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52-435: Banisteriopsis caapi , also known as, caapi , soul vine , yagé ( yage ), or ayahuasca , the latter of which also refers to the psychedelic decoction made with the vine and a plant source of dimethyltryptamine , is a South American liana of the family Malpighiaceae . It is commonly used as an ingredient of ayahuasca , a decoction with a long history of its entheogenic (connecting to spirit) use and holds status as

104-606: A "plant teacher" among the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon rainforest . According to The CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names by Umberto Quattrocchi, the naming of the genus Banisteriopsis was dedicated to John Banister , a 17th-century English clergyman and naturalist. An earlier name for the genus was Banisteria and the plant is sometimes referred to as Banisteria caapi . Other names include Banisteria quitensis , Banisteriopsis inebrians , and Banisteriopsis quitensis . Caapi

156-557: A Father or Mother of the church is often sung. The Christian core is combined with other elements, drawing on other spiritual strands of Brazilian culture: there is an emphasis on personal responsibility within a fellowship, the need to walk on the path of Love leaving behind old habits and evil (with Divine help), to examine one's conscience carefully, to call on God and the Virgin Mother and Jesus Christ for help, to do good, to be just, to pray regularly; but also an animist appreciation of

208-510: A control group, but also controlling for rural vs. urban area, was conducted by a team of Spanish researchers and looked at church members that have used ayahuasca for 15 years and at least 2 times per month. The study was led by José Carlos Bouso and funded by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies . The study "found no evidence of psychological maladjustment, mental health deterioration or cognitive impairment in

260-459: A hyphen) means "give me" in Portuguese . A phrase, Dai-me força, dai-me amor ("give me strength, give me love"), recurs in the doctrine's hymns. "The Daime" is revered as an entheogen, not as any kind of recreational drug; it has the opposite effect of being addictive, and there are many testimonies of it curing drug addictions and alcoholism. Participants in the ritual come to submit themselves to

312-604: A joint lawsuit in federal court to gain legal status. Their trial ended January 23, 2009. The case, Church of the Holy Light of the Queen v. Mukasey , presided over by Judge Owen M. Panner , was ruled in favor of the Santo Daime church. In March 2009, Panner found that the use of hallucinogenic tea by members of such churches was legal, issuing an injunction barring the government from penalizing them for its consumption. In June 2017,

364-417: A long challenging work, with added help coming from a sense of fraternity and shared purpose, as per the doctrine. The teachings of Santo Daime are transmitted through its hymns which, when sung, are intended to facilitate first-hand experience of the divine. Musical accompaniment often includes the unison rhythmic playing of maracas, in strict 4:4, 3:4 or 6:4 time , along with typical folk instruments such as

416-537: A name disclosed to Irineu in his visionary experience, which means literally, "God (jura) and his soldiers (midam)". Metaphorically the mystic body of the church during hymns is often referred to as the "Empire of Juramidam." Ayahuasca, consumed sacramentally by Daimistas in Eucharistic ceremonies, has many different traditional names, but is known within the Santo Daime as Santo Daime, meaning Holy Daime, or simply, Daime, as originally named by Mestre Irineu. Dai-me (with

468-520: A process through which they may learn self knowledge, to be more humble, have their hearts opened up, and experience the Grace of God. This may include various wonders — ayahuasca is known for the visions or "miracaos" it generates, and the sense of communion with nature and spiritual reality — as well as more mundane, less pleasant lessons about the self. The Daime is thought to reveal both positive and various negative or unresolved aspects of

520-590: A variety of B. caapi . COICA argued the patent was invalid because Miller's variety had been previously described in the University of Michigan Herbarium , and was therefore neither new nor distinct. The patent was overturned in 1999; however, in 2001, the United States Patent Office reinstated the patent because the law at the time the patent was granted did not allow a third party such as COICA standing to object. The Miller patent expired in 2003. B. caapi

