Interviews

Carl A.P. Ruck

  • These substances were previously called hallucinogens or psychedelics. That is wrong for two reasons. One is that “psychedelic” had become associated with the psychedelic generation and the misuse of these substances. The other problem with “psychedelic” is that although psyche does mean soul in Greek, most English words with the psych- root clearly refer to the mind and imitate a psychotic state. Who would think of referring to the Christian communion as a hallucinogen?

    I propose the term entheogen, combining the Greek adjective entheos, meaning that God resides within you. One can be possessed with the aspiration toward art, perfection, and so forth. It is a good term, I think.

  • My colleagues ignored my indiscretion in talking about such a thing as if I had farted in church.

    There was a meeting in the president’s office. He began by saying that he was trying to improve the intellectual level and that advancement should be determined entirely by academic production. Then he looked at me and said, “Except in the popular press.”

    The ironic thing is that in the early 1960s, at Boston University, there was a School of Theology, and at Marsh Chapel in the basement they conducted an experiment in which they gave theology students an entheogen. Afterward, the participants were asked whether the experience was religious or not. It was determined that it was religious.

Classical Studies Professor

Inti Garcia

Mazatec Activist

  • As Mazatecs, we see the mushrooms as a last resort for curing illness—physical, mental, or spiritual. They are sacred, and must be approached with respect and responsibility. They represent the deepest essence of our culture.

    My family views them the same way, with respect and affection, as divine gifts from Mother Earth. Traditionally we used them for divination and healing. I believe this practice must never be lost, because losing it would mean losing our identity as Mazatecs.

  • Fewer now. Hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies exist, so there is less reliance on mushrooms. Outside religions also condemn these practices, discouraging them. Today, ceremonies are often more for tourists than for Mazatecs. Some families still hold veladas, but very few.

  • My father, Renato García Dorantes, was motivated by his curiosity to know more about his own culture. He had many questions about the customs and traditions of his town. He also feared that one day all this knowledge and richness would be lost. That is why he began to investigate, collect, and document it—so it could be preserved.

    Thanks to his work, we now have the archive Historias y Memorias Mazatecas, which contains VHS and Betamax tapes, audio cassettes, film reels, documents, photographs, slides, negatives, textiles, and many other materials that capture the cultural richness of the Mazatec people.

    As for me, what motivated me to get involved was not to let my father’s work go to waste. Since childhood I often accompanied him—filming interviews, recording elders, and observing how he worked. I was always curious when foreigners or anthropology students came to see him, and I would listen to those conversations.

    I realized that our culture is so vast—there are things we Mazatecs still carry that are not written in any published book. That understanding motivated me to continue, to preserve the historical legacy and responsibility left to me by my father.

    It also comes from my own desire to learn about who I am—my traditions and culture as a Mazatec, as part of this community. I believe it is important to learn directly from the voices preserved in this archive: from the interviews, the writings, and the memories stored there. Through them I can learn and relearn what it means to be Mazatec.

  • We have continued with this project, and recently it led me to take a new step: the opening of the Museo Historias y Memorias Mazatecas here in Huautla.

    The purpose of the museum is for the community itself to see, feel, and take pride in being Mazatec, to value the essence of what we are as an Indigenous people, and to recognize our cultural heritage as something alive and vital.

Masha Wasson

Daughter of Gordon and Valentina Wasson

  • Well, the actual ceremony itself was incredible—you have no idea what it’s going to be like. We really didn’t, because we didn’t know we were about to have hallucinations. You can stop them for a little while, actually, but you don’t want to do that.

    There are other effects on the body too. I remember feeling that you had no pain whatsoever when under the effect of the mushroom.

    The visions were very bright, very clear, very angular—at least mine were. The other thing that was true for me was that I could “hop” anywhere in the world. For example, the brother of a friend in France was in Indochina at the time, fighting for the French in the war in Vietnam. And I could go visit him over there. I could go anywhere I wanted.

    My mother also had an experience with one trip where it was all déjà vu. I had the same kind of experience too.

  • At the time, I didn’t know it would ever be used for medicinal purposes, like reducing anxiety. I don’t know much about the brain, other than I was conscious that the visions were coming from the back of my head, even though I was seeing out through my eyes.

    My mother’s thought, the very first time we tried them, was: “This is going to be used in medicine.”

    She knew instantly that it had a use.