Sarah Nuber- The Santo Daime-outside source

For my research paper, I wrote about how ancient and contemporary cultures use entheogens for religious purposes. One contemporary example of the use of an entheogen for religious purposes is within the Santo Daime Church. The Santo Daime, which is a Brazilian group that exists today, uses ayahuasca to induce mystical experiences. The Santo Daime fought for their right to use ayahuasca religiously and earned this right in 1987 when this entheogen was legalized in Brazil. Ayahuasca is a South American mixture that is made from combining MAOI (or the Banisteriopsis caapi vine) and DMT (Psychotria viridis leaves). The stems of the B. Caapi plants are boiled or soaked with the psychotria viridis leaves. Ayahuasca refers to a psychedelic combination of plants (MAOI + DMT), there is not one particular plant called ayahuasca and the brew differs from culture to culture. The Santo Daime incorporates many Catholic beliefs into their use of ayahuasca in that they praise God, Jesus and the Saints. They also acknowledge African Orishas and Indigenous deities within their religion. The Church was founded by Raimundo Irineu Serra, who had a mystical experience when he ingested the ayahuasca brew. This ingestion led to a mystical experience in which he spoke to the Queen of the Forest and she told him to found a new church with ayahuasca as its sacrament. Ayahuasca is believed to be a living sacrament, which is home to a divine being that helps with healing and spiritual growth (Katz & Dobkins de Rios 1971