Deep trip to the Brazilian Amazon in search of the psychedelic rite

Cults. It is to develop and take an infusion of ayahuasca. It is a ceremony that brings together indigenous and Catholic beliefs . An experience for many, spiritual and , for others, hallucinogenic.

Canoes navigate a narrow river , dodging branches and trees for more than four hours to reach a small town in the deep Amazon, in western Brazil .

The culture of this community revolves around a psychedelic brew that locals call Santo Daime . Drink ayahuasca is sacred to Ceu do Mapia residents , who use it in rituals that bring together indigenous and Catholic beliefs .

The cult of the Holy Daime began in 1930 from the hand of a descendant of slaves. In the early 1980s, the rubber tapper Sebastiao Mota de Melo , nicknamed Godfather Sebastiao , led hundreds of followers into the jungle to create a place that would live according to the doctrine of ayahuasca. Residents believe that the drink heals the body and expands the mind .
Here there was nothing . We celebrate this purification ceremony with a candle and build houses for everyone , for those who arrived first. We are all family, '' said Rita Gregorio de Melo , wife of Sebastiao and matriarch of the town .

Melo died in 1990 , but his wife , who is now 91, continues to lead worship with her ​​two children

The development of sacred infusion in a ritual in itself. The men sing as they continue a steady pace to crush outbreaks jagube with wooden mallets . In a large pot, a man cooking juice obtained from pressing sprouts and mixes it with a plant with hallucinogenic properties called Psychotria viridis .

The infusion is used several times during religious ceremonies , which are not held more than once a week . Although hallucinogenic effects are generally mild , participants say it helps provide spiritual connections .

Residents participated in one of these acts a recent afternoon . Women wear bright white crowns on their heads , green gauze over the shoulders and the same color belts around his waist .

n the church, Alfredo Gregorio de Melo , son of the founder of the town and spiritual leader of the Santo Daime , lights candles on a table with a star of David. During the service , men and women are placed in two separate take the psychedelic infusion after taking the sign of the cross rows. Then they form a large circle together to sing prayers and psalms .

The Daime is everything to me . I saved from death , '' said Luiz Lopes de Freitas , one of the residents in the locality. I found a world that heals and teaches faith ' ' .