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Samorini, G. (2023). Ethnography of the Amanita muscaria in the Americas. Cultura Y Droga, 28(35), 114–136. https://doi.org/10.17151/culdr.2023.28.35.6
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Authors
Giorgio Samorini
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Abstract
Objective: To collect and analyze the ethnographic data set on the traditional use of the intoxicant mushroom Amanita muscaria among American populations. Methodology: A careful evaluation was carried out during data collection, making criticisms and corrections where it was considered the data were presented in an inadequate way from the methodological point of view. Another type of data that was taken into account is the popular names that this mushroom receives and its etymologies. Also, the causes that have provoked a cultural process of “mortalization” of A. muscaria are analyzed, so that among many ethnic groups, both American and Old World, this mushroom is now considered deadly poisonous. Results: The traditional use of A. muscaria as an intoxicant source has been preserved today among some ethnic groups in North America (Ahnishinaubeg, Ajumawi, Wixaritari) and the purposes of use are mainly religious and shamanic-therapeutic. The etymologies of the popular names reveal a range of semantic associations similar to those found in the Old World and testify to a knowledge of the intoxicant properties of this mushroom that was preserved until very recent times among some native groups of Mesoamerica. The presence of this mushroom in South America seems to be due to the recent anthropic reforestation activity and this would explain the lack of archaeological, historical and ethnographic documents for this region. Conclusion: The data collected here suggest a greater dissemination of knowledge of the intoxicant properties of A. muscaria among North American and Mesoamerican natives in past times, knowledge forgotten or secretly transmitted even today after the centuries-old colonial repression against native cults, including the use of intoxicating sources.
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References
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Aparicio, C. J. (2019). Taxonomía mixteca y usos de los hongos en San Miguel el Grande, Oaxaca, México. Revista de Etnobiología, 17, 18-30.
Benítez, F. (1968). Los indios de México. Vol. 2. Era.
Bogoras, W. (1904-1909). The Chukchee. Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History.
Buckskin, F. y Benson, A. (2005). The contemporary use of psychoactive mushrooms in Northern California. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 25, 87-92.
Cripps, L. C. et al. (2017). Amanita alpinicola sp.nov. associated with Pinus albicaulis, a western 5-needle pine. Mycotaxon, 132, 665-676.
De Avila, A., Welden, A. L. y Guzmán, G. (1980). Notes on the ethnomycology of Hueyapan, Morelos, Mexico. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2, 311-321.
Donner, K. (1933). Ethnological notes about the Yenisey-Ostyak (in the Turukhansk region). Soumalais-Ugrilainen Seura.
Eger, V.S. (1996). Wolf power and interspecies. Communication in Huichol shamanism. In: S. B. Schaefer y P. T. Furst (Eds.). People of the peyote. Huichol Indian history, religion & survival. University of New Mexico pp. 267-305.
Feeney, K. (2020). Psychoactive Amanitas of North America. In: K. Feeney (Ed.). Fly agaric. A compendium of history, pharmacology, mythology and exploration. Fly Agaric Press (pp. 19-48).
Feeney, K. y Stijve, T. (2010). Re-examining the role of muscarine in the chemistry of Amanita muscaria. Mushroom the Journal 32-36.
Garibay, O. R. (2009). Los nombres zapotecos de los hongos. Revista Méxicana de Micología, 30, 43-61.
Geml J. et al. (2006). Beringian origins and cryptic speciation events in the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). Molecular Ecology 15, 225-239.
Golovnev, V. A. (1994). From one to seven: numerical symbolism in Khanty culture. Arctic Anthropology, 31, 62-71.
Gonzalez, E. M. (1991). Ethnobotany of the Southern Tepehuan of Durango, Mexico: I. edible mushrooms. Journal of Ethnobiology, 11(2), 165-173.
Halifax, J. (1982). Voci sciamaniche. Rizzoli.
Haro-Luna, X. M. et al. (2019). Traditional knowledge, uses, and perceptions of mushrooms among the Wixaritari and Mestizos of Villa Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico. IMA Fungus, 10(16), 1-14.
Jochelson, W. (1908). The Koryak. Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History.
Keewaydinoquay. (1978). Puhpohwee for the people: a narrative account of some uses of fungi among the Ahnishinaubeg. Botanical Museum of Harvard University.