572-462: A woody vine (Ayahuasca vine or Jagube; generally Banisteriopsis caapi ), and the others known as admixtures. While various plants are used throughout South America, most of which have high concentrations of dimethyltryptamine , the preferred admixture in the case of Santo Daime is Psychotria viridis , known to church members as the "Queen of the Forest," after the figure who is said to have appeared to

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624-449: Is a giant vine with characteristic 12–14 mm (0.5–0.6 in) white or pale pink flowers which most commonly appear in January, but are known to bloom infrequently. It resembles Banisteriopsis membranifolia and Banisteriopsis muricata , both of which are related to caapi. The vine can grow up to 30 m (98 ft) in length, twining on other plants for support. Caapi contains

676-443: Is needed on the spiritual path, laziness being an impediment on the path of the soul. The effects of Daime combined with dancing, singing and concentration for up to twelve hours require and develop stamina/ determination firmeza (firmness). Generally though, the non dance works, such as Concentrations and Curas are. only 4 to 6 hours in duration, with sitting down periods. The daime will often give energy to people to help them through

728-555: Is now being cultivated commercially in Hawaii . Decoction Decoction is also the name for the resulting liquid. Although this method of extraction differs from infusion and percolation , the resultant liquids can sometimes be similar in their effects, or general appearance and taste. The term dates back to 1350–1400 from the past participle stem of Latin decoquere (meaning "to boil down"), from de ("from") + coquere ("to cook"). In brewing , decoction mashing

780-460: Is one of the traditional tools of the shaman in South America, and in many regions is to this day a common medicine used for finding and treating various ailments as well as for its vision-inducing effects, which are said to be profound and life-changing. The tea has had many names including Santo Daime (or simply Daime), Hoasca, Ayahuasca, Yagé, and Caapi. It is made from two or more plants, one

832-540: Is the name given to the religious practice originally begun in the 1920s in the far western Brazilian state (then territory) of Acre by Raimundo Irineu Serra, a migrant from Maranhão in Brazil's northeast region, and grandson of slaves. Irineu Serra was born in Brazil in 1892 to African parents and migrated to the Western Amazon region in 1912, attracted by a boom in the rubber tapping industry. He first drank ayahuasca in

884-535: Is the traditional method where a portion of the mash is removed to a separate vessel, boiled for a time and then returned to the main mash, raising the mash to the next temperature step. In herbalism , decoctions are usually made to extract fluids from hard plant materials such as roots and bark. To achieve this, the plant material is usually boiled for 1–2 hours in 1-5 liters of water. It is then strained. Ayurveda also uses this method to create Kashayam -type herbal medicines. For teas, decoction involves boiling

936-642: The UDV , and practitioners of the Santo Daime doctrine are watching these events closely. So far, UDV has been able to continue practicing legally thanks to Supreme Court decisions that soundly rejected attempts by the government to prohibit it. As of September 2008, UDV is in negotiations with the Drug Enforcement Administration regarding regulation of their use of ayahuasca. In September 2008, three Oregon Santo Daime churches and one in California filed

988-475: The Brazilian government at the end of the 1980s, which resulted in the legalization of the religious use of ayahuasca in Brazil in 1992. The second is 'The Hoasca Project' developed by a collective of international scholars. The Hoasca Project presented important findings regarding the use of ayahuasca as an agent of healing, something it is famous for in its indigenous context. Another longitudinal research using

1040-663: The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is it stated that natural material containing a scheduled substance is illegal, a position supported by the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board. Caapi, as well as a range of harmala alkaloids, are scheduled in France following a court victory by the Santo Daime religious sect allowing use of the tea due to it not being a chemical extraction and

1092-519: The Daime. A study was made of the Daime by the CONFEN in 1987 which included visits to the various churches and observation of the making of the Daime. It also included study of another group of ayahuasca users, who call the drink vegetal ( União do Vegetal - UDV). The work group which made the study included representatives not only of the CONFEN but also of several other government agencies. The conclusion of

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1144-612: The International Narcotics Control Board to the Netherlands Ministry of Public Health, stating that [P]reparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including ayahuasca are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles of the 1971 Convention . In France , Santo Daime won a court case allowing them to use the decoction in early 2005; however, they were not allowed an exception for religious purposes, but rather for

