Ethnomycology
Encyclopedia
Ethnomycology is the study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi (a.k.a. "fungi lore"), and can be considered a subfield of ethnobotany
or ethnobiology
. Although in theory the term includes fungi used for such purposes as tinder
, medicine (medicinal mushrooms
) and food (including yeast
), it is often used in the context of the study of psychoactive mushrooms such as psilocybin
-containing mushrooms, Ergot
and Amanita muscaria
. By analogy to the term entheogen
the term "entheomycology" (ἔνθεος entheos meaning literally "god
within", more freely translated "inspired") has been suggested for the study of psychoactive mushrooms used for spiritual
purposes.
The researcher Robert Gordon Wasson rekindled interest in this field of study in the late 1950s, inspiring later researchers such as Terence McKenna
, Carl Ruck, Giorgio Samorini
, Keewaydinoquay Peschel
, Richard Evans Schultes
, John Allegro, Clark Heinrich
, Dan Merkur, and James Arthur
.
Besides mycological determination in the field ethnomycology depends to a large extent on anthropology
and philology
. One of the major debates among ethnomycologists is Wasson's theory that the Soma
mentioned in the Rigveda
of the Indo-Aryans
was the Amanita muscaria
mushroom. Following his example similar attempts have been made to identify psychoactive mushroom usage in many other (mostly) ancient cultures, with varying degrees of credibility. Another much written about topic is the content of the Kykeon
, the sacrament
used during the Eleusinian mysteries
in ancient Greece
between approximately 1500 BCE and 396 CE. Although not an ethnomycologist as such, philologist John Allegro has made an important contribution suggesting, in a book controversial enough to have his academic career destroyed, that Amanita muscaria was not only consumed as a sacrament but was the main focus of worship in the more esoteric sects of Sumerian religion, Judaism
and early Christianity
. Clark Heinrich claims that Amanita muscaria use in Europe was not completely wiped out by Orthodox Christianity
but continued to be used (either consumed or merely symbolically) by individuals and small groups such as medieval Holy Grail
myth makers, alchemists
and Renaissance
artists.
While Wasson views historical mushroom use primarily as a facilitator for the shamanic or spiritual experiences core to these rites and traditions, McKenna takes this further, positing that the ingestion of psilocybin was perhaps primary in the formation of language and culture and identifying psychedelic
mushrooms as the original "Tree of Knowledge
". There is indeed some research supporting the theory that psilocybin
ingestion temporarily increases neurochemical
activity in the language centers of the brain, indicating a need for more research into the uses of psychoactive plants and fungi in human history.
The 1990s saw a surge in the recreational use of psilocybin mushrooms (a.k.a. "shrooms") due to a combination of a psychedelic revival in the rave
culture, improved and simplified cultivation techniques, and the distribution of both the mushrooms themselves and information about them via the Internet
. This "mushrooming of mushroom use" has also caused an increased popularization of ethnomycology itself as there are many websites and Internet forums where mushroom references in Christmas
and fairy tale
symbolism are discussed. It remains open to interpretation what effect this popularization has on ethnomycology in the academic world, where the lack of verifiable evidence has kept its theories with their often far-reaching implications shrouded in controversy.
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants....
or ethnobiology
Ethnobiology
]Ethnobiology is the scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present....
. Although in theory the term includes fungi used for such purposes as tinder
Tinder
Tinder is easily combustible material used to ignite fires by rudimentary methods. A small fire consisting of tinder is then used to ignite kindling. Anything that can be ignited by a match can be considered tinder; or by more rigorous definition, anything that begins to glow under a shower of...
, medicine (medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms are mushrooms, or mushroom extracts, that are used or studied as possible treatments for diseases. Lentinula edodes , Grifola frondosa , Ganoderma lucidum , and Cordyceps, have a history of medicinal use spanning millennia in parts of Asia...
) and food (including yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
), it is often used in the context of the study of psychoactive mushrooms such as psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
-containing mushrooms, Ergot
Ergot
Ergot or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungi of the genus Claviceps. The most prominent member of this group is Claviceps purpurea. This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals who consume grains contaminated with its...
and Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita...
. By analogy to the term entheogen
Entheogen
An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...
the term "entheomycology" (ἔνθεος entheos meaning literally "god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
within", more freely translated "inspired") has been suggested for the study of psychoactive mushrooms used for spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
purposes.
The researcher Robert Gordon Wasson rekindled interest in this field of study in the late 1950s, inspiring later researchers such as Terence McKenna
Terence McKenna
Terence Kemp McKenna was an Irish-American philosopher, psychonaut, researcher, teacher, lecturer and writer on many subjects, such as human consciousness, language, psychedelic drugs, the evolution of civilizations, the origin and end of the universe, alchemy, and extraterrestrial beings.-Early...
