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Video: Jaguar Eating Ayahuasca: simply to purge?

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A video, embedded below, is circulating the ayahuasca surfers’ realm. It shows, whether true or not, a jaguar feeding on the ayahuasca vine. The jaguar is a very centrally important figure in the cosmovision of many Amazonian ayahuasca cultures, the observations of which continue to spawn many speculations about the various practices and myths around the jaguar (and ayahuasca).

A very early observation states that:

“Ingestion of Ayahuasca usually induces nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and leads to either an euphoric or an aggressive state. Frequently the Indian sees overpowering attacks of huge snakes or jaguars. These animals often humiliate him because he is a mere man. The repetitiveness with which snakes and jaguars occur in Ayahuasca visions has intrigues psychologists. It is understandable that these animals play such a role, since they are the only beings respected and feared by the Indians of the tropical forest; because of their power and stealth, they have assumed a place of primacy in aboriginal religious beliefs.

In many tribes, the shaman becomes a feline during the intoxication, exercising his powers as a cat. Yekwana medicine men mimic the roars of jaguars. Tukano Ayahuasca-takers may experience nightmares of jaguar jaws swallowing them or huge snakes approaching and coiling around their bodies … shamans of the Conibo-Shipibo tribe acquire great snakes as personal possessions to defend themselves in supernatural battles against other powerful shamans.

The drug may be the shaman’s tool to diagnose illness or to ward off impending disaster, to guess the wiles of an enemy, to prophesy the future. But it is more than the shaman’s tool. It enters into almost all aspects of the life of the people who use it, to an extent equalled by hardly any other hallucinogen. Partakers, shamans or not, see all the gods, the first human beings, and animals, and come to understand the establishment of their social order.”

Did the shamans learn from the jaguars to use the plant? Is there a cosmic connection, therefore, through the ayahuasca between the jaguar and people that live with the cats and the ayahuasca plant?

The Jaguar Theory notes that:

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WORLD FACING HUGE NEW CHALLENGE ON FOOD FRONT: The 11th Hour in context

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We watched Leonardo DiCaprio’s “11th hour” last night (you might be able to watch it here or via quicksilversreen.com and read more about it here) and although it was by no stretch of the imagination a very good film on any terms (structure, presentation of material, cinematography or in terms of delivering a profound radical political message) it was still a positive surprise. But hey! what would you expect, come on, be honest?

In the critical (mainstream environmentalist?) words of Rikke Bruntse-Dahl, writing for smartplanet.com:

“The overall message was that we’ve forgotten that we’re part of nature and even though the Earth as such will survive, it will not be a pleasant — or indeed habitable — place to be if we don’t start looking after it and each other. While it’s undoubtedly a good message, which we’d like as many people as possible to hear, the film itself is just not up to scratch.

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This entry was posted in bio-fuel, Capitalism, capitalism is murder, colonisation, Direct Action, ecological justice, Ecuador, ecuador and china, food aid, Globalisation, Green Politics, greenwash, indigenous movements, keep the oil in the soil, latin american integration, Life, logging, magic, manta-manaus, media distortions, Napo-Ucayali corridor, Neo-socialism, Philosophy, Photography, Photos, Politics, private property, propaganda, property and persuasion, rain forest, state of exception, strategy of tension, sub-empires, the moon, Tree Hugging, with god on our side, world domination disorder, yasuni and tagged , , , .

The struggle of the Achuar in Peru

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Dan Collyns for BBC News writes about the struggle of the Achuar in Peru that their “story is an emblematic case of resistance for indigenous Amazonians and is unprecedented in Peru“. The article provides a little bit of information, but it is not contexualised very well. There is a similar struggle fought by the Cofan in Ecuador which also only gets minimal time and attention in the mainstream media – and also generally only reported on in isolation. Between the territories of the Cofan and the Achuar lies the Yasuni National park, about which much has been written in this blog. While we keep compiling more comprehensive information and try to tie these obviously mutually relevant scenarios together, we seem to be waiting in vain for editors of the environmental sections of what is left of a critical voices in the corporately led world of media to bring stories that connect these struggles with the “leave the oil in the soil” proposal and the general discourse of climate change.

