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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-05-08, Page 3e Mushroom Worship Ancient iteligion In remote villages far off the beaten tracks of Mexico are a native people who have the . strangest religion ever known to mankind. They wor'Ship mushrooms. Through mushrooms, they be- lieve they learn, the Will of God, get wise counsel inall variety of difficulties, including the pro- per treatment of disease and the movements of friends and en- emies, both in the present' and future. The origins of this mushroom religion go back far beyond re- corded history. On investigator, after thirty years of research, believes that it may be the oldest of all the religions of mankind. - Mr. R. Gordon Wasson; part- ner in the world-famous bank- ing house of J. P. Morgan, and his Russian -born physician wife, have sleuthed through the .cen- turies to trace the part played by mushrooms in ancient reli- gious beliefs. Archaic carvings of creatures part -human, part -mushroom and crude wall drawings depicting gods speaking to human beings through mushrooms pointed to the existence of a mushroom' re- ligion. Slowly a picture was built up of the unknown role of the mush- room in the story of mankind. The Wasson discovered that the world could be mapped into dis- tinct areas showing the habitat of those people whO look favour- ably on all forms of fungus and those people who fear them. The first group, they found, were mainly In the East; the second, in the West. But the strangest discovery of all came In that Mexico village where the Wassons found In- dians who still practise the an- cient mushroom worship, along with a curious garbled version of Christianity. The discovery of a mushroom - worshipping sect proved the truth of what, until then, had been regarded in scientific cir- cles as no more than a crank theory. But the mystery remained: why mushrooms? One June night in 1955 Mr. Wasson got the answer in a crude Indian adobe house con- verted into a sort of temple, complete with an altar with Christian emblems and flowers. The village people to whom they made known their quest proved very friendly. Yes, they agreed, these white men might participate in their "holy com- munion' and do so fiat very evening. In his massive work, which is limited to 500 copies, Mr. Was- son has desdribed 'that amazing experience. The variety of mushroom wor- shipped by these Mexican Indians was one that, when eaten, pro- duced staggering hallucinations, more vivid„than those produced by opium and ranging from ce- lestial visions of unspeakable delight to strange and sometimes terrible. illusions. In place of the visual priest, the village had as spiritual direc- tor a short, swarthy Indian wo- man, Eva Mendez, with the title Curandera. She was greatly re- spected, and bore herself, wrote Mr. Wasson, with great dignity. The two white strangers were welcomed to the "temple." The "priestess" then squatted down on a straw mat before a resin fire. She held a small candle in her two clasped hands and began in the Mexeteco language an incantation to the Christian saints, invoking them to speak through the divine mushrooms. That done, she ceremonially cleaned the mushrooms; then she handed them round. . In his book the author de- scribes his sensations: "They tatted bad -acrid with a ran- cid odour that repeated itself Before midnight the Senora broke a flower from the bouquet on the altar and used it to 'snuff oat the flame of the only candle that was still burning. "The visions bad started. They reached a plateau of intensity deep in the night, and they 'con"-. tinued at that Level until about' four o'clock. .' They were in vivid colour, always harmoni- ous..-They armoni-ous. They began' with art motifs, angular such as, might,decorate carpets or textiles : or . wallpaper or the drawing -board of an arch- itect. "Then they evolved into pal- aces with courts, arcades, gar- - dens - resplendent palaces all laid over with semi-precious stones. Then I saw a mythologi- cal beast drawing a regal char- iot . . . har-iot.... Later it was as though the walls of our house had dis- solved, and my spirit had flown forth Wasson and his wife eventual- ly discovered that there are still people in Siberia Who know the secrets of those mushrooms. They found among the Dyaks of Borneo and New Guinea na- tive communities that still prac- tised the cult. In China and Japan they came on legends and traditions that spoke of a divine mushroom that conferred immortality, Even more dramatic, in India they found that one version of. the ascension of the Buddha in- to Nirvana took place after he had partaken of divine mush- rooms. The cult, it would seem, was once widely spread throughout the ancient peoples of the earth. Its survival in these widely sep- arated countries indicates clear- ly as much. Professor Roger Heim, French mycologist (fungus expert), is now investigating the properties of these mushrooms. In his Paris laboratory he has cultivated sev- eral kinds brought back as cul- tures from that remote Mexican village. If the chemical elements that produce these visions and strange states can be isolated, the mush- rom cult may revive in a mo- dern form. Here, say the chemists, is something which may be radi- cally different from some of the known wonder -producing natur- al drugs such as opium, mesca- line or hashish. BITES BACK -Great Neck post- man Charles Serven, above, has decided to "bite" back after being on the receiving end of 22 dog bites in the past 10 years. The stick he's holding is wired to give a discouraging, though harmless; shock to troublesome pooches. CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 56 Teamster's 1. Amateur command ra(lio opera- 'DOWN tor 1. In what way 4. ('oal 1, TCeel-bfile0 distillate cuckoo 7. 