The mystical island of Ometepe, rising from Lake Nicaragua with twin volcanoes, exudes an intense, otherworldly quality. Scores of ancient statues and clay urns litter the isle, where a highly organized society once lived, thrived, died and practiced wide-spread human sacrifice. I began to wonder if any remnants of the old religion had survived the centuries, and my search for ancient traditions led straight to the unsettling world of sorcery.
The Mayan village of San Juan Chamula is a bastion of archaic philosophy and pre-Hispanic lore. Here the old gods are alive and well, merely clothed in the robes of saints. The Maya are a cunning bunch, I realised, to have avoided assimilation for so many centuries.
Several years ago I was fortunate enough to visit Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca, and partake in the mushroom velada. I had high expectations for my trip into the otherworld, but of course, grim reality always tends to thwart our expectations.
An interview with anthropologist Dr Ben Feinberg, expert on Mazatec culture and author of The Devil’s Book of Culture: History, Mushrooms, and Caves in Southern Mexico
Every year on the first thursday of March, a cavalcade of sorcerers, healers and conjurers descends upon Catemaco, reminiscent of some Dark Age witches’ gathering. They perform dramatic public cleansings (or limpiezas), cast spells, swap potions and engage in endless theatrics. Originally intended as a knowledge-sharing convention for the region’s healers, it has now become [...]
Friday, June 11, 2010
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