Кохоба: Таино дәстүрі мен психоактивті заттар қолданысы

Taíno term for a ceremony in which the ground seeds of the cojóbana tree were inhaled

Cohoba is a Taíno transliteration for a ceremony in which the ground seeds of the cojóbana tree (Anadenanthera spp.) were inhaled, the Y shaped nasal snuff tube used to inhale the substance, and the psychoactive drug that was inhaled. Use of this substance produced a hallucinogenic, entheogenic, or psychedelic effect. The cojóbana tree is believed by some to be Anadenanthera peregrina although it may have been a generalized term for psychotropics, including the quite toxic Datura and related genera (Solanaceae). The corresponding ceremony using cohoba laced tobacco is transliterated as cojibá. This was said to have produced the sense of a visionary journey of the kind associated with the practice of shamanism. The practice of snuffing cohoba was popular with the Taíno and Arawakan peoples, with whom Christopher Columbus made contact. However, the use of Anadenanthera spp. powder was widespread in South America, being used in ancient times by the Wari culture and Tiwanaku people of Peru and Bolivia and also by the Yanomami people of Brazil and Venezuela. Other names for cohoba include vilca, cebíl, and yopó. In Tiwanaku culture, a snuff tray was used along with an inhaling tube. Fernando Ortiz, the founder of Cuban Cultural Studies, offers a detailed analysis of the use of cohoba in his important anthropological work, Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar.

Cohoba is also known as yopo. Historically, this narcotic snuff was prepared and used by the indigenous people living in South America and the Indians of the Caribbean. Early accounts of it first appeared during the time of Christopher Columbus's exploration, with its first documentation written in 1496 by Ramon Pane—who travelled with Columbus in the second voyage. The name of "cohoba" refers to the finely ground, cinnamon colored snuff itself, as well as the ceremonial practice using it by South American tribes. The blending step of the plant mixture determines the potency of cohoba, based on the quality of the ingredients and its preparation. The active components in cohoba responsible for the hallucinogenic effects are DMT (N,N dimethyltryptamine) and bufotenine (N,N dimethyl 5 hydroxytryptamine). The effects of DMT include kaleidoscopic visions similar to LSD that may lead to scenery hallucinations, accompanied by auditory hallucinations. The psychotic effects derived from bufotenine have been suggested to have resulted from central nervous system activity. Though cohoba usage is not as widespread as before, it is still taken up today by various localities of South America for the aforementioned rich, hallucinogenic properties.