4Vade 3, Civil War ft. Plain In battleship, Palestine 4. Duty 12. Stage of II le 6. Turk. 13 (1anthlingcommander game 7.1. Variety of apple 30. Turk. decree 17 Annoy 78 Corrode 29. Animal's foot 21 Tardy 13 ring', mother 21. Po Vron 22, Personal11y 21: flare leronreo to 25 .Riblical woman 39: Clem 34, Ascended 30. Monkey 27, Total 39 T)i- encumber 40, Worry 41, ('ow genus 42, Bog . 43,'Hobby 44. Winged 45. 14n114Ing material 60. Unbending 51, Youth 112. Present time 03. 191.ltish statesman 44. Watch 6. Reiterate 7. In favor of 8. African giraffe -like animal 9. Fortifica- tion 7.0. iMulcted 73. Fruit stone. 38 75. Sooner than 40. 4vInnow 19. Astounded_ 81 Unconcealed 21. Conducted • 42` Nourished. 22. Gone by 48. Wither 23. W1oh 45. Soft metal 24. Oriental 47. Beam weight. • 43. Drive nail 27, Obstruct slantinglY 27. Relatives 49. Sheep 29. Eccentric piece at. Combing Wool 32. Unclose - • 83. Clear] 35.Individual [t, 3'7. Compact. Custom I , 2 3 4" 5" 6 <pd,'.• 7 - 8 9 10 : ' 12 d? 13 . : ho' I7 ••23 18 19 20 21. 22 • 24 . 25 26 27. - Fr,. 28 29 - , Ni; 38 -• 31 32 33 `''., .... 34 35 - 36 41 41y 42 43, - NOM 44 • ' 45 ::$ 46 • 47 48 49 50 �:Y 51 53 • Syc „. ..,s. �. 54 ?:,55 3-2121 Answer e,sew sere on this page, CHOW. HOUNDS -Ten lively, bundles of mischief hold still long enough to lap up their milk in Sheffield, England. The pups are all frim the same litter. LETTUCE AND TOMATO -A nifty bit of salad dressing is Sue Mitchell. Sue shows that they grow nice vegetables -and girls in Phoenix where she Was 1958 Lettuce Queen of the Valley of the Sun. The area produces one-fifth of the U.S. lettuce. Woolly Milkers Not many people keep a sheep In their back garden or pad- dock for use as a cowl But soon, if the German Milchschaf (milk - sheep) Breed Society has its way, the spectacle of housewives sitting down to milk a sheep will be far from rare. In fact, the milk -yielding sheep may eventually become as popular a domestic figure as the backyard goat. The milk sheep, now recog- nized as a domestic breed, was developed in Germany as a war -time stop -gap. Under the weight of aerial bombardment, with normal milk supplies dis- rupted, many households brought up their children with adequate supplies of milk, thanks to the family sheep. According to the Milchschaf Breed Society's director, a dis- tinguished German agriculturist, if the animal is given good grazing conditions it can yield up to a gallon of rich milk a day. Sheep are very gregarious creatures and mope if they can- not flock together. But the milk sheep is a truebred solitary. The breed thrives well enough when left on its own. Fisherman Didn't Get Away! All the villagers of Bol had heard about the giant conger eel. hey knew it had lurked for years in a rocky reef that skirted their island -the island of Brae off the rugged Dalmatian coast of Yugoslavia. But, expert fish- ermen though they were, none of them had ever managed to catch it. So when, recently, old Ivica Krunic was told he was getting too frail to help his sons in their fishing boat, he decided to show them a thing or two. He would hook the big conger and prove that, at sixty-eight, he was still the best fisherman on the island. He soon discovered that the eel was still very much alive and wriggling. Each time he cast his line towards the reef, from a convenient cove on the rocky shore, the giant conger struck, snapping the line like thread and swallowing bait, hook and all. There was only one thing for it. Old Ivica visited the village blacksmith and got him to make a large specially strong hook which he fastened to a steel wire. Then he clambered over the rocks 16 his cove, put on his bait, cast towards the reef . .. and waited. \ It was almost .as if his prey sensed the new danger. For once the conger failed to strike quick- ly. The old man grew sleepy in the Sun; so he hooked the wire round his leg, and dozed. That night, searching for their father, his sons found him lying drowned .in shallow water near the reef. The steel line, drawn viciously tight; was still twisted round his leg. And on the oher end of it was a 300 -pound gian conger. the biggest ever ciught on a hoot and line in the whole of the Adriatic. - WLFMM I'1ZONT Running water under pressure is one of the farmer's best money-makers. For example: give cOws plenty to drink and production may well increase by from 10 to 20%, butterfat from 6 '*to 10%; with plenty to drink you can expect fall pigs to put on 15 to 17% more weight on the same amount of feed; with lots of water, hens eat better and lay more eggs in the high -egg -price fall and winter months, - • * s Water under pressure In barns, stables, milk houses, etc., saves money and labour by enabling one or two men to do the work of several. Just ask any woman -and she'll tell you what running water