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The use of hallucinogenic mushrooms for diagnostic purposes among some highland Chinantecs

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Abstract

This article describes the ingestion of hallucinogenic mushrooms—Psilocybe Hoogshagenii Heim—as a means to diagnose illness among contemporary Chinantec-speaking Indians of the Sierra de Ixtlán, Oaxaca, México. It is possible that several varieties of hallucinogenic mushrooms are used amongst these highland Chinantecs, the specific variety utilized depending upon “seasonal availability and the precise purpose for which the narcotic is to be taken” (Schultes, 1972: 10). However, the following describes only the observed use ofPsilocybe Hoogshagenii, and it should not be generalized to the use of other mushrooms which may prove equally available to diagnosticians in the Sierra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

    Jean Gettelfinger-Krejci

  2. University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana

    Jean Gettelfinger-Krejci

Authors
  1. Arthur J. Rubel
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  2. Jean Gettelfinger-Krejci
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Rubel, A.J., Gettelfinger-Krejci, J. The use of hallucinogenic mushrooms for diagnostic purposes among some highland Chinantecs. Econ Bot 30, 235–248 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02909732

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02909732

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