Keewaydinoquay… (1979). The legend of Miskwedo. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 11, 29-31.
L’Allemant, C. (1626). Lettre du P. Charles l’Allemant, Superieur de la Mission de Canada, de la Compagnie de Jesus. Mercure François, 13, 12-35.
Laughlin, M. R. (1975). The great Tzotzil dictionary of San Lorenzo Zinacantán. Smithsonian Institute.
Lechner, E. B. y Albertó, E. (2008). Especies tóxicas de Agaricales halladas en la Argentina: nueva cita de Amanita pantherina. Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica, 43, 227-235.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1970). Les champignons dans la culture. A propos d’un livre de M.R. G. Wasson. L’Homme, 10, 5-16.
Lowy, B. (1974). Amanita muscaria and the thunderbolt legend in Guatemala and Mexico. Mycologia, 66, 188-191.
Lowy, B. (1977). Hallucinogenic mushrooms in Guatemala. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 9, 122-124.
Lumholtz, C. (1902). Unknown Mexico. Charlse Scribner’s Sons.
Montoya, A. et al. (2003). Traditional knowledge about mushrooms in a Nahua community in the state of Tlaxcala, México. Mycologia, 95, 793-806.
Morriseau, N. (1965). Legends of my people, the Great Ojibway. McGraw-Hill.
Navet, É. (1988). Les Ojibway et l’Amanite tue-mouche. Pour une ethnomycologie des Indiens d’Amérique du Nord. Journal de la Société des Américanistes, 74, 163-180.
Negrín, J. (1977). El arte contemporáneo de los Huicholes. Universidad de Guadalajara y INAH.
Nouhra, E. (2019). Ectomycorrhizal fungi in South America: their diversity in past, present and future research. In: M. C. Pagano y M. A. Lugo (Eds.). Mycorrhizal fungi in South America. Springer pp. 73-95.
Rivera-Dorado, M. (cur.) (2012). Popol Vuh. Editorial Trotta.
Rogers, R. (2011). The fungal pharmacy. North Atlantic Books.
Rosa-Mato, F. (1936). Hallazgo de Amanita pantherina De Candolle, en el Uruguay. Archivos de la Sociedad de Biología de Montevideo 7, 122-124.
Ruan-Soto, F. et al. (2013). Evaluation of the degree of mycophylia-mycophobia among highland and lowland inhabitants from Chiapas, Mexico. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 9, 36.
Samorini, G. (1999). Fly Agaric, flies, and toads: a new hypothesis. The Entheogen Review, 8(3), 85-89.
Samorini, G. (2001). Funghi allucinogeni. Studi etnomicologici. Telesterion.
Samorini, G. (2020). Mushroom effigies in archaeology: a methodological approach. In: K. Feeney (Ed.). Fly Agaric. A Compendium of History, Pharmacology, Mythology, and Exploration. Fly Agaric Press, pp. 269-296.
Samorini, G. (2022a). Muscaria. Etnografia di un fungo allucinogeno. Youcanprint.
Samorini, G. (2022b). “Lenin was a mushroom”. Russian post-Soviet history of fly agaric. Antrocom Journal of Anthropology, 18(1), 5-27.
Scheibler, G. (2019). Sistemática de Amanita Pers, (Amanitaceae, Basidiomycota) no Brasil (dissertação de graduação em Biologia). Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.
Schultes, E. R. y Hofmann, A. (1979). Plants of the Gods. McGraw-Hill.Shepard, H.G., Arora, D. y Lampman, A. (2008). The Grace of the Flood: classification and use of wild mushrooms among the Highland Maya of Chapas. Economic Botany, 62, 437-470.
Siegel, R. (1981). Inside Castaneda’s pharmacy. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 13, 325-332.
Swank, R.G. (1932). The ethnobotany of the Acoma and Laguna Indians (Thesis for the Degree of Master). Department of Biology, University of New Mexico.
Toporov, V. N. (1985). On the semiotics of mythological conceptions about mushrooms. Semiotica, 53-54, 295-357.
Vargas, N. et al. (2019). In Colombia the Eurasian fungus Amanita muscaria is expanding its range into native, tropical Quercus humboldtii forests. Mycologia, 111(143), 1-14.
Wartchow, F. et al. (2013). Taxonomic studies of Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam and its infraspecific taxa in Brazil. Acta Botanica Brasilica, 27, 31-39.
