An evening with Ayahuasca in Brazil

Cosmic Dimension
Jul 19, 2024
6 min read

A classic work with sacred medicine in the institutes of Brazil. What is the procedure and how is it different from a traditional shamanic ceremony?

Everything summarized for you to read

Ayahuasca in Brazil is no different from Ayahuasca in Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, or anywhere else, but the work there differs in many ways from the work you may know from stories, reports, or videos. First of all, Ayahuasca is legal in Brazil, it is regulated and protected by law. There is a completely different culture when it comes to handling this sacred drink. There are certainly retreat centers in Brazil as we know them from Peru or other countries. But this is certainly only a small part, because in Brazil there are a large number of smaller and larger groups that meet regularly, usually twice a month, to perform rituals that are very different from the usual image of shamans and their icaro chants. The groups meet in so-called institutes, which they have founded for their religious practice. They are registered and therefore have permission to serve ayahuasca - it's a bit like a club. Religious does not mean that they are fanatical sects or anything like that. Rather, they are neo-shamanic groups that do not refer to a specific religion, but live a culture of universal religion, in which everyone is welcome and in which any spiritual influence can be integrated. Of course there are also institutes that are more in a certain direction, for example more Christian oriented or more traditional, like Huni Kuin, but in principle it is very open and everyone is welcome.

The typical course of an Ayahuasca ceremony is that the members of the group come together to work with Ayahuasca and take the medicine. The ritual is usually divided into two parts, during each of which a certain amount of "Daime" - I will explain this term in more detail later - is consumed, and the participants are accompanied throughout by music that supports or guides them on their journey of experience with ayahuasca. At the beginning of the first part of the ceremony, you take about 50 ml of "Daime" and focus on a kind of inner journey of meditation in which you slowly connect with the power of the medicine in order to build a personal relationship with the soul of the medicine. This is important because ayahuasca is a teacher and a master that only shows you and lets you experience what is important in this moment of your life and what you are ready to recognize. So every experience is different and every lesson is new. This is why it is so important to establish this relationship with the plant in the first part of the ceremony. For with the first drop the process of inner becoming, healing and transformation begins. At the beginning of the second part, another dose of Daime is taken, usually also 50 ml, but it can also be less, depending on the participants and their state of mind. The special thing about this part of the ritual is that now there is also the opportunity to play instruments such as rattles and drums to the music and to move and dance to it, which in my opinion is a unique experience every time. The love and harmony with which the people play together with the music is simply fantastic and I find it difficult to find the right words to describe it. You just have to experience it to understand and feel it. Anyone can join in and many people bring their own shaman drums, djembes, rattles or cajons. In any case, care should be taken not to disturb the participants, who are spending their experiential journey in deep meditation, with hectic movements and tear them away from their inner peace. This is very important to know, because during an ayahuasca trip you are in a deeper state of consciousness and very sensitive to any kind of external influences, as your senses are more sensitive than you are used to, and therefore disturbing movements or noises can affect the experience. Everyone has their own personal experiences, and they can often be very difficult. But we all have to go through the darkness to the light and we have to face our shadow sides, whether we like it or not. This is the necessary process of becoming aware and realizing the deeper truth, and ayahuasca is our teacher, guiding and helping us along the way.

In the second part, a large fire is often lit, creating an atmosphere of warmth and security and a deep connection to the elements of nature. It is beautiful and warming at the same time. After taking ayahuasca, you may feel cold or warm. Towards the end of the ritual, the "cachimbo" (pipe) is usually smoked by many in the group. The music is briefly paused and everyone raises their pipe filled with mapacho tobacco to the sky and says a kind of prayer with the words "Por Todas as Nossas Relações", which means "I am related to everyone" (Mitakuye Oyasin). After that, everyone lights their cachimbo at the same time and the whole area is filled with a pleasantly fragrant smoke that is nothing like the stinky industrial cigarette tobacco we know. A really nice ritual and a great atmosphere and feeling of peace even for the non-smokers. Then the music continues until the end of the whole ceremony, which lasts about 5 to 6 hours in total. This is a brief outline of the Ayhuasca ceremony in Brazil, which may vary slightly from institute to institute.

What is this "Daime" I talked about in the video?

Going back to the term "Daime", I would like to briefly explain the difference. Some of you may have heard of Santo Daime, one of the largest groups working with Ayahuasca, hence the other name for Ayahuasca, Daime. However, it must be said that there is a subtle difference between the two that has to do with preparation. Ayahuasca is basically made from two plants and boiled to make it drinkable. The ayahuasca brew is usually boiled two or three times until a certain amount is ready to drink. This is Ayahuasca. When making daime, the process goes a few steps further. Several decoctions are made and over a long period of time, often days, more and more water, banisteriopsis caapi and chacruna are added to make it more concentrated, which in the end also produces Ayahuasca, but in a much higher dosage and is then called daime. For this reason, not so much is drunk during Brazilian ceremonies, so that 50 ml per dose is usually sufficient, or even less for some preparations. It is also important to note that daime in Brazil is always made from Ayahuasca and chacruna leaves, and is not mixed with other plants such as tobacco, as is often the case in other South American countries.

You can see an example of a music playlist here

Part - Awakening into Light Part 1
Part - Awakening into Light Part 2

Those who feel called and are willing to embark on this wonderful journey will find a path of inner transformation and deep insight. A path on which there is much to discover within yourself and around you, to see things from a different perspective and to gain a greater understanding of what cannot be grasped with the mind. It is too limited and words cannot describe it. That is why it is so important to have these experiences yourself, because only then can you really understand IT. Because it's not called life for nothing. This is what we are here for and this is what it means to experience and to know. Knowledge, Wisdom, Love and Light.

If you have any questions and would like to know more about Ayahuasca, the rituals in Brazil or even experience them yourself, please feel free to contact us. As we have many years of experience ourselves, own an institute in Brazil and know many groups there personally, we can also help you to get in touch with the Ayahuasca medicine, the institutes and the people.