Most of the individuals like you, who might have just heard about Ayahuasca ceremony, can have few obvious questions on their minds about it. Hence, here is a little insight into its different aspects.
The Venue and Time
During the olden days, people used to organize the Ayahuasca ceremony out-doors in an open jungle. They used to sit together in a closed circle, usually with a fire at the centre, and nobody was allowed to break this circle all through the ceremony. If anybody wanted to puke in the course, he may do that behind or in front of his seat. However, you needn’t expect things this way in the present times.
These days, the ceremony in the Amazon is usually organized in a ceremonial maloka or in a room of the shaman’s house. Maloka, the term, might seem quite unusual to you, but in simple words if you say it is a jungle hut that is usually octagonal or decagonal with a sloping roof and has a high center point.
Most Ayahuasca centers usually have their maloka where almost 15 to 20 people can sit comfortably and participate in the ceremony. In these malokas, people are usually given small mattresses on which they can sit or lie down comfortably.
People usually start the ceremony when it gets dark outside. Hence, in the Amazon, it usually starts around 7 to 8 pm. However, it’s not the fixed time, as at times people also start the ceremony by 9 or 10 pm. Anyways, whatever be the timing, you need to reach the venue around 30 minutes before that. That way, you will be able to find your comfortable place in the room, and relax yourself. You may also prefer practicing some kind of breathing exercises or meditation, before the ceremony actually starts.
The Shamanic Healing With the Ayahuasca Drink
Once you and the rest of the participants have settled down properly, each one of you needs to go one by one, sit in front of the shaman, and have the Ayahuasca drink. He will pour the right dose of the drink from a big bottle to your ceremonial cup. Besides, he will also blow a holy mapacho smoke over your cup, and put his prayer and intention into it.
The moment you get your cup filled with the liquid, hold it for few seconds, focus your intention into it, and then just drink it as quickly as possible. Once everyone, including the shaman at the last, has drunk their respective doses, most of the people will start to feel the effects within 30 minutes. This will last for around the next 3 to 4 hours.
Hence, after protecting the whole space with the holy smoke of the sacred mapacho plant, singing the icaros or the sacred songs, the shaman will perform individual healings. It is usually preferred during the last hour of this ceremony, whereby the shaman will go round to each individual in turn, and perform the healing. He would basically use his shacapa for healing, while singing his icaro directly into everyone’s ear in turn. He spends almost 5 minutes with every participant.
Author’s Bio:
Frank Spark has written many articles related to emotional and physical benefits of participating in theAyahuasca ceremony. They also arrange for stays at the refreshing and natural environments, where you can completely relax and make way for natural healing.
