In the past month I have become very interested in ethno-botany and related anthropological fields. I have been reading about little else (except, of course, for running). The study of plants and their medicinal/curative uses in the Amazon as well as shamanic practices that accompany them (the uses) make for an interesting read. Perhaps as interesting as the uses of the plants are the lengths to which the researchers must go in order to bring the indigenous people's knowledge back to the western world. Logistical travel issues, multiple languages needed, permissions from chiefs, shamans, and governments to take samples, and even cataloging different names and uses for the same plant (in some instances) from tribe to tribe, all account for how difficult it is to access meaningful information about the plants in the region.
The first book I read was Mark Plotkin's, Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice. I believe that I have already written about the book in this blog as well as on Goodreads.com, so I won't go into much detail other than to say that Tales is where one should begin, if there is an interest in learning more about the field of study.
William S. Burroughs' and Allen Ginsberg's, The Yage Letters, makes for an oddly appropriate read after Plotkin - in part because Burroughs mentions that he ran into Dr. Schultes (who is described by Plotkin, as a legend in the field in Tales) somewhere in South America in the 1950's. It is, perhaps, most fun to read as an account of what it was like to travel in the region in the mid part of the last century.
The next book I got (through inter-library loan - thank you KU), was Jeremy Narby's, The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge. Again, the book is tremendously interesting. Instead of coming at the field from the plant angle, Narby looks at the shamanic side of the healing and plant-knowledge equation. He makes the argument that knowledge of the plants, their healing powers, and even the world around us cannot be understood when only looked at through our rational viewpoint. Narby writes that knowledge is gained equally (certainly by the indigenous people he studied) through use of hallucinogenics like ayahuasca, or even ritual drumming. He believes that what is seen and experienced in these states is equally valid to the acquisition of knowledge as what we see before us in the 'real world.' (quotes are mine). I don't know that I fully agree with all of the conclusions he draws, but the case he makes is compelling. It is also illuminating in many other ways - in terms of real science and how our bodies, cells, and DNA function. I would highly recommend this book as well as the others listed above.
I am now onto another book by Narby, and will write about it, I'm sure, in the future.
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Quick note re running: Wow, just wow. The weather has started to break a bit. There were some hot runs this week, but most were pleasant. I was able to knock out a long run day and then some good and hilly 5-6-ish mile runs. I'm preparing to be a pacer for the final 25 miles of the Hawk 100 trail race. A friend entered and I thought, why not? I'm not too worried about being able to keep up after he's already plugged through 75 miles. I think my job will mainly be encouragement and guidance on the trails through the late night/early morning hours. I'm really looking forward to it. I ran the marathon on the same course last year and had a great time.
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