YOPO Seeds | Anadenanthera peregrina

A potent medicine is prepared from the seeds of the Anadenanthera peregrina tree. The medicine, now used mainly in the Orinoco basin, was first reported from Hispaniola in 1496, where the Taino Indians called it Cohoba. Its use, which has died out in the West Indies, was undoubtedly introduced to the Caribbean area by invaders from South America.

An early Peruvian report, dated about 1571, states that Inca medicine men were able to tell the future by communicating with the ‘devil’ through the use of Yopo. In Argentina, the early Spaniards found the Comechin Indians taking Yopo “through the nose” to become intoxicated, and in another tribe the same plant was chewed for endurance. Since these native cultures have disappeared, our knowledge of Yopo and its use is limited.

Yopo seeds were added to Chicha, a ceremonial maize beer. The juice of the seeds was squeezed into the Chicha, which was taken by shamans to foretell the future. The shamans of the Wichi tribe in Argentina still use a medicine they call Hataj made from the Anadenanthera peregrina, which allows them to penetrate other realities and influences those realms. Since the introduction of Christianity to these tribes, some individuals have equated the Yopo tree with the biblical Tree of Knowledge.

The preparation of Yopo varies from tribe to tribe. The seeds are first gently roasted over a fire until the seed husk inflates, pops and cracks. The seed casing is then carefully removed and discarded. The embryo is then crushed with a small amount of powdered Snail shell. It is then moistened and kneeded into a paste which is then roasted gently over a slow fire until it is dried out and toasty. It is then finely powdered a final time. Sometimes, the beans are allowed to ferment before being made in to the paste. After the toasting, the hardened paste may be stored for later use.

Some tribes toast the beans and crush them into a paste, grinding them on an ornate slab of hardwood made especially for the purpose. The resulting grayish-green powder is almost always mixed with about equal amounts of some alkaline substance, which may be lime from snail shells or the ashes of plant material. Apparently, the ashes are made from a great variety of plant materials: the burned fruit of the monkey pot, the bark of many different vines and trees, and even the roots of sedges. The addition of the ashes activates the medicine making it bioavailable and also serves as an anti-caking agent.

A note on the addition of lime or ash to medicines: this is a very widespread custom in both hemispheres. Lime or ash is often added to Betel Nut, Pituri, Mapacho, Epena, etc. The basic nature of this substance often allows active alkaloids to become more bioavilable. In the case of Yopo the alkaline admixture is essential. Indeed, some tribes, such as the Guahibos, may occasionally take the powder alone. The explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who encountered the use of Yopo in the Orinoco 200 years ago, mistakenly stated that “…it is not to be believed that the Niopo acacia pods are the chief cause of the stimulating effects…” The effects are due to freshly confined Lime.’ In his time, of course, the presence of alkaloids in the seeds was unknown.

A tea made from Yopo seeds is used for digestive troubles. The seeds, when combined with a Chicha brew, may also be used to help fever, melancholy, and unknown afflictions. Seeds are added to Honey to increase female fertility and as a diuretic. However, the seeds are also abortifacients. The gum of Anadenanthera colubrina is used to treat coughs, while the medicine is used to treat headaches, constipation and flu.

The primary alkaloids found in Yopo seeds include The Spirit Molecule and The God Molecule. Elucidation of the chemical make-up of the seeds of the Yopo tree has only recently been accomplished. Future studies may increase our knowledge of the active principles of these seeds.

Yopo medicine is blown into the nose through a Kuirpe or Tepi. The effects begin almost immediately - a twitching of the muscles, slight convulsions and lack of muscular coordination, followed by light nausea, visuals, and disturbed sleep. An abnormal exaggeration of the size of objects, Macropsia, is common. In an early description, the Indians say that their houses seem to “be turned upside down and that men are walking on their feet in the air”.