The oldest man I have ever met
Life is a journey where the paths of different people meet. If you are brave, and adventurous, you might be open to follow someone else down to the unknown, to escape your own reality to learn from others and ourselves.
On July 4th 2018, I decided to follow my friend Martijn Schirp down to the Amazon on the Ecuadorian side. For the first time in my life, I was going to meet and live with an Indigenous tribe. The Secoya are indigenous people that have been living in the Amazon for centuries. They have a vast knowledge of Amazonian medicinal plants, Shamanism and an incredible will to help and heal anyone that makes the journey down the river.
Living in the Amazon can be hard, and it’s not for everyone. It’s a place where the intensity of nature overwhelms you. The invisible mosquito bites, the dangerous animals, the lack of “comfort” make you wonder why you came there in the first place. Beyond those mundane things, a spiritual world lies behind. A chance that only few will have, to meet the oldest living Shaman of the Secoya Tribe, Don Cesario!
As hard as it sounds to believe, Don Cesario is 108 years old. He is a natural healer, a man born to serve and help others. A traveller and guide to the spiritual world through the Yage ceremonies he still conducts.
Yage or Ayahuasca is a brew used as spiritual medicine by indigenous people that live in the Amazon. It’s also been used for many years by non-indigenous people as a psychedelic experience, that with respect and proper guidance can help you heal and have a deeper understanding of life.
The Yage ceremony starts in an isolated area: the Yage Hut. The hut is made of wooden sticks, and a tin metal roof to protect you from the rain. The hut is empty inside so you can place your hammocks around. The Yage Hut is meant only for the spiritual travellers, and to prepare the mystical drink Yage. A place with a path for the spirits to come to meet you at night. Then comes the fire, the tobacco cigars, the palo santo (a type of incense) used to send away the Guatin (a demon in the Paicoca language).
The Yage ceremony can only take place if the Yage drink is been prepared. Normally it is already made when the travelers arrive. This time I was lucky enough to help during the preparation process, assisting Leonel (Don Cesario’s disciple).
So let’s take a step back and let me tell you that story too.
The Amazon is a living pharmacy, for any pain or disease you could have, there is a plant that can heal you. There are many types of Yage plants used to prepare the mystical drink. As we walk through the jungle, Leonel tells us about all these plants and their properties. After walking for around 20 minutes we got to a house where Don Cesario used to live. An abandoned old wooden cabin, starting to be part of nature again, with grass sprouting inside and surrounding trees growing closer and closer. Around this house, many of these medicinal plants are located, some are Yage plants. We start collecting different green leaves of Oco Yage, and another plant known as Mañapu (used to induce vomiting to cleanse your body). With our bag full of plants and before the Mamba (a gigantic and very poisonous ant) comes out, we head back to the house where we are staying.
The next morning we got up before the sunrise, and drank Kansu (drink made of Mañapu) with Cesar (Don Cesario’s son), Leonel, and two sons of Cesar. As expected, we vomited and cleansed our stomachs, to get started for a long day of fasting and Yage ceremony. We go back to bed, and a few hours later Leonel wakes me up. It’s time to go and prepare the drink we have traveled so very far for. Leonel and I go in the canoe and cross the river to the Yage Hut, where the night before I had left the Yoko Yage leafs (this spiritual plant must not stay in the same place with you, but only taken directly from the tree to the preparation place).
To get started Leonel lights up a large tobacco cigar (like a proper Fidel Castro in the Amazon jungle!). This will be the first but not the last cigar during the night, the smoke helps to spell the Guatin away. Leonel takes his machete and asks me to come with him to get the last missing Yage root for the preparation. We got in the canoe, and this time row in a different direction. We got out at a muddy bank of the river, and carefully walk between the many plants around.
Finally, Leonel finds the Yage root known as Tara Yage, and cuts some branches off. As he hands me off the root pieces, he asks me to get a large leaf to pile the Yage roots. Leonel explains to me that this plant must not be placed on the ground and neither be thrown. The Yage plant carries the power to let you enter the spiritual world, and therefore, should be treated with respect.
We head back to the Yage Hut with the last ingredient. Finally, the preparation begins! Leonel lights another cigar, and asks me to light a large Palo Santo stick, then spread the smoke around the Yage hut to send away the Guatin. Leonel cuts down some branches to mark down a door path, or what he calls the Yage’s path, a path for the spirits to enter the hut to meet us.
We take two big cooking pots closer to the river to wash them, and then bring them back to the hut. We light the fire, and finally we are ready to start preparing Yage. Leonel invites me to sit next to him, where we place two long trunks to smash the Yage roots with a wooden club, peel them, and extract the pulp.
We put the pot on the fire and fill it with clean water we brought the day before. After all the roots have been peeled, we cut them into smaller pieces. Leonel adds to the pot with water the first layer of green leaves of Oco Yage, then a layer of the chopped roots of Tara Yage. The process continues until all the leaves and root pieces are in the pot. Finally, Leonel takes a small branch of Yoko Yage and scratches some parts off with the machete, then adds this last ingredient to the pot.
I lie down on my hammock while Leonel keeps watching the fire and the pot. After 4 hours of boiling, he wakes me up, and asks me to help him pour the water with substance to another pot. The second pot ( only with liquid) is placed in the fire for a few hours more until the water level is reduced. Finally, we take the pot out of the fire and let it cool down. Once the drink is cold, we transfer the fresh made Yage into a 5 litre empty water bottle.
Later that night the Shamans and spiritual travellers arrive. More people than what we were expecting came too. Leonel explains to me, Yage is a drink that calls people who are also willing to go into the spiritual journey lead by Don Cesario.
As the sun goes down, Don Cesario and the rest of the crew arrives. We are ready to start the ceremony once the full night comes.
Everyone places their hammocks inside the hut, leaving Don Cesario closer to the fire and his disciples. The ceremony starts by lighting more tobacco and spreading more Palo Santo smoke around the hut.
Leonel offers Don Cesario the first drink of Yage. Don Cesario blesses the drink and drinks it. Then Leonel comes and the process goes own until we all have drunk our first cup of Yage. The spiritual journey really starts a few hours later with the beautiful singing of Don Cesario, and sometimes the disciples or other travellers. The more experienced travellers keep drinking Yage every 2 hours through the night. Everyone gets back to the hammocks where all the visions come (you must not leave the hut until the next day).
Everyone’s journey is different due to our mindset and spirituality. The day after we all woke up in the same place, after a long day and a beautiful ceremony. Some shared their experience, visions and interpretations with others. The spirits had come to help you see another version of yourself, a different perspective, after we came back we have learned more about ourselves and never be the same.
If you are wondering about my experience, I did not have very strong visions. One of the more experienced travellers explained to me that you can also block yourself, and not be able to fully have a psychedelic experience. I believe that in my case, I had too many thoughts in my head, which did not allow me to fully immerse myself in the experience.
Yage is something that needs physical and mental preparation. It should not be taken as a recreational drug. Many people have died during Yage ceremonies, for different reasons. If you ever decide to do it, make you sure to prepare yourself before, and have the proper guidance of a renowned Shaman.
