Ethnomycology

Ethnomycology is the study of the historical uses and sociological impact of fungi (a.k.a. "fungi lore"), and can be considered a subfield of ethnobotany or ethnobiology. Although in theory the term includes fungi used for such purposes as tinder, medicine and food (including yeast), it is often used in the context of the study of psychoactive mushrooms such as psilocybin-containing mushrooms, Ergot and "Amanita muscaria". By analogy to the term entheogen the term "entheomycology" (ἔνθεος entheos meaning literally "god within", more freely translated "inspired") has been suggested for the study of psychoactive mushrooms used for spiritual purposes.cite book
last = Irvin
first = Jan
authorlink = Jan Irvin
coauthors = Andrew Rutajit
title = Astrotheology & Shamanism: Unveiling the Law of Duality in Christianity and Other Religions
publisher = The Book Tree
year = 2006
pages = pp. 216
isbn = 1-58509-107-3]

The amateur researcher Robert Gordon Wasson rekindled interest in this field of study in the late 1920s, inspiring later (sometimes non-academic) researchers such as Terence McKenna, Carl Ruck, Giorgio Samorini, Keewaydinoquay Peschel, Richard Evans Schultes, John Allegro, Clark Heinrich, Dan Merkur, and James Arthur.

Besides mycological determination in the field ethnomycology depends to a large extent on anthropology and philology. One of the major debates among ethnomycologists is Wasson's theory that the Soma mentioned in the Rigveda of the Indo-Aryans was the Amanita muscaria mushroom.cite book
last = Wasson
first = R. Gordon
authorlink = R. Gordon Wasson
title = Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality
year = 1968
isbn = 0-15-683800-1 ] Following his example similar attempts have been made to identify psychoactive mushroom usage in many other (mostly) ancient cultures, with varying degrees of credibility. Another much written about topic is the content of the Kykeon, the sacrament used during the Eleusinian mysteries in ancient Greece between approximately 1500 BCE and 396 CE.cite book
last = Wasson
first = R. Gordon
authorlink = R. Gordon Wasson
coauthors = Albert Hofmann & Carl A. P. Ruck
title = The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries
publisher = Hermes Press
date = 1998 second edition
pages = pp. 149
isbn = 0-915148-20-X] Although not an ethnomycologist as such, philologist John Allegro has made an important contribution suggesting, in a book controversial enough to have his academic career destroyed, that Amanita muscaria was not only consumed as a sacrament but was the main focus of worship in the more esoteric sects of Sumerian religion, Judaism and early Christianity.cite book
last = Allegro
first = John
authorlink = John Allegro
title = The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: The Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity Within Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East
publisher = Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
year = 1970
pages = pp. 320
isbn = 0340128755 ] Clark Heinrich claims that Amanita muscaria use in Europe was not completely wiped out by orthodox Christianity but continued to be used (either consumed or merely symbolically) by individuals and small groups such as medieval Holy Grail myth makers, alchemists and Renaissance artists.cite book
last = Heinrich
first = Clark
title = Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy
publisher = Park Street Press
date = 2002 second edition
pages = pp. 256
isbn = 0892819979 ]

While Wasson views historical mushroom use primarily as a facilitator for the shamanic or spiritual experiences core to these rites and traditions, McKenna takes this further, positing that the ingestion of psilocybin was perhaps primary in the formation of language and culture and identifying psychedelic mushrooms as the original "Tree of Knowledge".cite book
last = McKenna
first = Terence
authorlink = Terence McKenna
title = Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution
publisher = Bantam
date = 1993 reprint
isbn = 0-553-37130-4 ] There is indeed some research supporting the theory that psilocybin ingestion temporarily increases neurochemical activity in the language centers of the brain and, though this is hardly enough to substantiate McKenna's ambitious claim, it does indicate a need for more research into the uses of psychoactive plants and fungi in human history.

cite news
url=http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v20/n6/full/1395272a.html
publisher=Neuropsychopharmacology
title=Neurometabolic Effects of Psilocybin, 3,4-Methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDE) and d-Methamphetamine in Healthy Volunteers A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled PET Study with FDG
year=1999

] cite news
url=http://cognet.mit.edu/posters/TUCSON3/Vollenweider.html
title=Neural Correlates of Hallucinogen-induced Altered States of Consciousness]

The 1990s saw a surge in the recreational use of psilocybin mushrooms (a.k.a. "shrooms") due to a combination of a psychedelic revival in the rave culture, improved and simplified cultivation techniques, and the distribution of both the mushrooms themselves and information about them via the internet. This "mushrooming of mushroom use" has also caused an increased popularization of ethnomycology itself as there are many websites and internet forums where mushroom references in Christmas and fairy tale symbolism are discussed. It remains open to interpretation what effect this popularization has on ethnomycology in the academic world, where the lack of verifiable evidence has kept its theories with their often far-reaching implications shrouded in controversy.

References

*Oswaldo Fidalgo, "The ethnomycology of the Sanama Indians", Mycological Society of America (1976), ASIN B00072T1TC
*E. Barrie Kavasch, Alberto C. Meloni, "American Indian EarthSense: Herbaria of Ethnobotany and Ethnomycology", Birdstone Press, the Institute for American Indian Studies (1996). ISBN 0-936322-05-5.
*Aaron Michael Lampman, "Tzeltal ethnomycology: Naming, classification and use of mushrooms in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico", Dissertation, ProQuest Information and Learning (2004)
*Jagjit Singh (ed.), "From Ethnomycology to Fungal Biotechnology: Exploiting Fungi from Natural Resources for Novel Products", Springer (1999), ISBN 0-306-46059-9.
*Keewaydinoquay Peschel. "Puhpohwee for the people: A narrative account of some use of fungi among the Ahnishinaubeg" (Ethnomycological studies) Botanical Museum of Harvard University (1978},ASIN: B0006E6KTU

External links

* [http://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/aboriginal.html "Aboriginal use of fungi"] , "Australian National Botanic Gardens Fungi Web Site".
* [http://www.huh.harvard.edu/libraries/wasson.html R.G. Wasson] - Harvard University Herbaria
* [http://www.bu.edu/classics/faculty/profiles/ruck.html Carl A.P. Ruck] - Boston University Department of Classical Studies
* [http://www.hofmann.org/ Albert Hofmann Foundation]
* [http://www.levity.com/eschaton/tm.html Terence McKenna] - Official site
* [http://www.johnallegro.org/ John M. Allegro] - Official site
* [http://www.samorini.net/ Giorgio Samorini] – Official site (in Italian, some articles in English)
* [http://www.jamesarthur.net/ja.html James Arthur] – Official site
* [http://www.gnosticmedia.com/main/ Jan Irvin and Andrew Rutajit] - Official site
* [http://www.danmerkur.com/ Dan Merkur] - Official site
* [http://www.egodeath.com/ Michael Hoffman]