Chavin de Huantar is a legendary location. It is precisely here that a complex of temples of the Chavin culture has been discovered, and so was the more than three thousand year old statue of a priest holding a Huachuma cactus, holy for the Indians. This was my first lead in searching for a person working with the cactus.
After reaching the site, it quickly turned out that the local people have made the temple into a tourist attraction with a ticket needed to enter its premises. Furthermore, the temple is in a state of constant renovation and there is no chance of entering the most interesting place a chamber with outstanding acoustics. Sergio, a local shaman, quickly senses my intentions and after almost 2 hours of our visit to the town, he offers us a session with san pedro.
Our new friend turns out to be a very cheerful and nice person, we go to see the location where the ceremony will take place. We arranged for tomorrow morning. The brew from the San Pedro cactus is consumed on an empty stomach, and the entire day passes without any eating or drinking.
We spend the day on musical improvisations with Sergio’s friends. The brew turned out to be very delicate, with effects similar to chewing coca leaves – a slight stimulation and a jittery feeling. Around 5PM we inform Sergio that we want to end the ceremony. It was nice to see how he works with tobacco and fire, how he prepares the mesa. Together with Mateusz we agree that there was a lot of “theater” for tourists, many “rituals” and not enough strong work with the cactus. We spend the evening pleasantly and leave Chavin de Huantar the next morning.
Leather bags with the image of a priest holding San Pedro.