com significados distintos associados ao chá, incluindo a sua utilização para fins terapêuticos, artísticos, religiosos e de lazer. Os BAGs geralmente preparam o chá utilizando os caules de Banisteriopsis caapi (Malpighiaceae) juntamente com as folhas de Psychotria viridis (Rubiaceae) ou, por vezes, com as de Diplopterys cabrerana (Malpighiaceae). Há referências na literatura de povos tradicionais amazônicos que utilizam o caule de outras espécies de Malpighiaceae para preparar a Ayahuasca, e diversos artigos referem-se ao reconhecimento de "ethnotaxa" de B. caapi. Para a identificação de gêneros e espécies de Malpighiaceae é necessário amostras férteis, o que nem sempre é possível devido ao curto período de florescimento. Há também dificuldade em se coletar plantas sagradas pela limitação de acesso pelas comunidades tradicionais e, pelos obstáculos naturais de coleta de lianas na floresta amazônica. Dados da literatura mostram que a anatomia do caule pode ser uma boa ferramenta para identificar as plantas. O nosso estudo sintetiza dados de etnobotânica e de anatomia da madeira a fim de compreender: 1) se existe consenso entre os informantes dos BAGs sobre a identidade dos etnotaxa; 2) se existe uma classificação hierárquica dos etnotaxa e se esta pode ser descrita e reproduzida, ilustrando a variação de B. caapi de forma mais detalhada; 3) se a anatomia do caule pode ser utilizada para distinguir os gêneros e os etnotaxa utilizados na produção de Ayahuasca; 4) se existe homogeneidade no uso dos etnotaxa ou se algum deles é mais comumente utilizado. Foram entrevistadas trinta e oito pessoas pertencentes aos BAGs. Foram documentados dezoito etnotaxa e 30 nomes para B. caapi. Há discordância entre os informantes sobre entre a identidade de etnotaxa. Há uma classificação hierárquica dos etnotaxa com base na morfologia do caule que os agrupam em cipós com nós inflados (caupuris) e os não inflados. Entretanto, os efeitos químicos da bebida são igualmente importantes, pois há cipós chamados de caupuri que não possuem nós inflados, mas com o mesmo efeito. A anatomia da madeira e morfologia dos caules ajudam na compreensão da categorização dos etnotaxa. A anatomia da madeira foi também utilizada para verificar a identidade do Diplopterys cf. pubipetala, que foi citado por um informante. Há etnotaxa mais utilizados quer seja pelos efeitos químicos ou, pela facilidade de cultivo. Os nossos dados sugerem que B. caapi tem algum grau de domesticação e que os BAGs ajudam a manter uma parte significativa da diversidade de B. caapi. O papel destes grupos como "guardiões" das plantas utilizadas para fazer a Ayahuasca é único neste momento histórico, em que a Floresta Tropical Amazônica e a sua grande diversidade estão sendo cruel e irresponsavelmente dizimados.
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Acknowledgements
It is essential to thank the “divine strength” of the vine, which changed my academic trajectory. We would like to thank all the people from the ayahuasca groups for sharing their knowledge (unfortunately not all of it). Special thanks to Wilson Birunda and Forestry Engineer Pedro for helping the collections, Evandro Ferreira by organization the first lecture in Acre, Bethânia Albuquerque and Xavier for the stay and transfer, and to Bia Labate, for the great incentive for this research. I honor Alain Barqui and Sandra da Barquinha (in memoriam).
Funding
This research received the external funding of the “Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal” (FAPDF) (grant numbers 0193000881/2015 and 0193001773/2017) for financial support to the fourth author, along with the grant from “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico” (CNPq) for the first author in field work (grant number 302213/2019-8).
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R.C.O. collected most of the ethnobotanical data and prepared the first draft of the manuscript; N.N.P. and J.S.O collected and performed analyses of the wood samples, and also worked on this manuscript and revised the grammar; C.W.F. and T.M.S. helped in methodology preparation and in the first contact with interviewees and revised the grammar; M.S.S. added ethnobotanical and historical information; C.S.B. helped collect the ethnobotanical data, organize samples, and in the draft of this manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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In adherence to the ISE code of ethics, informant consent prior to engaging in research activities was established with the Brazilian ayahuascan group leaders and all respondents who participated in this study did so freely. To do so, we organized a catalogue with illustrative images to discuss with each respondent. As part of the ongoing study, a live interview was conducted to share our partial research results with the ayahuasca communities and we will do so with others in the future.
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Supplementary Information
ESM 1:
Respondents meta data, including state, gender, formal learning, age, presence or absent ethnotaxa matrix and total. IC = informant consensus (DOCX 46.7 kb)
ESM 2:
List of ethnotaxa vouchers of Banisteriopsis caapi and Diplopterys cf pubipetala with location, fruits and/orflowers presence, if the collection are from cultivated or native plants, collectors and numbers and date (XLSX 43.9 kb )
ESM 3:
Electronic Supplementary Material 3. Wood anatomical description of Banisteriopsis caapi ethnotaxa and Diplopterys cf. pubipetala (DOCX 34 kb)
ESM 4:
Wood anatomical features and High value data of Principal Component Analysis. Features that contributed most for axes are in bold (DOCX 14 kb)
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de Oliveira, R.C., Behrens, C.S.B., Nagamine-Pinheiro, N. et al. Ethnobotany and Wood Anatomy of Banisteriopsis caapi Ethnotaxa and Diplopterys cf. pubipetala, Components of Ayahuasca in Brazilian Rituals. Econ Bot 77, 18–47 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-023-09567-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-023-09567-w