Since forgotten times, Andean mysticism has expressed its reverence for the natural environment in numerous places considered to be sacred whether they be snow-capped, montains hills, river, rainforest or valleys, ritual landscapes which host the deep interaction of man with his environment.
The native religions, although fused in many aspects with Catholicism, maintain their own rituals as the pagos (payments) to the Pachamama, or Mother Earth-sharing with it their best fruits, like coca leaves, potatoes, corn and chichi (cornbeer) and other ceremonies which remain protectively hidden from outsiders´eyes.
This communion of the Indians with nature has allowed them to develop a profound knowledge of the maestro plants(master plants possessing curative properties) whose madre (mother), or spirit, by means of a visionary and oneiric learning, opens the path towards the knowledge and art of natural medicine.

MASTER PLANTS

The most renowned maestro plant of the South American Amazon is the ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi). This “vine of the soul” or “rope of the dead” is ceremonially prepared with the Chacruna (Psicotria viridis) which “paints the visions” without which the aya-huasca would induce laxative effects but no psychoactive reactions. This mix, which reveals a surprising level of botanical expertise by the native populations, has stimulated world interest in the potential uses in psychiatry, natural healing practices and the study of natural habitats.
The ingestion of the ayahuasca generates a feeling of fusion with the universe through fabulous visions and a change in the body`s perception of time, space and sound. The spiritual learder´s powerful chants, or icaros, are converted into an oscillating pattern which penetrates through everything, and connects us with subtle dimensions, imperceptible in an ordinary state of consciousness. Emotions and thoughts vibrate and the body is a conjugation of circulating fluids, pulsating tissues and energy which expands beyond the skin. The jungle´s lush biodiversity creates a kind of life that, according to many testimonies appears to answer our inner questions.
In Peru´s southern Andes, home of the Quechua and Aymara Indians, the Kallahuayas, the Altomisayoc, the Pam-pamisayoc, the Pacos and other Andean priest venerate the coca leaf or Mama-coca (Erythroxylum coca, E. novgranatense), which is considered a sacred plants.
Many peasants, shepherds, and miners use it to comfort the body and spirit upon getting up in the morning, they offer their best leaves to the apus, or lords of the mountains, before beginning their day´s labors. Like their ancestors and mythical heroes, they consult coca leaves before making important decisions. In the rituals of reciprocity between the Pachamama and the members of the community, the absence of coca leaves is considered an unpardonable offense.

The sampedro cactus or guahuma (Trichocereus pachanoi) aldo has an important presence in the Andes, especially in the northern coast and mountains of Peru.

The oldest recorded reference is found on a stone from the Chavín culture and dates back more than 3000 years, there it appears as a creature with snakelike hair, fangs of a jaguar and claws of an eagle, with which he grips an elongated cactus. Many curanderos(healing men) ingest it and offer it to others in the huacas – sacred archaeologic sites- or near the fabulous lakes of the Huaringas, whose miraculous baths have inspired pilgrimages to the heights of Piura since ancient times. The sampedro is utilized ceremonially to form a connection with the hills, lakes and powerful plants invoked by the curanderos in their mesa, the term applied to both the ceremony and the ritual objects utilized. As with other maestro plants, the elder curanderos take a close (each times less, or not at all) in order to enter an altered state of consciousness, this modificacion (alteration) allows them to hone their perception for their diagnostic skills and clairvoyance.