Virola Resin
VIROLAS (Virola
calophylla, V. colophylloidea, and V. theiodora) are among the most
recently discovered entheogen plants. These jungle trees of medium
size have glossy, dark green leaves with clusters of tiny yellow
flowers that emit a pungent aroma. The intoxicating principles are
in the blood-red resin yielded by the tree bark, which makes a
powerful snuff.
Virola trees are native to the New World tropics. They are members
of the nutmeg family, Myristicaceae, which comprises some 300
species of trees in 18 genera. The best known member of the family
is Myristica fragrans, an Asiatic tree that is the source of nutmeg
and mace.
In Colombia, the species most often used for hallucinogenic purposes
are Virola calophylla and V. calophylloidea, whereas in Brazil and
Venezuela the Indians prefer V. theiodora, which seems to yield a
more potent resin.
AN INTOXICATING SNUFF is prepared from resin of the bark of
Virola trees by Indians of the northwestern Amazon and the
headwaters of the Orinoco. An anthropologist who observed the
Yekwana Indians of Venezuela in their preparation and use of the
snuff in 1909 commented:
"Of special interest are cures, during which the witch doctor
inhales hakudufha. This is a magical snuff used exclusively by witch
doctors and prepared from the bark of a certain tree which, pounded
up, is boiled in a small earthenware pot, until all the water has
evaporated and a sediment remains at the bottom of the pot.
"This sediment is toasted in the pot over a slight fire and is then
finely powdered with the blade of a knife. Then the sorcerer blows a
little of the powder through a reed . . . into the air. Next, he
snuffs, whilst, with the same reed, he absorbs the powder into each
nostril successively.
"The hakudufha obviously has a strong stimulating effect, for
immediately the witch doctor begins to sing and yell wildly, all the
while pitching the upper part of his body backwards and forwards."
Among numerous tribes in eastern Colombia, the use of Virola snuff,
often called yakee or parica, is restricted to shamans. Among the
Waiká or Yanonamo tribes of the frontier region of Brazil and
Venezuela, epena or nyakwana, as the snuff is called, is not
restricted to medicine men, but may be snuffed ceremonially by all
adult males or even taken occasionally without any ritual basis by
men individually. The medicine men of these tribes take the snuff to
induce a trance that is believed to aid them in diagnosing and
treating illness.
Although the use of the snuff among the Indians of South America had
been described earlier, its source was not definitely identified as
the Virola tree until 1954.
PREPARATION OF VIROLA RESIN SNUFF varies among different
Indians. Some scrape the soft inner layer of the bark and dry the
shavings gently over a fire. The shavings are stored for later use.
When the snuff is needed, the shavings are pulverized by pounding
with a pestle in a mortar made from the fruit case of the Brazil-
nut tree. The resulting powder is sifted to a fine, pungent brown
dust. To this may be added the powdered leaves of a small,
sweet-scented weed, Justicia, and the ashes of amasita, the bark of
a beautiful tree, Elizabetha princeps. The snuff is then ready for
use.
Other Indians fell the tree, strip off and gently heat the bark,
collect the resin in an earthenware pot, boil it down to a thick
paste, sun-dry the paste, crush it with a stone, and sift it. Ashes
of several barks and the leaf powder of Justicia may or may not be
added.
Still other Indians knead the inner shavings of freshly stripped
bark to squeeze out all the resin and then boil down the resin to
get a thick paste that is sun-dried and prepared into snuff with
ashes added.
The same resin, applied directly to arrowheads and congealed in
smoke, is one of the Waika arrow poisons. When supplies of snuff are
used up in ceremonies, the Indians often scrape the hardened resin
from arrow tips to use it as a substitute. It seems to be as potent
as the snuff itself.
† The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the
Food and Drug Administration. The information contained in this
website is intended for education, entertainment and
information purposes only. This information is not intended to be
used to diagnose, prescribe or replace proper medical care. The
plant described herein is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose,
mitigate or prevent any disease. Please refer to our Conditions of
Use for using this plant database file and web site.
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