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1964-2016 – The Civil War in Colombia Drives Indians and Ayahuasca from the Amazon into Cities

civil war in colombia

The civil war in Colombia between revolutionary guerrillas and the government subjected indigenous peoples in the jungle to violence from both sides. Over the decades of the war’s duration, more than a quarter of Colombia’s 1.4 million Indians were forced to flee their tribal lands. They took refuge in the slum areas of Colombia’s major cities, often living in extreme poverty.

Indigenous elders or taitas (from the Quechua word for father) continued to lead yagé ceremonies to keep their communities together and to help heal their people from the traumas they had suffered. Their ceremonies were also open to urban people of other races.

Small groups of yagé (ayahuasca) drinkers formed around these taitas in various Colombian cities. By 2014, according to reports, over 80 yagé ceremonies were being conducted each weekend in Bogotá alone. Only indigenous people are considered legitimate yagé practitioners in Colombia; unlike Peru, Colombia has no mestizo ayahuasca culture, nor does Ecuador.  

References


Ceaser, M. (2008). Colombia’s Cofan still fighting for survival. SFGate, July 8, 2008. 

Cultural Survival (n.d.). Colombia’s indigenous people struggle with civil war and its consequences. Cultural Survival website

Hill, David (2018). ‘The war goes on’: one tribe caught up in Colombia’s armed conflict. The Guardian, June 27, 2018.

Martinez Bermudez, Elvis (2014). Indígenas denuncian que falsos chamanes preparan yagé con burundanga. Eltiempo.com website 

Perilla Daza, Deissy Cristina and Corredor Tellez, Juanita (2009)“La Toma del Yagé en Bogotá: religión, ritual, o estilo?” Revista UIS Humanidades, Vol. 37 No. 2, Julio-Diciembre de 2009.

Weiskopf, Jimmy (2004). Yage: The New Purgatory. Villegas Editores.

No author given. (2014). Mirada a un ritual de yagé en La Calera. Es Espectador, Bogotá, Colombia.

Ayahuasca Timeline – Previous and Next (Sample)

1957 – The Discovery of the Ayahuasca Chemical Structure in Medicine
1963 – Beat Generation Authors William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg Publish The Yage Letters.
1964-2016 – The Civil War in Colombia Drives Indians and Ayahuasca from the Amazon into Cities
1961 – The União do Vegetal Ayahuasca Church is Founded by Mestre Gabriel
1967 – First Ever Multidisciplinary Conference on Psychedelics Held
1971 – DMT Becomes Illegal Internationally Following the Convention on Psychotropic Substances

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