Tiro Whakamuri, Kia Anga Whakamua—Decolonising Psychedelics

Nā Tahu-Potiki Te Maro-Doran | Ngāti Porou | Te Whānau o Pōkai

Ceremonial consumption of hallucinogenic plants and plant remedies such as peyote, psilocybin, and ayahuasca have been practiced within Indigenous cultures across the world for centuries. There are a number of psychedelic mushroom species that tend to grow within Indigenous forests and wetlands of Aotearoa. When we consider that the role of a Tohunga was to serve whānau and hapū as a healer,  rongoā practitioner, and a guide through the spiritual realm, it is hard to believe that Tohunga would have thought: “Mate, I heard them harori’s make you trip tf out... don’t touch em.”

Mushrooms are often considered ancestors that provide us with ancient wisdom. For the sake of this article we’ll call it Mātauranga Māori. Mātauranga Māori provided interpretations for most natural phenomena that occur within the physical and spiritual environment. This informed the maintenance and balance of protecting the Taiao and the universal energy that flows within it, all said to have been obtained by Tohunga from Atua Māori. 

Whakapapa connects Māori identity back to our ancestors, the Pacific, to Ariki, to demigods, to Atua and the beginning of time. The pūrākau of Tānemāhuta within this context is most important, as human whakapapa within Te Ao Māori stem from Tānemāhuta when he bestowed the breath of life to Hine-Ahu-One. Tihei Mauriora!

Tānemāhuta was also known as Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi and Tāne-te-Wānanga among others. Tāne-te-Wānanga, in the karakia “Tēnei au”, is said to have gathered ngā kete o te wānanga from the heavens. My interpretation of these two pūrākau is that our ancestors understood the whakapapa connection we share with  trees,  plants, and  forests in that they give us life, breath, and knowledge. 

There are a few Indigenous cultures that dub sacred mushrooms as the “flesh of the gods”. Within Te Ao Māori, mushrooms are sometimes known as “whare pua atua”, translated to “house of the spores of gods.” I’m telling you, we don’t come up with names of things for the sake of it, our ancestors were on to something. Indigenous cultures across the world emphasise that the core of illness is connected to an imbalance in spiritual health. Psychedelic rongoā experiences in this way serve as a holistic healing experience that bridges humans with the spiritual world. But it still begs the question—why don't we know about this?

The colonisation that continues to implement suppressive laws, stigmatisation, and demonisation has disconnected Indigenous peoples from their sacred cultural practices and knowledge of psychedelics. No one is debating that colonisation has thrown disorder into Māori belief systems, values, knowledge, and our social and spiritual harmony. With this in mind, it’s not difficult to believe that Māori traditional ways of healing, that include magic mushies in particular, have been wiped, demonised, and hidden from our whakapapa. 

One of the lasting effects of colonisation is that we’re unaware what aspects of Te Ao Māori we’ve lost in the process. I‘ve always seen the tendency in us to pick and choose what to throw away in the process of decolonisation, even if it harms or benefits us, which is an integral component of colonisation. If Indigenous cultures practice psychedelic healing worldwide, why is it hard to believe that Māori were going on some trips? You’re telling me that when we went to South America that we just stopped in for some kūmara and gapped? 

“Mate, do you wanna join our ancient healing ceremony that connects us and our spirit with divine intelligence in which our culture is centred?” 

“Nah mate, I just sailed the whole pacific for this root vegetable!”

Only in recent history has the realm of science opened its eyes to the benefits of psychedelic treatment for illnesses. Empirical evidence confirms that psilocybin, iboga, and ayahuasca are relieving and healing anxiety, depression, drug addiction, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, and obsessive compulsive disorders. On the surface, this is a big round of applause for western science, but when we stretch that surface it simply shows that there’s a clear mistrust of Indigenous knowledge. 

Western science in this way undermines and disrespects what Indigenous cultures have known for years, and were punished for. It’s the same ol' puruteko where cultural practices become appropriated and takes on a commercialised role within society. This new wave of psychedelic ‘discovery’ in the west, means that we risk losing the holistic nature of the healing through psychedelics, especially considering dishing
out sacred psychedelics as ‘the cure’ without the guidance of Tohunga. 

But there’s hope. Indigenous peoples worldwide are coming together in order to reclaim and revitalise
traditions and knowledge, both within mainstream and alternative education. This has huge implications for psychedelic use, especially now, considering that everyone seems to want a piece of the Indigenous knowledge pie. Remember, that pie is to feed our iwi, not theirs. Only dish out that recipe for the benefit of everyone, not just you, not just them—everyone. 

However, as we move forward in this renaissance, because we continue to exist within colonial systems and structures, we need to do so with caution. We need to destigmatize and decolonise attitudes towards psychedelic use as a method of healing and reconnecting with lost knowledge systems. We need to dive deep into these rongoā to seek answers for the past, present, and future.