ant ingestion and hallucinations
- ant ingestion and hallucinations
The ceremonial ingestion of ants for the purpose of obtaining "visions and other hallucinatory phenomena was reported in 1917 by the American anthropologist John Peabody Harrington (1884-1961) while doing fieldwork among the Kutanemuk Indians in Southern California. A similar practice was reported in the context of vision quests by other Indian peoples of South-Central California. Because of their alleged psychoactive properties, such ants are referred to as "psychoactive fauna. Judging by the practices described in the literature, however, it is not at all certain that the ingestion of ants - which used to be part of various elaborate rituals - is itself responsible for mediating the ensuing hallucinations. Most studies were confounded by the simultaneous employment of techniques such as fasting, " sleep deprivation, and the use of Datura or other psy-chotropic substances. Another reason for doubt stems from the biochemical research carried out on ants. It has been speculated that the ants used in vision quests may have belonged to the yellow honey ant or other species of the Myr-macomecocystus genus, which do not contain any known psychoactive substances. Hallucinations associated with the ingestion of ants should not be confused with hallucinations depicting ants and other insects, which are known under the name "formicative hallucinations. A person intentionally employing ant ingestion for the purpose of exploring the psyche may be called a "psychonaut.
References
Blackburn, T. (1976). A query regarding the possible hallucinogenic effects of ant ingestion in south-central California. Journal of California Anthropology, 3, 78-81.
Rudgley, R. (1998). The encyclopaedia of psychoactive substances. London: Little, Brown and Company.
Dictionary of Hallucinations.
J.D. Blom.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
psychoactive fauna — The term psychoactive fauna comes from the Greek noun psuchè (life breath, spirit, soul, mind), the Latin adjective activus (active), and Fauna, the name of the Roman goddess of fertility. It is used to denote the group of animals whose body… … Dictionary of Hallucinations
formicative hallucination — Also referred to as formication, dermatozoic hallucination, and insect hallucination. The terms formication and formicative hallucination are indebted to the Latin noun formica, which means ant. All of the above four terms are used more or… … Dictionary of Hallucinations
Lead poisoning — Classification and external resources An X ray demonstrating the characteristic finding of lead poisoning, dense metaphyseal lines. ICD 10 T … Wikipedia
Ethanol — For other uses, see Ethanol (disambiguation). Grain alcohol redirects here. It is not to be confused with Neutral grain spirit. Ethanol … Wikipedia
Mushroom poisoning — See also: List of deadly fungi Mushroom poisoning Classification and external resources Amanita phalloides accounts for the majority of fatal mushroom poisonings worldwide … Wikipedia
Plant defense against herbivory — Poison ivy produces urushiol to protect the plant from herbivores. In humans this chemical produces an allergic skin rash, known as urushiol induced contact dermatitis … Wikipedia
Inhalant abuse — This article is about non medical use of inhalants. For medical inhalants, see List of medical inhalants. Huffing redirects here. For other meanings, see Huff (disambiguation). Sniffing glue redirects here. For the punk zine, see Sniffin Glue.… … Wikipedia
Mycotoxin — A mycotoxin (from Greek μύκης (mykes, mukos) “fungus” and Latin (toxicum) “poison”)[1][2] is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of the fungus kingdom, commonly known as molds.[3][4] The term ‘mycotoxin’ is usually reserved for the … Wikipedia
Manna — For other uses, see Manna (disambiguation). The Gathering of the Manna by James Tissot Manna (Hebrew: מָן) or Manna wa Salwa (Arabic: مَنّ, Kurdish … Wikipedia