1196-525: The Jagube vine and the Viridis leaf, not adding any other plants to the mixture. The tea is prepared ceremoniously over a week by members of the church in a festival called a 'feitio'. Hymns are sung, and Daime is drunk while the men hammer the vine into powder and the women clean and sort the leaves. Because of the very specific manner in which they prepare their sacrament, and the very specific way in which they use it,

1248-824: The Netherlands and Spain. In the United States, the Supreme Court in 2006 upheld a preliminary injunction permitting another Brazilian church, the União do Vegetal ( UDV ), to use ayahuasca ritually. This decision, as the result of specific litigation involving the UDV, applies only to that group, so the legal status of ayahuasca generally remains in a gray area in that country. Santo Daime's entheogenic sacrament, ayahuasca, has been used for millennia in South American indigenous cultures. It

1300-583: The Santo Daime Church Céu do Montréal received religious exemption to use Ayahuasca as a sacrament in their rituals. Céu de Toronto also received religious exemption to use Ayahuasca as a sacrament in their rituals. In the Netherlands , Santo Daime won a court case in 2001 which allowed them to continue their ceremonial usage of ayahuasca. One factor in this decision was a fax from the Secretary of

1352-610: The Santo Daime community. From a global perspective, the most significant of these occurred when Sebastião Mota de Melo , commonly called Padrinho Sebastião ("Godfather Sebastião"), left the original center with a group of his followers, and formed a distinct group known as CEFLURIS (now called ICEFLU). Many of Padrinho Sebastião's followers were Brazilians from the country's affluent south or citizens of other South American countries who were interested in Daime because of their experience with middle-class counterculture. According to church documents, this split also entailed disagreement over

1404-451: The arrest of 24 Italian Santo Daime members in early 2005, but the May 2006 ruling found that no sufficient evidence had been presented to demonstrate that the church members had broken Italian law. In 2023 they lost the court case, so that they are not allowed to use the ayahuasca. Two particularly important research projects are worth highlighting. The first is the official investigation made by

1456-568: The beverage is not called 'Ayahuasca', but 'Santo Daime'. In some communities, there are very clear distinctions. Due to their usage of ayahuasca as a sacrament and the spread of the religion, Santo Daime has found itself at the center of court battles and legal disputes in various countries. In Brazil, CONFEN (the Federal Drug Council) has consistently upheld the right of the Daime Church to practice its religion and healing practices using

1508-512: The border region between Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. As a result of experiencing a series of visions whilst spending eight days in solitude in the forest, he began to conduct spiritual ceremonies using ayahuasca. Many people came to him sick, seeking healing they could not afford or failed to find in standard medical practice. Originally, Santo Daime teachings had no basis in written text, as early practitioners were illiterate, learning being experiential, through singing of inspired hymns exploring

1560-404: The church coincides with official dates on the Santo Daime calendar. A significant proportion of members of the Santo Daime community also make collections of unique songs that they experience internally in connection with their practice. The process of experiencing such new songs in this context is referred to as "receiving". The death of Mestre Irineu in 1971 resulted in a diversification within

1612-432: The church's founder in a vision, prompting him to start the religion. DMT occurs naturally in the human body and is speculated to be released at the time of death, but it is normally digested in the stomach if consumed and an MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor), in this case tetrahydroharmine, harmine and harmaline, is needed to allow it to reach the brain in this way, thus the use of the vine. The Santo Daime Church uses only

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1664-465: The controlled substance DMT , introduced from the Psychotria viridis component, Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal , was found in favor of the União do Vegetal , a Brazilian religious sect using the tea in their ceremonies and having around 130 members in the United States. In Australia, the harmala alkaloids are scheduled substances, including harmine and harmaline; however,

1716-509: The enchantment of nature, such as the Sun, Moon and Stars, of the oneness of life, as well as the totemic symbol of the beija-flor ( hummingbird ). Spiritual beings from indigenous Amazonian shamanism and deities from the Afro-Brazilian pantheon such as Ogum and Iemanjá are also respected and incorporated into the doctrine. The nature of the work is sometimes personified and addressed as Juramidam ,