Wasson, R. G. (1968). Soma. Divine mushroom of immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Wasson, R. G. (1979). Traditional use in North America of Amanita muscaria for divinatory purposes. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 11, 25-28.
Wasson, R. G. (1986). Persephones Quest. In: AA. VV. Persephones Quest. Entheogens and the origins of religion. Yale University pp. 17-81.
Wasson, R. G (1995). Ethnomycology: discoveries about Amanita muscaria. Point to fresh perspectives. In: R. E. Schultes y S. von Reis (Eds.). Ethnobotany. Evolution of a discipline. Chapman & Hall pp. 385-390.
Wasson, P. V. y Wasson, G. R. (1957). Mushrooms, Russia and history. 2 vols. Pantheon Books.
Aparicio, C. J. (2019). Taxonomía mixteca y usos de los hongos en San Miguel el Grande, Oaxaca, México. Revista de Etnobiología, 17, 18-30.
Benítez, F. (1968). Los indios de México. Vol. 2. Era.
Bogoras, W. (1904-1909). The Chukchee. Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History.
Buckskin, F. y Benson, A. (2005). The contemporary use of psychoactive mushrooms in Northern California. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 25, 87-92.
Cripps, L. C. et al. (2017). Amanita alpinicola sp.nov. associated with Pinus albicaulis, a western 5-needle pine. Mycotaxon, 132, 665-676.
De Avila, A., Welden, A. L. y Guzmán, G. (1980). Notes on the ethnomycology of Hueyapan, Morelos, Mexico. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2, 311-321.
Donner, K. (1933). Ethnological notes about the Yenisey-Ostyak (in the Turukhansk region). Soumalais-Ugrilainen Seura.
Eger, V.S. (1996). Wolf power and interspecies. Communication in Huichol shamanism. In: S. B. Schaefer y P. T. Furst (Eds.). People of the peyote. Huichol Indian history, religion & survival. University of New Mexico pp. 267-305.
Feeney, K. (2020). Psychoactive Amanitas of North America. In: K. Feeney (Ed.). Fly agaric. A compendium of history, pharmacology, mythology and exploration. Fly Agaric Press (pp. 19-48).
Feeney, K. y Stijve, T. (2010). Re-examining the role of muscarine in the chemistry of Amanita muscaria. Mushroom the Journal 32-36.
Garibay, O. R. (2009). Los nombres zapotecos de los hongos. Revista Méxicana de Micología, 30, 43-61.
Geml J. et al. (2006). Beringian origins and cryptic speciation events in the fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). Molecular Ecology 15, 225-239.
Golovnev, V. A. (1994). From one to seven: numerical symbolism in Khanty culture. Arctic Anthropology, 31, 62-71.
Gonzalez, E. M. (1991). Ethnobotany of the Southern Tepehuan of Durango, Mexico: I. edible mushrooms. Journal of Ethnobiology, 11(2), 165-173.
Halifax, J. (1982). Voci sciamaniche. Rizzoli.
Haro-Luna, X. M. et al. (2019). Traditional knowledge, uses, and perceptions of mushrooms among the Wixaritari and Mestizos of Villa Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico. IMA Fungus, 10(16), 1-14.
Jochelson, W. (1908). The Koryak. Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History.
Keewaydinoquay. (1978). Puhpohwee for the people: a narrative account of some uses of fungi among the Ahnishinaubeg. Botanical Museum of Harvard University.
Keewaydinoquay… (1979). The legend of Miskwedo. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 11, 29-31.
L’Allemant, C. (1626). Lettre du P. Charles l’Allemant, Superieur de la Mission de Canada, de la Compagnie de Jesus. Mercure François, 13, 12-35.
Laughlin, M. R. (1975). The great Tzotzil dictionary of San Lorenzo Zinacantán. Smithsonian Institute.
Lechner, E. B. y Albertó, E. (2008). Especies tóxicas de Agaricales halladas en la Argentina: nueva cita de Amanita pantherina. Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica, 43, 227-235.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1970). Les champignons dans la culture. A propos d’un livre de M.R. G. Wasson. L’Homme, 10, 5-16.
Lowy, B. (1974). Amanita muscaria and the thunderbolt legend in Guatemala and Mexico. Mycologia, 66, 188-191.
