QUOTE(Xochipilli @ Dec 2 2006, 01:19 PM)
Yeah theres alot of con artists out there. I hear Peru is the best place to find legitimate ayahuasqueros with pure yaje. Anyway I know enough about ayahuasca and the jungle I can find and brew my own yaje but I would be reluctant to perform a ceremony without experienced ayahuasquero's. Plus without the proper icaro's it mightnt be a beneficiary experience at all.
Yeah Peru is definitely the place to go. From what I could gather there is a complicated process to the brewing of Ayahuasca (the Yage vine is only one component), the shamans I spoke to say it takes about a month before it is ready for use. Aside from the brewing part, a good ayahuasquero is necessary as he leads you through the hallucinations with whistles and songs (i.e. charging the air with icaros).There are some really interesting articles on the combination of music and ayahuasca. One I found really fascinating is
"Hallucinogenic Music: An Analysis of the Role of Whistling in Peruvian Ayahuasca Healing Sessions"
Fred Katz; Marlene Dobkin de Rios
The Journal ofAmerican Folklore, Vol. 84, No. 333. (Jul. - Sep., 1971), pp. 320-327.
This article really shows you the importance of a proper ritual context (in this case music). Anyway, If you can't find this article at your library or online, PM me and I'll see if I can scan my copy to pdf.