Psilocybe - History and Ethnography

History and Ethnography

Hallucinogenic species of Psilocybe have a long history of use among the native peoples of Mesoamerica for religious communion, divination, and healing, from pre-Columbian times up to the present day. Hallucinogenic Psilocybe were known to the aboriginal Mexicans as teonanácatl (literally "divine mushroom") and were reportedly served at the coronation of Moctezuma II in 1502. After the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, like other pre-Christian traditions, was forcibly suppressed and driven underground.

By the 20th century, hallucinogenic mushroom use was thought by non-Native Americans to have disappeared entirely. However, in 1955, Valentina and R. Gordon Wasson became the first Westerners to actively participate in an indigenous mushroom ceremony. The Wassons did much to publicize their discovery, even publishing an article on their experiences in Life in 1957. In 1956, Roger Heim identified the hallucinogenic mushroom that the Wassons had brought back from Mexico as Psilocybe and in 1958, Albert Hofmann first reported psilocin and psilocybin as the active compound in these mushrooms. There is some skepticism in whether or not these "sacred mushrooms" were actually those of the Psilocybe genus. However, according to Heim's research in Mexico, he identified three species of Psilocybe that he believed were used in these Indian ceremonies. The species identified by Heim were; Psilocybe mexicana, P. caerulescen, and P. zapotecorum. are a variety of Psilocybe mushrooms that make up the teonanácatl group of hallucinogenic mushrooms, including Psilocybe cubensis. During Heim's field and culture work, he was under the guidance of a descendent of the Mazotecan ancestors (the natives which partook in experimenting with these hallucinogens), the head of the family, Isauro Nava Garcia. He was an avid observer of the fungi in his environment while identifying specific characteristics about the fruit body of the Psilocybe genus his ancestors utilized, as well as knowing where they could be found.

At present, hallucinogenic mushroom use has been reported among a number of groups spanning from central Mexico to Oaxaca, including groups of Nahua, Mixtecs, Mixe, Mazatecs, Zapotecs, and others.

The popularization of entheogens by Wasson, Timothy Leary, and others has led to an explosion in the use of hallucinogenic Psilocybe throughout the world. By the early 1970s, a number of psychoactive Psilocybe species were described from temperate North America, Europe, and Asia and were widely collected. Books describing methods of cultivating Psilocybe cubensis in large quantities were also published. The relatively easy availability of hallucinogenic Psilocybe from wild and cultivated sources has made it among the most widely used of the hallucinogenic drugs.