Lowy, B. (1977). Hallucinogenic mushrooms in Guatemala. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 9, 122-124.
Lumholtz, C. (1902). Unknown Mexico. Charlse Scribner’s Sons.
Montoya, A. et al. (2003). Traditional knowledge about mushrooms in a Nahua community in the state of Tlaxcala, México. Mycologia, 95, 793-806.
Morriseau, N. (1965). Legends of my people, the Great Ojibway. McGraw-Hill.
Navet, É. (1988). Les Ojibway et l’Amanite tue-mouche. Pour une ethnomycologie des Indiens d’Amérique du Nord. Journal de la Société des Américanistes, 74, 163-180.
Negrín, J. (1977). El arte contemporáneo de los Huicholes. Universidad de Guadalajara y INAH.
Nouhra, E. (2019). Ectomycorrhizal fungi in South America: their diversity in past, present and future research. In: M. C. Pagano y M. A. Lugo (Eds.). Mycorrhizal fungi in South America. Springer pp. 73-95.
Rivera-Dorado, M. (cur.) (2012). Popol Vuh. Editorial Trotta.
Rogers, R. (2011). The fungal pharmacy. North Atlantic Books.
Rosa-Mato, F. (1936). Hallazgo de Amanita pantherina De Candolle, en el Uruguay. Archivos de la Sociedad de Biología de Montevideo 7, 122-124.
Ruan-Soto, F. et al. (2013). Evaluation of the degree of mycophylia-mycophobia among highland and lowland inhabitants from Chiapas, Mexico. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 9, 36.
Samorini, G. (1999). Fly Agaric, flies, and toads: a new hypothesis. The Entheogen Review, 8(3), 85-89.
Samorini, G. (2001). Funghi allucinogeni. Studi etnomicologici. Telesterion.
Samorini, G. (2020). Mushroom effigies in archaeology: a methodological approach. In: K. Feeney (Ed.). Fly Agaric. A Compendium of History, Pharmacology, Mythology, and Exploration. Fly Agaric Press, pp. 269-296.
Samorini, G. (2022a). Muscaria. Etnografia di un fungo allucinogeno. Youcanprint.
Samorini, G. (2022b). “Lenin was a mushroom”. Russian post-Soviet history of fly agaric. Antrocom Journal of Anthropology, 18(1), 5-27.
Scheibler, G. (2019). Sistemática de Amanita Pers, (Amanitaceae, Basidiomycota) no Brasil (dissertação de graduação em Biologia). Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.
Schultes, E. R. y Hofmann, A. (1979). Plants of the Gods. McGraw-Hill.Shepard, H.G., Arora, D. y Lampman, A. (2008). The Grace of the Flood: classification and use of wild mushrooms among the Highland Maya of Chapas. Economic Botany, 62, 437-470.
Siegel, R. (1981). Inside Castaneda’s pharmacy. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 13, 325-332.
Swank, R.G. (1932). The ethnobotany of the Acoma and Laguna Indians (Thesis for the Degree of Master). Department of Biology, University of New Mexico.
Toporov, V. N. (1985). On the semiotics of mythological conceptions about mushrooms. Semiotica, 53-54, 295-357.
Vargas, N. et al. (2019). In Colombia the Eurasian fungus Amanita muscaria is expanding its range into native, tropical Quercus humboldtii forests. Mycologia, 111(143), 1-14.
Wartchow, F. et al. (2013). Taxonomic studies of Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam and its infraspecific taxa in Brazil. Acta Botanica Brasilica, 27, 31-39.
Wasson, R. G. (1968). Soma. Divine mushroom of immortality. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Wasson, R. G. (1979). Traditional use in North America of Amanita muscaria for divinatory purposes. Journal of Psychedelic Drugs, 11, 25-28.
Wasson, R. G. (1986). Persephones Quest. In: AA. VV. Persephones Quest. Entheogens and the origins of religion. Yale University pp. 17-81.
Wasson, R. G (1995). Ethnomycology: discoveries about Amanita muscaria. Point to fresh perspectives. In: R. E. Schultes y S. von Reis (Eds.). Ethnobotany. Evolution of a discipline. Chapman & Hall pp. 385-390.
Wasson, P. V. y Wasson, G. R. (1957). Mushrooms, Russia and history. 2 vols. Pantheon Books.
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