This entry was posted in achuar, Amazonia, capitalism is murder, Coca to Iquitos, cofan, Collective Bio-Cultural Heritage, corridors, eco-socialism, ecological justice, Ecuador, enclosure, environmental destruction, Environmentalism, Globalisation, grass-roots, Green Politics, indigenous movements, keep the oil in the soil, latin american integration, logging, Napo-Ucayali corridor, Neo-socialism, Peru, rain forest, South America, Tree Hugging, yasuni.

Climate Change, bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges

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These are the conclusions of a report on the “IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION MEASURES ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ON THEIR TERRITORIES AND LANDS”, by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues’ Seventh session, New York, 21 April -2 May 2008 on the Special Theme: “Climate Change, bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges” with regard to the Implementation of the recommendations on the six mandated areas of the permanent Forum and on the Millennium Development Goals (Download the full E/C.19/2008/10 report here: unpfii-report-on-climate-change.pdf):

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This entry was posted in Amazonia, Collective Bio-Cultural Heritage, ecological justice, Ecuador, environmental destruction, Environmentalism, Globalisation, grass-roots, Green Politics, greenwash, indigenous movements, keep the oil in the soil, latin american integration, Life, logging, manta-manaus, mapuche, Marlon Santi, Miriam Cisneros, Napo-Ucayali corridor, Neo-socialism, News, parque de la papa, people power, Philosophy, Politics, rain forest, Rio Napo, sarayaku, shaman, shipibo, South America, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, UNASUR, yachak, yasuni.

Current political crisis in Latin America: Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela.

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There has been many news reports – often tied to the terms “terrorism” and “weapons of mass destruction” (dirty bomb, for instance), does that ring any bells? The issue is basically that:
“Colombia’s commando raid into Ecuadorean territory Saturday killed rebel leader Raul Reyes and 22 other guerrilla fighters, who had crossed the border to hide from the Colombian military.”

Correa and Chavez are gesturing and posing, moving troops to the border with Colombia, and condemning the attack in which several laptops belonging to FARC were seized from rebels shot dead in their sleep, on Ecuadorian soil, that contained details of relations to Ecuador and Venezuela. That makes it possible for the war on terror coalition of the willing to lump Ecuador and Venezuela together with Iran and FARC with Al-Qaeda; and, then, all that is needed is a paragraph circulating with the words “weapons of mass destruction” before the whole world knows that we are talking about “the evil ones”.

“Ahmadinejad and Chavez have called themselves the “Axis of Unity.” Some security experts call them something else: a potential threat to American security.”

But who is who and what’s the history?

Consider first the credentials of the Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe, who is accusing Ecuador and Venezuela of aiding terrorists and drug dealers:

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This entry was posted in Amazonia, anti-terror laws, asamblea constituyente, bio-privateering, constitutent assembly, dark forces, deception, eco-socialism, ecological justice, Ecuador, ecuador and china, enclosure, environmental destruction, Environmentalism, Globalisation, grass-roots, Green Politics, greenwash, indigenous movements, latin american integration, Life, logging, Neo-socialism, News, Politics, Rafael Correa, South America, world domination disorder.

Assassinations in Yasuni: capitalism is murder, business as usual.

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It has already been widely reported on, so here is just a quote from Aljazeera.net and a collection of links for further reading:

“An investigating team made up of the leaders of several indigenous groups, is travelling in the Amazon jungle unarmed and without police escort. … “We’re going in to investigate, but it’s not going to be easy because of [the area’s] remoteness,” said Domingo Anguash, president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of the Ecuadorian Amazon.”

http://ecuador-rising.blogspot.com/2008/02/ecuadors-government-investigates-report.html

http://ecuador-rising.blogspot.com/2008/02/ecuador-investigates-indian-massacre.html

http://ecuador-rising.blogspot.com/2008/02/rights-group-15-indians-shot-to-death.html

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7245308.stm

This entry was posted in Amazonia, capitalism is murder, Ecuador, environmental destruction, Globalisation, grass-roots, logging, Napo-Ucayali corridor, South America, world domination disorder, yasuni.