Datura

Datura
   The use of hallucinogens is not universal to shamanisms, but many shamans, especially in South America, engage with culturally recognized plants as other-than-human persons in intimate relationships that enable powerful visions. Datura is one such entheogen, a variety of the Solanaceae (potato) family (which also includes deadly nightshade, henbane, tobacco, and mandrake) with a range of species widely distributed globally (common names include jimsonweed, devil’s apple, thorn apple, devil’s weed, stinkweed, and moonflower). Use of the plant to induce visions is focused on the Americas, especially Mexico and the American Southwest, with speculation that many Central American cultures were familiar with datura’s hallucinogenic properties. Most famously but erroneously, the shamanic use of datura was promoted by Carlos Castaneda in his Don Juan mythos—yet Edward Spicer, an anthropologist and a specialist in Yaqui culture states: “I know of no information or reference concerning Yaquis using Datura.” Ingestion is, however, prevalent in South America where various “tree daturas” (Brugmansias) are used in ayahuasca and San Pedro brews. Datura ingestion is held to produce the effects of transformation into animal form and spirit flight. As such, datura use has been linked to European folklore on werewolves, and Michael Harner and other scholars attribute the riding of Medieval witches on broomsticks to datura use in the witches’ salve or brew. Chas Clifton counters such claims as a misreading of a literary motif rather than as ethnographic historical data; that is, witches are identified in narratives as people who can fly, and evidence can be provided for the inadequacy of entheogen explanations.
   The active hallucinogenic constituents of datura are the tropane alkaloids, especially hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and atropine, which are concentrated in the seeds. These alkaloids have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system (e.g., increasing heart rate) while simultaneously depressing the peripheral nerves (e.g., dehydration of mucus membranes), producing a period of agitation and visions often followed by a prolonged sleep. Overdose is fatal, so shamans who engage with the plant have sophisticated recipes for managing dosage.

Historical dictionary of shamanism. . 2007.

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  • Datura — Daturas …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Datura — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda ? Datura Datura stramonium …   Wikipedia Español

  • DATURA — L’une des solanacées les plus vénéneuses, plus dangereuse encore que la belladone, le datura ou stramoine (Datura stramonium L.) renferme trois alcaloïdes: l’hyoscyamine, l’atropine et la scopolamine, qui sont aussi les poisons de la belladone et …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Datura — ist ein Musiker, Datura (Musiker) der wissenschaftliche Name der Stechäpfel der Name eines Asteroiden, siehe (1270) Datura der umgangssprachliche Name für Engelstrompeten, heute der Gattung Brugmansia zugeordnet …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Datura — Da*tu ra, n. [NL.; cf. Skr. dhatt[=u]ra, Per. & Ar. tat[=u]ra, Tat[=u]la.] (Bot.) A genus of solanaceous plants, with large funnel shaped flowers and a four celled, capsular fruit. [1913 Webster] Note: The commonest species are the thorn apple… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • datura — DATÚRA s. f. gen de plante din familia solanacee, foarte toxice, care cresc pe trunchiul copacilor; ciumăfaie. (< fr. datura) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • datura — (Del lat. mod. datura). f. Bot. Género de plantas al que pertenece el estramonio …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • datura — [də toor′ə, dətyoor′ə] n. [ModL < Hindi dhatūrā < Sans dhattūra] 1. any of a genus (Datura) of herbs, shrubs, or trees of the nightshade family, which are poisonous and have an unpleasant odor 2. the flower of any of these …   English World dictionary

  • Datūra — (D. L.), Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Solanaceae Datureae, 1. Ordn. 5. Kl. L., Blumenkrone trichterförmig, mit faltigem, fünfzähnigem Saume, Kelch abfallend, bis auf die kreisrunde Basis, welche bleibt; Kapsel vierklappig, vierfächerig,… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Datūra — L. (aus dem Sanskrit; Stechapfel), Gattung der Solanazeen, kahle oder schwach behaarte Kräuter, Sträucher oder Bäume mit zerstreut stehenden, gestielten, großen, ganzrandigen oder buchtigen Blättern, meist großen, einzeln achsel und endständigen …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Datura — Datūra L., Stechapfel, Pflanzengattg. der Solanazeen, Kräuter und Sträucher mit langröhriger, großer Blumenkrone, glatten oder stachligen Kapselfrüchten, in allen Teilen das stark giftige Atropin (Daturin) enthaltend. D. stramonĭum L. (gemeiner… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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