1768-517: The fact that the plants used were not scheduled. Religious exceptions to narcotics laws are not allowed under French law, effectively making any use or possession of the tea illegal. The caapi vine itself was the subject of a dispute between U.S. entrepreneur Loren Miller and the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). In 1986, Miller obtained a U.S. patent on

1820-445: The following harmala alkaloids : These alkaloids of the beta-carboline class act as monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOIs). The MAOIs allow the primary psychoactive compound, DMT , which is introduced from the other common ingredient in ayahuasca Psychotria viridis , to be orally active. The stems contain 0.11–0.83% beta-carbolines, with harmine and tetrahydroharmine as the major components. Alkaloids are present in all parts of

1872-410: The guitar, accordion and flute. Irineu's hymn book contains 129 songs and chronicles his spiritual journey and evolution from when he began drinking the Daime until his death. Through the singing of his hymns, the participant may connect with the spirit, teachings, and experience of Irineu and, in many ways, begin walking the same spiritual path. The singing of the hinarios of early and senior members of

1924-615: The individual, resulting in difficult "passages" involving the integration of this dissociated psychological content. This often will be end-pointed by the purgative nature of Ayahuasca whereby negative emotions, sinful elements from within, and even demonic energies are expelled, as well as physical toxins. This leads to a general release, a sense of joy, lightness and clarity afterwards, with a general improvement in life. The only real dangers to be experienced during ceremonies are exposure of egotistical tendencies and contrition. Ceremonies are referred to as "works" or "trabalhos" because hard work

1976-550: The living vine, or other source plants are not scheduled in most states. In the State of Queensland as of March 2008, this distinction is now uncertain. In all states, the dried herb may or may not be considered a scheduled substance, dependent on court rulings. In Canada, harmala is listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as a schedule III substance. The vine and the ayahuasca brew are legal ambiguities, since nowhere in

2028-426: The perennial values of love, harmony, and strength through poetic and metaphorical imagery. The hymn collections of early practitioners have since become the sacred works of the doctrine. The earliest hymns were received by Mestre Irineu in the 1930s, eventually growing slowly to about 130 hymns, called "The Cruzeiro". The last hinos he received in the late 60s are considered especially important. Devotional in context,

2080-536: The plant. In addition to beta-carbolines, caapi is known to contain proanthocyanidins , epicatechin and procyanidin B2 , which have antioxidant properties. First mention of caapi comes from early Spanish and Portuguese explorers and missionaries who visited South America in the 16th century, describing ayahuasca brews as "diabolic" and dangerous decoctions. Although utilised among the indigenous tribes of South America for hundreds and perhaps even thousands of years, caapi

2132-505: The practice, which contains several psychoactive compounds, is drunk as part of the ceremony. Mestre Irineu was not the founder of the "Santo Daime" religion. He founded his own ayahuasca center which was known at the time of his death as "CICLU". Mestre did not ever use the term "Santo Daime" and only called his practice "the Daime". After his death, one of his followers named Sebastiao Mota (and known to his followers as Padrinho Sebastiao) started "the church of Santo Daime" and added in all of

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2184-671: The rosary or on healing. Participants drink Daime at intervals in all types of rituals; but the format and focus will differ; as well as hymnal singing, concentrations or "Concentracaos" include a couple of silent, seated meditations, between 1 and 2 hours in length during which important messages for spiritual awakening are conveyed to participants by Divine Beings, while hymnals or dance festivals, much longer in length, involve dancing and singing hymns in full ceremonial white uniform or branca farda, while playing maracas. These latter occur on calendar dates to give honour to various saints or occasions i.e. Christmas, Father's day, etc. A whole hinario by