, Carl Ruck, Giorgio Samorini
Giorgio Samorini
Giorgio Samorini is an ethnobotanist and psychedelics researcher. He has published many essays and monographs regarding the use of psychoactive compounds and sacred plants. He was a frequent contributor to, and sometime editor of Eleusis the Journal of Psychoactive Plants & Compounds.-Books:* ....
, Keewaydinoquay Peschel
Keewaydinoquay Peschel
Keewaydinoquay Pakawakuk Peschel was a scholar, ethnobotanist, herbalist, medicine woman, teacher and author. She was an Anishinaabeg Elder of the Crane Clan...
, Richard Evans Schultes
Richard Evans Schultes
Richard Evans Schultes may be considered the father of modern ethnobotany, for his studies of indigenous peoples' uses of plants, including especially entheogenic or hallucinogenic plants , for his lifelong collaborations with chemists, and...
, John Allegro, Clark Heinrich
Clark Heinrich
Clark Heinrich is an American author living in the coastal mountains of California, specializing in comparative religion and ethno-botany since 1974. He has reportedly studied with masters of yoga and Western mysticism....
, Dan Merkur, and James Arthur
James Arthur
James Arthur was a Dominican friar and theologian.He was born in Limerick, Ireland, early in the 17th century and died most likely in 1670. He became a member of the Dominican Order in the convent of St...
.
Besides mycological determination in the field ethnomycology depends to a large extent on anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. One of the major debates among ethnomycologists is Wasson's theory that the Soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
mentioned in the Rigveda
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
of the Indo-Aryans
Indo-Aryans
Indo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...
was the Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita...
mushroom. Following his example similar attempts have been made to identify psychoactive mushroom usage in many other (mostly) ancient cultures, with varying degrees of credibility. Another much written about topic is the content of the Kykeon
Kykeon
Kykeon was an Ancient Greek drink made mainly of water, barley and naturally occurring substances. It was used at the climax of the Eleusinian Mysteries to break a sacred fast, but it was also a favourite drink of Greek peasants.Kykeon is mentioned in Homeric texts: the Iliad describes it as...
, the sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
used during the Eleusinian mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance...
in ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
between approximately 1500 BCE and 396 CE. Although not an ethnomycologist as such, philologist John Allegro has made an important contribution suggesting, in a book controversial enough to have his academic career destroyed, that Amanita muscaria was not only consumed as a sacrament but was the main focus of worship in the more esoteric sects of Sumerian religion, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and early Christianity
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
. Clark Heinrich claims that Amanita muscaria use in Europe was not completely wiped out by Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
but continued to be used (either consumed or merely symbolically) by individuals and small groups such as medieval Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
myth makers, alchemists
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
artists.
While Wasson views historical mushroom use primarily as a facilitator for the shamanic or spiritual experiences core to these rites and traditions, McKenna takes this further, positing that the ingestion of psilocybin was perhaps primary in the formation of language and culture and identifying psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
mushrooms as the original "Tree of Knowledge
Tree of Knowledge
-Religion and mythology:* Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, a tree in the Garden of Eden, mentioned in the Book of Genesis-Publications:* The Tree of Knowledge, a novel by Pío Baroja* Drvo Znanja, a Croatian magazine...
". There is indeed some research supporting the theory that psilocybin
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug, with mind-altering effects similar to those of LSD and mescaline, after it is converted to psilocin. The effects can include altered thinking processes, perceptual distortions, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences, as well as...
ingestion temporarily increases neurochemical
Neurochemical
A neurochemical is an organic molecule, such as serotonin, dopamine, or nerve growth factor, that participates in neural activity. The science of neurochemistry studies the functions of neurochemicals.-Prominent neurochemicals:...
activity in the language centers of the brain, indicating a need for more research into the uses of psychoactive plants and fungi in human history.
The 1990s saw a surge in the recreational use of psilocybin mushrooms (a.k.a. "shrooms") due to a combination of a psychedelic revival in the rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
culture, improved and simplified cultivation techniques, and the distribution of both the mushrooms themselves and information about them via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. This "mushrooming of mushroom use" has also caused an increased popularization of ethnomycology itself as there are many websites and Internet forums where mushroom references in Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
symbolism are discussed. It remains open to interpretation what effect this popularization has on ethnomycology in the academic world, where the lack of verifiable evidence has kept its theories with their often far-reaching implications shrouded in controversy.
External links
- "Aboriginal use of fungi", Australian National Botanic GardensAustralian National Botanic GardensThe Australian National Botanic Gardens are located in Canberra and are administered by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage....
Fungi Web Site. - R.G. Wasson - Harvard University Herbaria
- Carl A.P. Ruck - Boston University Department of Classical Studies
- Albert Hofmann Foundation
- Terence McKenna - Official site
- John M. Allegro - Official site
- Giorgio Samorini – Official site (in Italian, some articles in English)
- James Arthur – Official site
- Jan Irvin and Andrew Rutajit - Official site
- Dan Merkur - Official site
- Michael Hoffman