What is Ayahuasca? Powerful hallucinogenic concoction said to open doors to 'spirit' world

Ayahuasca is a type of hallucinogenic brew, which is traditionally used among the indigenous peopleof the Amazon basin as socially and as a ceremonial or shamanic spiritual medicine.

Ayahuasca, the psychoactive brew, is made from ingredients with hallucinogenic properties and some even claim that it can benefit brain health and well-being.

It is basically extracted from the "Banisteriopsis caapi" vine which has grown in the Amazon for thousands of years.

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Ayahuasca has become popular in the outside world more recently in the Western society, despite being associated with several potential risks.

In a report by the news agency AFP, Cofan Avie, the master of Ayahuasca, lives in the heart of the Ecuadoran Amazon. It is said that the powerful concoction is known for opening the doors to the "spirit" world. In that particular region, people call it "yage" and consume it for health and wisdom.

Isidro Lucitante, who is the patriarch and shaman of nine Indigenous Cofan Avie families, said that "God once lived here on this planet".

While talking about Ayahuasca, the 63-year-old Lucitante said that this God "pulled out one of his hairs and planted it on the Earth. Thus was born the yage, source of knowledge and wisdom".

A tourist industry in neighbouring Peru has taken root around the vine that is now also available for sale, in capsules or as an infusion.

However, for the Cofan Avie tribe, yage is not meant for business but an umbilical cord that connects them to one another and to long-dead ancestors.

Lucitante said, "Yage is not a drug. On the contrary, it is a remedy that makes us better. My grandfather drank yage every week, he lived to 115! We are all healthy!"

Does Ayahuasca pose health risks?

In recent days, Ayahuasca has become increasingly fashionable and even punted as a treatment for drug addiction.

But according to medical experts, it can be dangerous for people who take antidepressants or suffer from heart or psychotic problems, epilepsy or asthma.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States, in Ayahuasca, the active ingredient of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is illegal, and also in some other countries.

(With inputs from agencies)

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