2236-952: The same amount of the herb and water that would be used for an infusion (one teaspoon per cup) for about five to ten minutes. Santo Daime Santo Daime ( [ˈsɐ̃tu ˈdajmi] ) is a universalistic / syncretic religion founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Acre based on the teachings of Raimundo Irineu Serra, known as Mestre Irineu . Santo Daime incorporates elements of several religious or spiritual traditions, mainly Folk Catholicism , Kardecist Spiritism , African animism and indigenous South American shamanism , including vegetalismo . Ceremonies — trabalhos (Portuguese for "works") — are typically several hours long and are undertaken sitting in silent "concentration", or sung collectively, dancing according to simple steps in geometrical formation. Ayahuasca , referred to as Daime within

2288-504: The simple reason that they did not perform chemical extractions to end up with pure DMT and harmala and the plants used were not scheduled. Four months after the court victory, the common ingredients of ayahuasca as well as harmala were declared stupéfiants , or narcotic scheduled substances, making the Daime and its ingredients illegal to use or possess. The most recent decision came in Italy in 2006; an eight-month-long investigation had led to

2340-430: The songs praise divine principles. The Cross of Caravaca (named after Caravaca, Spain , where the style originated), with its double horizontal beam, stands on the altar. Each session begins and ends with Christian prayers. Santo Daime practice features several kinds of rituals. Two of these are concentrações ("concentrations") and bailados ("dances"), also known as hinários ("hymnals"). Other rituals focus on reciting

2392-424: The spiritism and references to practices such as Umbanda . Mestre Irineu never taught these things, and never referred to his teachings as a religion nor to his ayahuasca center as a church. The hymns of Mestre and his four companions were in line with the teachings of Catholicism , with some references to indigenous shamanic concepts. It was only decades after the death of Mestre in the new "Santo Daime" church did

2444-422: The spiritist ayahuasca religion take hold and spread around the world. Santo Daime churches promote a wholesome lifestyle in conformity with Irineu's motto of "harmony, love, truth and justice", as well as other key doctrinal values such as strength, humility, fraternity and purity of heart. The practice became a worldwide movement in the 1990s. Santo Daime, sometimes called simply the 'Doctrine of Mestre Irineu',

2496-479: The study was that the Daime was a very positive influence in the community, encouraging social harmony and personal integration. The study noted that, rather than simply considering the pharmacological analysis of the plants, it was essential to consider the whole context of the use of the tea—religious, social, and cultural. In the United States , court battles over ritual use of ayahuasca have mostly been fought by

2548-405: The use of cannabis, as well as mediumship generally, as outside the doctrine. Some churches in northern Brazil who denounce cannabis will still sing some hymns of Padrinho Sebastião, but only the ones he received before ever using cannabis. In the early 1980s Padrinho Sebastião moved the church headquarters to the village of Céu do Mapiá , in the Brazilian state of Amazonas . Control of CEFLURIS

2600-464: The use of cannabis. Followers of Padrinho Sebastião believed cannabis to be a healing plant teacher, and referred to it as Santa Maria, using it in ceremony to help their mediumship (embodying of spirits for the purpose of healing). Subsequently, CEFLURIS formally addressed the issue of the ceremonial use of cannabis, and its use is now officially prohibited in and around the spiritual works. Followers of Mestre Irineu's original church have always regarded

2652-692: Was increasingly shared with its members who joined the movement in the 1970s, and in the 1980s CEFLURIS established centers in southern Brazil. The group now has affiliates in North America, Europe, and Japan, as well as throughout Brazil. The entheogen ayahuasca , which contains the psychoactive compound dimethyltryptamine (DMT), has been the subject of increasing legal scrutiny in the last few decades as Santo Daime has expanded. The decoction has been explicitly legal for religious use in Brazil since 1986, while recent legal battles in Europe have legalized its use in

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2704-424: Was not identified by westerners until 1851, when Richard Spruce , an English botanist, described it as a new species. He observed how Guahibos , the indigenous people of Llanos (Venezuela), chewed the bark of caapi instead of brewing it as a drink. In the United States, caapi is not specifically regulated. A 2006 Supreme Court decision involving caapi-containing ayahuasca, which also contains other plants containing

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