in the home means in healthful, comfortable living. Re- member, too, the importance of fire protection. * • • Warmer weather brings In- creased demands for water. That is why May has been designated "Pump Month" in Canada; it pre- cedes the period of peak demand; the frost is out of the ground; it is warm enough to work out- side. Find out n o w, exactly Ilov✓ much water you need to farm profitably and live comfortably. Here are some average require- ments: . Gallons per Day Each person 50 100 laying hens 5 to 6 Each milk cow ,.......28 to 35 Each beef steer 12 to 16 Each market hog 3 to 4 * * 4. That's not a complete list but It gives you a rough idea. Fur- ther urther on you will read how to make your own survey or have it made for you. e • That's not a complete list but it gives you a rough Idea. Fur- ther on you will read how to make your own survey or have it made for you. When you know how much water you require, you can de- cide what type and capacity of pump will deliver that amount PLUS extra capacity for peak demands, more farm animals and possible new outlets you may add later. It is false economy to install a system that may have to be replaced in a few years. 4 N The pump is the "heart" of any system. Here are six ques- tions which must be answered with a definite "Yes" if your pump is to give full and trouble- free service: 1. Is it the right type (shallow or deep well, etc., etc.)? • 2. Is capacity correctly related to: well depth; height of lift; well capacity; length of pip- ing? (Wells that recover slowly may need a smaller pump and larger pressure storage tank.) 3. IS it designed and built for Canadian needs and climate? 4. Are spare parts and service readily available? 5.1s it approved by the Cana- dian Standards Association?' 6.Is it guaranteed by a res- ponsible manufacturer who can back it up with fast fac- tory service? BELT CAME TO LIFE Mabel Smith, of Anadarko, Oklahoma, was in such a tearing rush to get dressed that she did not bother to switch on the light in her bedroom when she hurried in to find her black belt. In the gloom she spotted the belt lying on the bathroom flour, picked it up and was putting it around her waist when the "belt" wriggled free from her hands. It was a yard -long black snake. Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking ©©f1? ©M©- ©©D© ©oa ora mono ©©n©OtI E©A0k -NM W©© -MOU EOM CIEEL:MWO ME/1 ©©EJIll rl POEM ©OEMOD ©OMS©00 ©BUM M 2rJ A ©EO ©On 3001111 MDEUMMO mown MD 'ME aNOIE.: ..a'dl W - H UNMAYSCIIO LESSON By Rev. R. B. Warren, B.A., BD. God's Law In a Nation', We Exodus 19:3-6; 20:1-4, 7-8, 12-00 ' Our memory selection is, "If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, they yes shall be a peculiar treasure until Me above all people." Exodus 19:5. A somewhat similar ex- pression is used by Paul in Titus 2:14 when he speaks of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, "Who gave Himself for us, that Hs, might redeem us from all ini- quity, and purify unto Himself! a peculiar p e o p 1 e, zealous o1 good works." While we may not be of the seed of Abraham ac- cording to the flesh we are e ._special treasure unto God if we receive the full salvation provid- ed for us through Jesus Christ. The ten commandments which God gave on Mount Sinai are binding upon all people of every nation and age. That nation, however enlightened and wealthy it may be, which ignores God'sdisaster. moral law is headed for Formally, we do not worship Bacchus the Greek god of wine, yet as a nation we consume more alcoholic beverages than the an- cient Greeks. There is no forni- cation in connection with our worship as at the pagan temple' but this sin is taking an increase ingly frightening toll among our youth today. A check on the fig- ures of illegitimacy and divorce will verify. For many, Sunday is more of a holiday than a holy day. The spirit of covetousness finds expression in the frantic credit buying which gets many into financial embarrassment„ Lying to maintain social pres- tige or aid in business is coin- mon. Changing the mileage re- cord on the car before turning it in is an example. Many in- dulge in petty stealing, espe s- ally from governments and cbnt panies. These seem more' ab - street than individuals. Some dis- dain God's moral law; otheni are indifferent to it. We need a great tpiritual awakening. When Jesus Christ moves into the life, we 1o1'1 W. do God's will. Then it is eh longer a burden to obey God's commands but a delight. But until we become new creatures in Christ Jesus we rebel against God's law. We need to be saved from our sins by turning from them and believing on Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. FLOWERS FOR THE PRINCESS -Princess Grace of Monaco receives a bouquet of red and white flowers from the commander of the Monaco guards, Major Huet, during a banquet in her honor at Monaco. The banquet was the first official ceremony the Princess attended since the birth of her second child, Prince Albert. LITTLE BEFORE HIS TIME -Ernie Warmer, 15, right, gazes at an old-time North American posture critter in Chicago's Natural Histr ry Museum. The skeleton of a brontosaurus it is 72 ` feet cony Reconstruction of the 30 -tong 150,000 yea. old creature's chassis nears completion after 2,000 man hours of work over a two-ye:ar period.