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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing and educating journey, February 11, 2007
This review is from: The Sacred Mushrooms of Mexico: Assorted Texts (Paperback)
As a former department mate of Dr. Akers, I had the pleasure of anticipating this book as he relayed bits of the tales within it. I was witness to his mighty effort to acquire the texts and permissions, and to work through the translations in order to assemble this unique collection of articles about the discovery and research into the phenomenon of hallucinogenic mushrooms. I began to read, prepared to find a collage of interesting pieces on mushrooms and rituals. I was taken instead on a journey, beginning with the first whispering accounts of the existence of these mushrooms and their uses, and culminating with their story rupturing through the TV screens of America and into the common culture. Dr. Akers' multidisciplinary background allows him to approach this topic from a variety of angles. His introduction escorts you gently into the world of the mushroom, the people and the cultures involved. The seven chapters are coordinated together into a delightfully cohesive work. It creates in the reader an evolution of understanding that perhaps parallels in some form what the researchers and public experienced over the decades spanned by the various publications. This is a book that will take a long time to properly sample and consider, with its multiple layers of story, backup fact and supplementary information. It is a fascinating foray for experts and laypeople alike.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great addition to any magic mushroom library, May 30, 2007
This review is from: The Sacred Mushrooms of Mexico: Assorted Texts (Paperback)
"The Sacred Mushrooms of Mexico: Assorted Texts" is a must-have for mushroom fanatics wild about finding obscure Spanish-language reference papers now translated into English for the first time. Edited by Brain P. Akers, "Sacred Mushrooms" sets out to fill holes in bibliographies dating back to the sixties and seventies, digging out newly re-found scholarship on the Matlatzinca, Mixtec, Mixe, and other Central American sacred mushroom rituals from papers that are widely credited but (until now) never read. While some of the content in these rediscovered texts goes over territory well documented in Wasson-era accounts, the cultural richness of these obscure references reveals a vast depth of real shamanic knowledge, and demonstrates full breadth of Central American mushroom spirituality.
While listing the collection of texts in this volume might be enlightening to some, I think it would be more fitting to reprint some of the more tasty bits I came across, in no particular order. The first is from Walter S. Miller's research on the Mixe tonalamatl, a sacred calendric text, and its relation to the lore of sacred mushrooms. Here is a nice snippet:
"Another type of mushroom puts one to sleep, causing visions. The vision induced is always the same: two dwarfs or elves (dos enanitos o duendes), a male and a female, appear to the one who eats the mushrooms. They speak to him and answer his questions. They provide him with information as to where lost things can be found. If he has had anything stolen, these dwarfs or elves identify the thief and the location where the stolen item is hidden. If one plans a trip, he is told what kind of luck he will have."
This is just one mention of the hombrecitos, or the little men, who pervade mushroom mythology. While these little tikes may have been turned into cartoon characters by McKenna et. al., they are treated with the respect of gods and angels, for it is they who deliver the power of wisdom and healing to the curanderos. From a translated account by Luis Reyes G.:
"14. If something inside of you hurts, then with their little hands they will massage you. You feel as though "they settled your stomach." Your stomach and innards will make noise while they are extracting the sickness from you."
From a scientific point of view, I find it fascinating how the physiological effects of the mushrooms (hallucinations, visions, tremors, sickness, purging) are treated with such mystical reverence in these cultures. To hear them tell it, a visit with these santitos (little saints) can cure any disease, help you find lost objects, let you see who's talking smack behind your back, and reveal your future. And if all you see is "snakes and jaguars" and other frightening things, it is because you have disrespected the mushroom spirits and are not worthy of their gifts! It is a totally airtight ontology: If the mushrooms don't work, it's your fault for not believing enough. How's that for priming the experience?
Even though the material "Sacred Mushrooms of Mexico" may seem like a refresher course (another visit with Maria Sabina? Really?), I found myself glued to the accounts in these papers as if I was reading it all for the first time. Why? There's a freshness here that comes with finding anthropological material in it's original form, not cribbed and re-worked by scholars trying to service their own agenda. These rediscovered texts are not only a great addition to any library of mushroom lore, they are essential to understanding the Central American culture and ritual that came to define modern mushroom mythology.
[...]
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rarely seen papers show a diverse history of Mexican mushrooming practices, March 14, 2009
This review is from: The Sacred Mushrooms of Mexico: Assorted Texts (Paperback)
The Sacred Mushrooms of Mexico by Brian P. Akers, 2007.
Rarely seen papers show a diverse history of Mexican mushrooming practices
Dr. Brian Akers, Ph.D., a mycologist with an extended education in anthropology and religion, provides the English speaking world with rare papers and discussions from Spanish and French studies never before in available in English:
Luis Reyes, Roberto Escalante H. And Antonio Lopez G., Robert Ravicz, Walter S. Miller and Fernando Benitez's studies (and the added transcript from ABC's One Step Beyond, 1961, with Andrija Puharich) provide a new and expanded view and history to Mexican mushrooming practices.
Excluding Puharich, the other papers presented are mostly from people who worked or studied along with R. Gordon Wasson from 1953 to 1960 that were published in Spanish or French. Aker provides us with wonderful translations of these essential documents for understanding the history and diversity of the indigenous Mexican use of the mushrooms. And in the case of Fernando Benitez, Aker's English presentation is an illustrious read - a beautiful translation which I can only imagine, not having read the Spanish, is probably just as beautiful as the original. I must say - excellent job!
When people refer to the "Mexican mushroom cult," exactly what are they referring to? That's like attempting to explain the beliefs of Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists and Mormons as all "protestant". Or an even better example might be in comparing the beliefs of the so-called pagans: the Muslims, Celts, Druids, Mandaeans, Zoroastrians, Hindus and European tribes, etc., as just "pagan" - a clearly racist and prejudiced position. And need I even mention the word `gentile'? Each of these has widely varying rituals, practices and beliefs. And in the case of the Mexican mushroom practices, an exact history can be even more evasive, especially when their entire histories and cultures have, for centuries, have been destroyed or run underground, and their books burned by the Spanish (more because of the similarities in their belief's to the Europeans' anything else - blame it on the Devil!) - decimating a rich cultural history that's taken anthropologists a century to rebuild only - and only the slightest of fragments thereof - for us to explore. And we just happen to be lucky enough that the history and origins of ethnomycology is one of these fragments.
As someone who has been extremely critical of Wasson's so-called work on Judeo-Christianity, I can honestly say that this is where his work really shines. It us unfortunate that Wasson was not this careful in other areas regarding his own personal history and beliefs; and the fact that he was a private investor for the Pope and Vatican, and Vice President of PR for JP Morgan, didn't help matters.
The book concludes with the always interesting but mostly dubious Andrija Puharich - his mushroom investigations from 1961 that were filmed by ABC's One Step Beyond for their `The Sacred Mushrooms' episode. Akers provides a greater understanding of the problems of Puharich's work -a man whose credibility I too have found serious problems with in my own investigations. But Akers includes it here because it does, in fact, provide another important tale in this field of inquiry.
My only complaints with this publication are its lack of photos from the original texts it translates, and the deceptive Amanita muscaria that garnishes the front cover. It appears that the publisher randomly selected some photograph of a mushroom, whether or not it pertained to the discussion. Amanitas really do not appear to have anything whatsoever to do with the mushroom practices of Mexico - at least not that we know of today - and are certainly not discussed in this context in the pages of the book.
An essential addition to every library on ethnomycology. 5 Stars!
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