Originally released on Folkways Records (8975) in 1957, this recording by Gordon & Valentina Wasson in Oaxaca, Mexico captures native Mexican curandera (witch-doctor) Maria Sabina, a male Mazatec indian, the Wassons and some research friends participating in a ritual mushroom ceremony. This is one of the harder-to-find Folkways releases (see also: Bob Dylan vs. AJ Weberman), and a recent reissue copy from the mid-’70s sold for well over $100 on eBay. The original pressing, of course, is way more sought after, and obviously rarer.
“This field recording is of substantial historical interest, both as the earliest known vinyl document of people under the influence of hallucinogens, and as part of the Wasson couples legendary forays into remote Mexican mountains on the trail of an obscure mushroom cult. Wasson’s exploits became the subject of a Life magazine article which is a watershed event in the history of psychedelics, and the psilocybin shrooms would attract interest from the whole academic/literary/ethno-botanic hallucinogen set in the late 1950s. Although the Mazatec mushroom culture has been well documented over the years, this particular LP has drawn less attention than Wasson’s works and the many subsequent essays and books published, but is obviously worth attention.
The actual contents feature curandera Maria Sabina (who would later become famous, as part of the Wasson effect) eating the mushrooms and setting out on a transcental journey to invoke the mushroom spirit, reporting with a steady flow of words her experiences. The reports are spoken in her native Mazatec dialect, but an ambitious translation/transcription attempt by a linguistic expert can be found on the accompanying booklet. The mushroom cult is eclectic, combining elements of Catholicism with a pantheistic strain, in a way typical for many surviving plant cults around the world. Her voice is an old woman’s, often tired, sometimes venturing into sing-songy nursery rhyme structures, and during the beginning of side 2 (where she’s peaking, bro) moving into a very rapid, unbroken flow of words. Rather remarkable, and according to those who have tripped with it, an efficient guide despite not being a successful invocation of the mushroom spirit (see booklet scans for explanation). Sounds of nature, nightbirds, barking dogs, and frequent mutterings from Sabina’s fellow Mazatec traveller are also audible.” – The Acid Archives
Booklet Insert 1
Booklet Insert 2
Mushroom Ceremony Of The Mazatec Indians Of Mexico
Smithsonian Folkways, 1957
Tracklist:
01. Chjon Nka
02. Chjon Nka Catsin
03. Santo…Nana
04. Papi Papi
05. Na Ai – Ni Tso
06. Santo…Ji Nai…Na
07. Jan Jesu Cristo
08. Ji Nai
09. San Pedro
10. Soso Soso
11. Name Of Plants
12. Pedro Martinez
13. Don’t Be Concerned, Old One
14. Birds
15. Humming, Etc.
16. Soft Singing
17. Finale
