Psychedelic plants in the pre-Inca cultures of the Equator

Abstract

When the Spaniards began the conquest of the New World, they encountered and viewed with some horror (8-9) the witch doctor, at a time when Spain was already overcoming the age of witchcraft, into which the magical medicine of the Old World had degenerated during the Middle Ages. The witch doctor or shaman or sorcerer was seen by the conquistadors through the lens of their time. The shamanic practices and rites were considered as the work of the devil and the psychedelic plants used in their healing rites and ceremonies, as demonic plants. The visions and psychic phenomena described by the shamans were qualified as simple abuses or hoaxes, as can be found in the writings of many “Cronistas de Indias” (Chroniclers of the Indies).